Lara Gut of Switzerland on Wednesday made her FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup overall title official, despite finishing 13th in difficult conditions in the last downhill of the season.
The US’ Lindsey Vonn flew in to collect her eighth crystal globe in the discipline on a snowy opening day at the World Cup finals.
Although Gut’s title — the first for a Swiss woman in 21 years — was effectively sealed last weekend at nearby Lenzerheide, it became a mathematical certainty in front of more home fans in St Moritz.
Photo: AFP
Austria’s Mirjam Puchner won the women’s race on the Engianda course to claim her first downhill victory. Puchner beat Fabienne Suter of Switzerland by 0.13 seconds, with Elena Curtoni of Italy third, 0.17 seconds behind.
It was a first podium for both Puchner and Curtoni.
Vonn clinched the downhill title before her crash in a super-G in Andorra last month, and was in St Moritz to pick up her 20th crystal globe.
“I feel like I had a really great year,” Vonn said. “Nine wins, and to be able to still take home one globe at least, even though I had to end my season early, it means a lot because you work so hard and I was so close. I was leading four titles when I got hurt so to still have at least one, that was huge.”
Gut is only 19 points behind Vonn in the super-G standings, with the final race scheduled for yesterday.
“I do not think super-G will hold, but weirder things have happened in skiing,” Vonn said. “I will be at the finish tomorrow [yesterday] and maybe a miracle will happen.”
Vonn will be hoping to have an easier time getting into the finish area than she had on Wednesday, when she was turned away by two security guards for not having the right accreditation.
“The Swiss are all about the rules,” Vonn said. “I had two people not let me in so I had to ask for a different pass. Apparently an athlete’s pass is not enough to get you into the finish.”
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