The Ticino woman ensures a Swiss podium finish in the first women’s downhill of the winter. Cornelia Hütter (AUT) wins.
The podium
- 1. Cornelia Hütter (AUT) 1:32.38
- 2. Sofia Goggia (ITA) +0.16 s
- 3. Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) +0.34s
The first women’s downhill run of the 2024/25 season has the same shining winner as the last one of the 2023/24 season: Cornelia Hütter. The Austrian, who caused an upset in the discipline rankings in the spring with a victory in the last downhill run of the winter, could not be beaten on the “Birds of Prey”. The 32-year-old was 16 hundredths of a second ahead of Sofia Goggia, who excelled in the final training session on Friday.
Behind them, Lara Gut-Behrami secured her first podium place of the winter. The Ticino, who won the last two women’s speed races in Beaver Creek in 2013, showed a strong performance on the demanding slope and secured third place, 34 hundredths of a second behind Hütter. Goggia was able to celebrate second place after recovering from a leg injury.
The other Swiss women
- 8. Michelle Gisin +0.72 p
- 14. Priska Ming-Nufer +1.34 s
- 19. Corinne Suter +1,77 s
- 27. Delia Durrer +2,41 s
- Eliminated: Joana Hählen
From a Swiss perspective, Michelle Gisin showed the second best performance. The Engelberg woman made it through without making any mistakes and secured a place in the top 10, 72 hundredths of a second behind – this should be a satisfaction after a botched start to the season in the technical disciplines.
Corinne Suter and Joana Hählen both competed in their first races after torn cruciate ligaments. But only Suter made it to the finish, and her respect was evident.
The much-noticed ancestor
Usually the forerunners fly under the radar – not so in Beaver Creek. At the start was none other than Lindsey Vonn, one of the greatest of all time with 82 World Cup victories. When she reached the finish line, she twirled her ski poles above her head and enjoyed the cheers of those watching. “I love that, I’m very grateful for this opportunity,” she told SRF afterwards.
At 40, the American is working on a comeback and wants to start in St. Moritz next weekend, as she confirmed the day before. She was unable to lower her FIS points in time for a “real” start in Beaver Creek because the corresponding ranking list will only be updated after this World Cup weekend.
This is how it continues
The speed specialists continue on Sunday with the first Super-G of the winter (from 6:55 p.m. on SRF two). The first home races for the Swiss will take place on the weekend before Christmas: two Super-Gs will be held in the Engadin.
World Cup Women
Swiss
