Cross-Country Skiing
Lydia Hiernickel
- Distance
- Nationality
- Switzerland
- Born
- 23 December 1996
- Primary discipline
- Distance
About Lydia Hiernickel
Swiss cross-country skier turned biathlete (competes for the Gardes-Frontière/Swiss Border Guard sports unit), now racing under her married name Lydia Mettler. As a cross-country skier she competed in the 10km freestyle at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, but permanently switched to biathlon in the 2022-23 season. She missed the 2024-25 season after becoming a mother, then returned in 2025, winning bronze in the sprint at the German National Championships and bronze in roller skiing at the Swiss Nordic Weekend - largely within biathlon and off-season roller-ski events rather than FIS cross-country World Cup racing.
FIS's cross-country biography page is registered under her married name 'Lydia METTLER'; she is now primarily an active biathlete (International Biathlon Union athlete profile: hiernickel-lydia/BTSUI22312199601) rather than a current cross-country World Cup competitor, despite the 'Swiss national team' label request referring to cross-country.
Sponsors: Leki (race poles) - per FIS's official cross-country athlete biography (manufacturer-updated equipment field); ski and boot sponsor fields are blank on that page, consistent with her having moved on to biathlon.
Setup
1 item
Poles
Leki Cross-country
Confirmed via FIS's official cross-country athlete biography (manufacturer-updated field: 'Poles: Leki'). Reusing existing DB Leki Nordic race pole family entry. Skis and boots fields are blank on her FIS bio, so no ski/boot rows were added.
Cross-country race-stock pole line
Setup verified 13 July 2026