Sara Hector third in the slalom in the World Cup competition in Flachau

Sara Hector, 32, continues to impress.

The Swede came third in the slalom in Flachau, Austria.

– So awesome that it was a podium place, says Hector to SVT.

4 January Sara Hector secured her second win of the season when she took home the giant slalom in Kranjska Gora.

The form has been good for the 32-year-old Swede, to say the least, and on Tuesday evening she offered another strong first run.

She finished third in 57.72, which was 1.1 seconds behind leader Katharina Liensberger, of Austria.

The leader dropped

When it came time for the second round, Hector looked to be losing a place, as she was third with only Liensberger to go. But the Austrian lost time and eventually finished fourth, thereby securing Hector’s third place.

– When she lost so much in the beginning, I thought: “Oh, shit! There is a chance!” And it actually led to a podium place in the end, so it was cool, says the Swede to SVT and continues:

– I was very surprised. So cool that it became a podium place! It feels very cool that I have two podium places in slalom, that it is not just once but twice.

Fourth podium this season

It was Hector’s fourth podium this season, the other three have come in giant slalom events. Her first podium in slalom was taken a year ago, also in Flachau.

The third place means that Hector is now second in the overall World Cup.

Tuesday’s slalom in Flachau was won by Camille Rast, from Switzerland, 0.16 seconds ahead of Wendy Holdener from the same country. Rast also leads the World Cup total.

Other Swedes who competed were Anna Swenn Larsson, Cornelia Öhlund, Hanna Aronsson Elfman, Estelle Alphand, Elsa Fermbäck.

Öhlund was fastest of all in the second race and finished twelfth overall.