Records, comebacks and premieres
That was the FIS Ski World Cup in St. Moritz. Three days of racing without incidents, picture-perfect weather and flawless snow conditions: the women's Alpine speed season opener in the Engadin offered top-level sport and wrote a chapter for the history books with Lindsey Vonn's landmark victory. Over 14,000 fans on site, record ticket sales and worldwide TV coverage made the race weekend a complete success.
The athletic highlight of the season opener for the speed disciplines was provided by American Lindsey Vonn: at 41, she became the oldest World Cup winner of all time. She made her comeback in St. Moritz a year ago.
But it's not just the ‘Queen of Speed’ who is enjoying a special moment on Corviglia this weekend. Her teammate Mikaela Shiffrin took part in a speed race for the first time in two years. Unfortunately, the record-breaking World Cup winner and best skier of all time missed the penultimate gate and was elimi-nated.
The Swiss women also had something to celebrate again after the injury misfortune of Lara Gut-Behrami, Corinne Suter and Michelle Gisin: in terms of results, Malorie Blanc achieved the best result on Sunday with her 6th place. Jasmine Flury returned after a 22-month injury break and skied straight back into the World Cup points with 30th and 11th place finishes in the two downhill races. Stefanie Grob competed in her first home World Cup race, and Alina Willi (19 y/o) and Daria Zurlinden (21 y/o) made their World Cup debut in Sunday's Super-G.
Last but not least, New Zealander Alice Robinson celebrated her first World Cup victory in the Super-G on Sunday. The giant slalom specialist, who has already won six World Cup races in her main discipline, relegated Romane Miradoli (FRA) and Sofia Goggia (ITA) to the other podium places. Her win marks the first ever win in a speed race for an athlete from the Southern hemisphere.
