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Reichelt strikes gold in men's super-G
What a difference a day makes. After the men’s super-G at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championship presented by Audi was postponed yesterday due to heavy snowfall and high winds, today’s re-scheduled race was staged under dream conditions with blue skies and a well-prepared course.
The race lived up to all expectations as the spectacular skiing, heart-stopping spills and numerous lead changes kept the sell-out crowd on the edge of its seat.
“It sounds really good to be called a World Champion,” said Reichelt. “I felt a lot of pressure, not from the outside, but I put a lot of pressure on myself because I wanted to repeat what I did in December at the World Cup, so now I am happy to be able to relax a bit.”
Second place went to virtual unknown Dustin Cook. The Canadian came from out of nowhere with to claim the silver medal 0.11 off the pace. Cook’s highest previous World Cup finish was 12th place. Rounding out the top-three was Adrien Theaux (FRA) 0.24 behind.
“I’m a lot less surprised than most people, I’ve had fast splits all year and I love this hill,” said Cook. “I ski here all the time, it’s basically home. I really wanted to put one down and it worked out.”
Many of the favorites, such as Mr. Super-G Ted Ligety (USA) and Norway’s Speed King Kjetil Jansrud, had rough runs. Ligety finished well off the mark in ninth place, while Jansrud clipped the first gate with his left shoulder, setting up a wild run. Despite the early mistake, Jansrud still finished in fourth place. Jansrud had his shoulder in a sling after the race and will go for further medical evaluation this evening.
Two big names also made their comeback today, as Bode Miller (USA) and Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) had their first races after both battled back from injuries and had two very different results. Miller was near the end of a perfect run with a 0.06 lead when he too clipped a gate and went sliding down the course. He is undergoing further medical evaluation for a laceration on his leg. At the other end of the spectrum, Svindal had a solid comeback and ended the race in sixth place.
Complete results here
NOTES:
Before the race, two American development programme skiers, Ronnie Berlack and Bryce Astle, who were killed earlier this year in an avalanche, were honored. For the final forerunner, the clock was started with no skier making his way down the course as the audience honoured the duo with complete silence during the ‘Ghost Forerunner’ run.
The ladies are back in the forefront tomorrow as the marquee downhill is scheduled for 11:00 with high expectations on hometown hero Lindsey Vonn. The men will hold their last downhill training tomorrow before they go for gold on the Birds of Prey downhill course on Saturday at 11:00.
So far Austria is two-for-two at these World Championships. Anna Fenninger took the gold medal in the super-G, while Reichelt won today’s race, putting the Austrians atop the medal standings.
The race lived up to all expectations as the spectacular skiing, heart-stopping spills and numerous lead changes kept the sell-out crowd on the edge of its seat.
“It sounds really good to be called a World Champion,” said Reichelt. “I felt a lot of pressure, not from the outside, but I put a lot of pressure on myself because I wanted to repeat what I did in December at the World Cup, so now I am happy to be able to relax a bit.”
Second place went to virtual unknown Dustin Cook. The Canadian came from out of nowhere with to claim the silver medal 0.11 off the pace. Cook’s highest previous World Cup finish was 12th place. Rounding out the top-three was Adrien Theaux (FRA) 0.24 behind.
“I’m a lot less surprised than most people, I’ve had fast splits all year and I love this hill,” said Cook. “I ski here all the time, it’s basically home. I really wanted to put one down and it worked out.”
Many of the favorites, such as Mr. Super-G Ted Ligety (USA) and Norway’s Speed King Kjetil Jansrud, had rough runs. Ligety finished well off the mark in ninth place, while Jansrud clipped the first gate with his left shoulder, setting up a wild run. Despite the early mistake, Jansrud still finished in fourth place. Jansrud had his shoulder in a sling after the race and will go for further medical evaluation this evening.
Two big names also made their comeback today, as Bode Miller (USA) and Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) had their first races after both battled back from injuries and had two very different results. Miller was near the end of a perfect run with a 0.06 lead when he too clipped a gate and went sliding down the course. He is undergoing further medical evaluation for a laceration on his leg. At the other end of the spectrum, Svindal had a solid comeback and ended the race in sixth place.
Complete results here
NOTES:
Before the race, two American development programme skiers, Ronnie Berlack and Bryce Astle, who were killed earlier this year in an avalanche, were honored. For the final forerunner, the clock was started with no skier making his way down the course as the audience honoured the duo with complete silence during the ‘Ghost Forerunner’ run.
The ladies are back in the forefront tomorrow as the marquee downhill is scheduled for 11:00 with high expectations on hometown hero Lindsey Vonn. The men will hold their last downhill training tomorrow before they go for gold on the Birds of Prey downhill course on Saturday at 11:00.
So far Austria is two-for-two at these World Championships. Anna Fenninger took the gold medal in the super-G, while Reichelt won today’s race, putting the Austrians atop the medal standings.
Source: fis-ski.com
