Everybody knew initially of the day as we speak in St. Anton, Austria, that the second half of as we speak’s Tremendous-G would maintain the thrilling half. For one, the climate forecast mentioned that the visibility would enhance, and two, there was a sequence of promising skiers with greater bib numbers, initially, Lindsey Vonn in bib 31, but in addition yesterday’s shock second-placed skier Malorie Blanc from Switzerland in bib 33. However the shock of the day got here from a extra middle-of-the-range bib quantity: Lauren Macuga in bib 17, who had been robust in coaching however had by no means been on the rostrum—a reality she modified as we speak with a smashing time of 1:17.51 minutes, a stable 0.68 seconds forward of native favourite Stephanie Venier, and nearly a second forward of yesterday’s winner Federica Brignone. Macuga grew to become the primary U.S. skier in historical past to win the Tremendous-G on the Karl Schranz course in St. Anton.
“It is a dream. I’ve been dreaming about this endlessly.”
— Lauren Macuga
The race at St. Anton began with a formidable run by Germany’s Kira Weidle-Winkelmann, who set a smashing tempo that noticed her within the chief’s seat for the subsequent six skiers. It was Italy’s Brignone who unseated the German by 0.35 seconds, and shortly after, Lara Intestine-Behrami squeezed into second, 0.01 seconds forward of Weidle-Winkelmann. The rostrum appeared set there for a number of minutes with skier after skier unable to shake up the highest three ranks. Pace-Queen Sofia Goggia got here near contesting her teammate however skidded out on the underside part of the race course whereas she was 0.15 seconds forward of Brignone, leading to a DNF for the seasoned skier.
Then we reached the mid-field, and native favourite Stephanie Venier in bib 15 catapulted herself into the lead, 0.24 seconds forward of Brignone. Nevertheless, the Austrian ski racer’s time within the chief’s seat was comparatively quick, as Macuga in bib 17 smashed her time by an astounding 0.68 seconds. The American couldn’t imagine her eyes within the end space, however the shock quickly gave approach to pure pleasure as actuality sank in that she had simply snatched the lead.
Skier after skier did not unseat the American, after which it was time for Lindsey Vonn in bib 31, and pressure began to construct once more. May the legendary velocity specialist ski onto the rostrum? Vonn appeared quick, and at occasions, it was shut, however the 40-year-old skier narrowly missed out on the rostrum, snowboarding into fourth place. The gang and Vonn herself, nonetheless, didn’t appear upset. It was a spectacular efficiency by the comeback legend, and each Vonn and the spectators had been celebrating a incredible run within the end space.
Malorie Blanc, who had competed in her first-ever Downhill yesterday and managed to ski into second place, skied into a formidable ninth place in her second-ever Tremendous-G race. Her first race in St. Moritz had ended with a DNF, so a top-10 outcome for the 21-year-old rookie was a incredible final result.
However the day as we speak belonged to Lauren Macuga, who received not solely her first podium however a victory in St. Anton. The 22-year-old was nonetheless recovering from the shock when she was interviewed by the FIS commentator, “Oh my God, I can’t imagine it! It’s so thrilling,” the Park Metropolis native mentioned. Macuga had proven robust coaching runs in addition to a private finest fourth place in Beaver Creek. “I knew after the previous couple of Tremendous-G races that I had the potential to ski onto the rostrum. I made a mistake in Beaver Creek and I made a mistake in St. Moritz. And I did it as we speak!”
Lauren Macuga comes from a household of profitable winter sports activities athletes, together with her youthful sister Alli competing for Staff USA within the Moguls World Cup and her older sister Sam on the U.S. Ski Leaping Staff (and one other brother hoping to make the nationwide workforce).
This wraps up the velocity occasions in St. Anton. The ladies’s FIS Alpine World Cup continues with a Slalom at Flachau, Austria, on Tuesday, January 14.
