The women's slalom at the Alpine Ski World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm resulted in a double victory for Switzerland, marking the fourth gold for Swiss Ski. The 25-year-old Camille Rast prevailed over Wendy Holdener (+0.46 sec.), followed by the jubilant Vorarlberg native Katharina Liensberger (+1.32 sec.) in front of 16,700 spectators. US superstar Mikaela Shiffrin finished fifth and went home empty-handed this time, while Katharina Truppe landed in seventh place in the splendid weather.

Switzerland Rides Wave of Success at Ski World Championships

Rast is the first Swiss slalom world champion since Vreni Schneider in 1991 - also in Saalbach. Since then, there have only been two Swiss medals, one of which Holdener won with silver in 2017 in St. Moritz. "Everything has to fit for a medal, everything worked out, I am satisfied. I was mentally ready, I wanted to enjoy the whole day. The cool team spirit is very important in our team. A podium with Wendy, that's cool," said Rast. For Holdener, it was the third silver medal at this World Championships after those in the parallel team event and the team combination. "A good day for both of us. I think I am the record holder for second places. I am very satisfied that I could be so successful in Saalbach," said Holdener.

For Austria, it was the seventh medal at the home World Championships, with previous golds for Stephanie Venier (Super-G) and Raphael Haaser (giant slalom), as well as silver medals by Haaser (Super-G), Mirjam Puchner (downhill), and Vincent Kriechmayr (downhill), and bronze by Stephanie Venier/Katharina Truppe (team combination).

Liensberger: "I Am So Grateful"

"It's so wonderful, I am so grateful. That after a long time, where it wasn't easy, especially after Cortina, it was enough for a medal again," said Liensberger, who won World Championship gold in slalom four years ago. With the attitude that she loves skiing, much is possible. "I am privileged to be able to do this. That's what I thought today as well. It's so beautiful to be able to ski race, simply fantastic."

She thanked her deceased grandmother and greeted her other grandmother, who was watching from home. "I am happy that the rest of the family can celebrate with me here. That they cheered me on so much motivated me greatly." She said she has surely changed because she has gained experience. "Especially the toughest experiences in life push you the furthest. When you feel like nothing is working anymore. I think the most important thing is to keep going and believe in yourself." ÖSV women's head coach Roland Assinger spoke of a "great conclusion for the ladies." Only a medal counts, and Liensberger drove to third. "From that perspective - perfectly done."

Truppe was also satisfied, leaving with the best slalom performance of the season. "The way I skied down, it was just insanely crazy. I already felt like a little star, it gave me goosebumps, it was something so beautiful. I have never skied down with number one in the second run this year. That I did it exactly here was insane," said the Carinthian. "Certainly unforgettable, this week."

Slalom with Dropouts

Katharina Huber fell from 13th place at halftime to 14th. "I am basically a bit of a thinker and maybe overthink a bit too much instead of just going for it," said Huber. Katharina Gallhuber was eliminated in the first run. "It's very bitter when you are eliminated in the first run of the coolest race you can experience in an athlete's career," said the 27-year-old.

Austria's technical coach Klaus Mayrhofer came up with something special for the first ten gates in the first run. He set the combination "hairpin, hairpin, long turn, hairpin," the passage and several others proved to be an insurmountable difficulty for many in the fast-paced run. Only 45 out of 116 athletes reached the finish line, six were eliminated in the second run.

Shiffrin's Streak at Ski World Championships Broken

Shiffrin won the gold medal in the team combination with Breezy Johnson, but narrowly missed out in the slalom. As happily as Liensberger secured bronze, the hundredths of a second spoke against the fourth-placed Paula Moltzan (USA/2/100 short of third place) and Shiffrin (5/100). From 2013 to 2019, she had won gold four times in a row at World Championships, in 2021 it was bronze, 2023 silver - this streak has now been broken in Saalbach.

"The top runners skied great. And I was twice as good as in Courchevel," said Shiffrin, who made her comeback just before the World Championships after a break due to injury. "I had a completely different mindset than at all other World Championships. I am very grateful to be here, but at the same time I also look at the top level of skiing and think that it takes so much to be competitive with the top runners. We also need to go through a process in the mental area," she said.

For the Croatian Zrinka Ljutic, who was considered the top favorite, it was only a disappointing ninth place. Defending champion Laurence St-Germain from Canada was eliminated in the first run. The Olympic champion Petra Vlhova from Slovakia, who is not yet fit after her cruciate ligament tear, was there as a spectator.

(APA/Red)

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