World Ski Championships, Women's Giant Slalom: Anna Fenninger Takes 2nd Gold
This was the last hurrah for some; for others it was the start of their World Ski Championships. Whatever direction the women were heading in at the crossroad of the giant slalom, they left their mark in an entertaining penultimate race.
Let's get on with the talking points, then. We begin with an extraordinary gold medal performance.
The winner's story
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Austria's Anna Fenninger has peaked in spectacular fashion over the last fortnight in Vail/Beaver Creek.
A steadily improving season in the World Cup suggested such a return was possible. But three medals from four races amid such close competition might have even caught Fenninger by surprise.
Then again, such is the confidence with which she has skied. It has taken similarly extraordinary performances to match her, let alone beat her.
After gold in the super-G and silver in the downhill (she narrowly missed out on the podium in Alpine combined), the giant slalom was arguably her best event at these World Championships.
If nobody preceding Fenninger in the first run had set things alight with their time, those of the other in-form woman in America, Slovenian Tina Maze (1:10.08) and then Sweden's Jessica Lindell-Vikarby (1:09.88) were solid enough markers.
The Austrian proceeded to all but blow them away as she crossed the line with an advantage of 0.90 seconds. Only her compatriot Michaela Kirchgasser would get within a second thereafter.
Concluding the fastest 30, an unexpected moment of drama occurred midway down Fenninger's second run. She appeared to have lost control as her skis drifted dangerously far apart exiting a turn.
"I had a big mistake and I knew it cost me a lot of time so I had to risk everything at the bottom of the course," she said of her thoughts having settled down, per the International Ski Federation's (FIS) website. "When I crossed the finish line and saw the result, it was unbelievable."
Her "risky" recovery method paid off. Fenninger was almost a second and a half ahead of second place.
Silver and bronze
The aforementioned second place was confirmed as Viktoria Rebensburg's. The German, 11th after her first run, proceeded to enjoy one of the best of the deciding descents.
After going ahead of previous leader Kathrin Zettel by 0.75 seconds, she would hold first place all the way until Fenninger came down. In the process, she beat Maze and Kirchgasser and held on, despite a close call from Tina Weirather (Liechtenstein).
Rebensburg veered between relief and delight in the finishing area with each passing confirmation of her remaining place among the medals.
A former World Cup title holder and Olympic champion in giant slalom, Rebensburg's best work this season has come in downhill. Here, the 25-year-old served a potent reminder of her class in GS.
The technical discipline is also the specialty of the earlier-mentioned Lindell-Vikarby.
Last year the Swede was within touching distance of winning the World Cup globe for the event. A strong season, which included a win in Beaver Creek, ended in disappointment as Fenninger edged her by just 26 points.
The four GS races held this season (none since the New Year) had seen Lindell-Vikarby struggle. Save for seventh place on home snow in Are, the 31-year-old had not come close to recording a victory.
One of the pluses of a prestigious standalone event like the World Championships is the fresh start it can offer a sportsperson. Lindell-Vikarby grasped it firmly in America, perhaps boosted by memories of her previous success at the venue.
Her first run gave her the lead for a couple of minutes. While she could not reclaim it, her concluding time of 2:30.65 earned her a season-salvaging bronze medal and a career highlight.
"I’m really happy," Lindell-Vikarby told the FIS website. "I’ve tried for this seven times at the World Championships and three times at the Olympics to get a medal, so I’m really pleased with how things worked out today."
Host nation performances
A first World Cup GS win earlier this season had raised hopes of a medal, but it was not to be for home favourite Mikaela Shiffrin in her first individual event of the Worlds.
Her first run left her outside of the top 10. She was up to eighth by the end of the day's action, though, and will hope the exercise aided her preparation for Saturday's slalom.
In her final race of the fortnight in Colorado, Lindsey Vonn was unable to add to her super-G bronze. A much-improved second run eventually saw her finish 14th. She also temporarily held the lead, allowing the crowd in the Red Tail Stadium to cheer on the superstar for a short while at least.
Elsewhere, Julia Mancuso finished 26th and Megan McJames finished 34th.
Most disappointed
Maze will not leave these World Championships having taken a medal in every event. Three is still excellent, though, and she has a chance to add a fourth in the slalom.
Former giant slalom silver medalist Maria Pietilae-Holmner (Sweden) probably hoped to do better than ninth; but like the Slovenian and Shiffrin, she will now target Saturday.
Tessa Worley was unable to defend her GS title and will be disappointed not to have performed slightly better in her first run. Nonetheless, it was her second-best result since returning from injury and might propel her to a bright end to the season.
Underdog tales
Overlapping with the previous section is Marta Bassino. Eighth after her superb first run, the 18-year-old was in prime position to record a result to brighten an otherwise bleak World Championships for the Italian team (thus far at least).
Alas, she went down after the second intermediate and was denied the chance. Still, Bassino should be one to look out for in the future.
Two young Canadian hopefuls were able to finish. Mikaela Tommy, 19, finished in 22nd. Part of the country's surprise silver-medal quartet in the team event, Candace Crawford, 20, took 29th.
Next up
The men race on giant slalom on Friday. The World Championships concludes for the women with Saturday's slalom.
World Championships results and leaderboard information confirmed via the FIS.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
