Women’s slalom in Levi –
Stress for superior Shiffrin – and Holdener makes a promise
Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates her 98th World Cup victory in a superior manner. Camille Rast comes fifth, Mélanie Meillard seventh. Meanwhile, Wendy Holdener is struggling with sleep problems.
Catching up in the second race: Camille Rast fights her way to 5th place in Levi.
Photo: AFP
Mikaela Shiffrin’s work wasn’t finished after the race. Now she is stressed and has to find the right name quickly, said the American. A name for the reindeer that the Levi winner traditionally receives. Because Shiffrin is a long-time winner, like almost everywhere else in Finland, she has a whole herd: her favorites are Rudolph, Sven, Mr. Gru, Ingemar, Sunny, Lorax and Grogu. Thanks to the latest triumph, an eighth animal is added. “I would like to take it with me on the plane,” joked the 29-year-old.
Shiffrin had a superior success in the far north, taking 79 hundredths of a second from the Austrian Katharina Liensberger – and she didn’t seem to be risking everything. She won a slalom for the 61st time, and overall it was World Cup victory number 98. These are crazy numbers; she could reach the 100 mark in just two weeks at home in Killington. The detour to Levi was even more worth it because she fulfilled a girl’s dream: she saw the northern lights for the first time this week.
Holdener’s sleepless night
Two Swiss women also had reason to be happy: Camille Rast in fifth place and Mélanie Meillard in seventh place slightly exceeded expectations. Rast’s strong performance was astonishing, as the slope in Levi was not tailored to her abilities, and the Valaisian also made several small mistakes in the first run. The 25-year-old summed up that she attacked and was very self-confident. “It’s really cool to start the season like this.”
Michelle Gisin, who finished last winter as number 4 in the slalom world rankings, had a much more difficult time. With a new ski model, she seemed a bit inhibited from top to bottom, and in the decision she fell 13 positions to 24th place. In sixteenth place, Wendy Holdener did slightly better on her comeback in Stangenwald, although coach Jörg Roten had already announced that it would take a few races before the Schwyz native got back into the rhythm. Above all, Holdener struggled with her nervousness; as in Sölden, she hardly slept the night before the race.
“I was wide awake, so it was extremely difficult. I struggled with energy,” said the 31-year-old. Aline Danioth from Uri made her comeback after 657 (!) days of absence, but after four cruciate ligament tears and seven knee operations, she missed the second run. She cried at the finish – not out of disappointment, but out of joy to be there again.
But back to Holdener: A year ago she suffered a fracture in her ankle, and now she wants to quickly get back into the swing of things in her favorite discipline – the next slalom is scheduled for next Saturday in Gurgl. But Holdener is already looking further ahead, which can only please Swiss ski fans: she wants to continue her career until the home World Championships in 2027 in Crans-Montana.
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1:57 p.m
We thank you for your interest. A detailed summary of the race will be available here a little later.
1:55 p.m
Camille Rast shows a very strong performance in fifth place. It’s all the more astonishing because she doesn’t particularly like the slope in Levi and the first run was flawed. Mélanie Meillard, on the other hand, is a Levi lover; 7th place is a highly satisfactory start to the season for Romande. Wendy Holdener has to settle for 16th place in the comeback, Michelle Gisin falls back to 24th place in the decision.
1:52 p.m
1. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA)
2. Katharina Liensberger (AUT)
3. Lena Dürr (GER)
1:50 p.m
And once again the American is in a league of her own. Shiffrin Katharina Liensberger takes 79 hundredths off. It’s World Cup victory number 98! Shiffrin has now succeeded eight times in Levi, it’s an incredible record.
1:48 p.m
Three years ago she achieved the first of 12 slalom podiums in Levi. Although: Now there are 13. Dürr is in second place, only three hundredths behind Liensberger. Now only Shiffrin, who was superior in the first run, follows. But it is now also clear: there is no podium place for Switzerland, Camille Rast is only 4th.
1:46 p.m
The Croatian is only 20, but technically she has long been one of the best. Ljutic drives too conservatively on the steep slope — it’s only enough for fourth place, two hundredths behind Camille Rast. Liensberger is now guaranteed a place on the podium. Lena Dürr and Mikaela Shiffrin are still at the top.
1:44 p.m
In 2021 she was slalom world champion, after which she fell into crisis. The Vorarlberg resident has long since found out about this and is now clearly taking the lead. Strong performance from Liensberger, who prevented an Austrian debacle. Is it even enough for the podium?
1:42 p.m
The daredevil from the USA is sometimes said to be faster than Mikaela Shiffrin in training. In the races, Moltzan sometimes wants too much, she only knows the motto full throttle. She made too many mistakes on the steep slope and was enough for fourth place, just behind Rast and Meillard.
1:41 p.m
That can’t be true: three hundredths of a lead saves the Swede to the finish, despite losing a lot of time on the steep slope. Rast and Meillard have to say goodbye to the leader box.
1:39 p.m
We have a Swiss double tour! Rast takes 12 hundredths off Meillard. The Valaisian showed a committed second run, without any major mistakes. After the disappointment at the start in Sölden, the Swiss Ski staff is back.
1:37 p.m
Meillard can only be displaced by seven competitors. Because: Slokar is eliminated.
1:36 p.m
In an interview with Swiss television, the leader says: “I just know that it will work here, that this tendency suits me. I’m always very positive about that. I’m happy it worked at the start.” To explain: In Levi, the Swiss made it into the top 10 for the fifth time.
1:33 p.m
The Swede has no chance, loses over a second and a half to Meillard and is in 12th place.
1:32 p.m
Very strong performance from Romande! She actually pushes Aicher out of the lead and saves her eleven hundredths to the finish. And we are determined: Meillard will still make up one or two places.
1:30 p.m
After all, Gisin goes into this second run with a lead of 79 hundredths over the unleashed Aicher. By the second intermediate time, however, the reserve had already been lost. The Engelberg woman has surprisingly no chance and even falls back to 15th place. There is a lack of aggressiveness and she also makes too much distance between the goals. She definitely imagined it differently.
1:29 p.m
The Canadian takes over – so Aicher is still in the lead.
1:28 p.m
Her coach Jörg Roten said Holdener would need a few races to get back into the rhythm after the long injury break. The woman from Schwyz failed in the second run and made a mistake on the steep slope. It’s only enough for 8th place, 12 athletes are still at the top. A setback for the two-time combined world champion.
1:25 p.m
And another Katharina from Austria: Gallhuber, 2018 Olympic bronze medalist in the slalom, has a reserve of 30 hundredths on Aicher at the start and is 1.94 seconds behind at the finish. 14th place and the next slap in the face for Austria.
1:24 p.m
According to Katharina Troup, things aren’t going as planned for the second Katharina from Austria either: she’s eliminated on the steep slope — and slides meters down the slope.
1:21 p.m
Only the 27-year-old made it into the decision from the Italians. It’s tough in the slalom, the last podium finish by an Italian woman in the World Cup was almost 15 years ago. Peterlini ranks seventh. The top 15 from the first run are still up.
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