EAfter that it was a few kilometers over to Méribel for the award ceremony in the evening. A few hours earlier, just a few meters away from the big stage where the best were chosen at the Alpine Ski World Championships, Lena Dürr’s feelings had gone crazy. In the finish area she had been sober at first, then overjoyed. There was a lot of laughter, but also a lot of tears, with joy and relief because she had won the medal in the slalom that everyone – and especially herself – had expected.
When bronze finally dangled from her neck (and the Canadian national anthem played for surprise winner Laurence St-Germain), emotions were in order. She was able to enjoy the moment – and especially the beer afterwards on the terrace of the Swiss house.
German surprise in the men’s slalom
Linus Straßer would have liked to improve Germany’s World Cup balance a bit the next day, but after a good first run he botched the final and ended up in ninth place. The German surprise in the men’s slalom was provided by Sebastian Holzmann from Oberstdorf, who finished fifth. Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen became world champion ahead of AJ Ginnis, who won Greece’s first medal at an Alpine World Ski Championships, and Alex Vinatzer from Italy.
With the gold medal from Alexander Schmid and Dürr’s bronze, “the target” was exceeded, said sports director Wolfgang Maier. Nevertheless, the World Cup also showed “where our weaknesses and strengths lie”. While there is a lot of catching up to do in the downhill and in the super-G, the Germans confirmed in the second week that they were able to set accents in the technical disciplines with the exception of the women’s giant slalom.
Dürr competed in her seventh world championship for the first time “knowing that I could compete for a medal”. She was on the podium in four of the last five slaloms in the World Cup and even on top in the last one before the World Cup. The 31-year-old was also one of the favorites at the Olympic Games last year. At that time she missed a very good starting position and dropped from first to fourth place in the final round. This time she was fourth after the first run – and still took bronze at the end. “Today is the day I get my hundredths back from last year’s Olympia,” she said.
But it has less to do with luck that it worked this time and not a year ago, but rather with the development towards that athlete who knows exactly what to do and how to do it. She has learned not to blame others for her performance, for her form, whether good or bad, but only herself. “Lena is not only a leader in terms of performance, but also in terms of her personality,” says Wolfgang Maier, Sports director in the German Ski Association. “Sometimes the good Lord is a German skier after all,” he rejoiced after Dürr’s coup.
On course for a medal: Lena Dürr has got the hang of it.
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Image: Imago
For many years, Maier had struggled with the fact that Dürr was not able to exploit her potential – and at some point she no longer believed she could keep up with the best. He stands by his misjudgment, “I’ve done a lot of penance.” When complaints came from the team after last season about the then head coach Jürgen Graller, it was Dürr who took the initiative, as a spokeswoman to address the problems and did not try to hide behind a decision by the sports management. Finally, Graller himself withdrew because he had to realize that he was no longer reaching the athletes with his speech and his leadership style.
Maier also saw the fact that Dürr was taking responsibility as evidence of her maturing process. In return, the inexperienced Markus Lenz was promoted to discipline trainer. “I knew the two got on well together,” said Maier. Of course, Lenz still has to find his style, says the sports director, but other things seem to be more important at the moment. “You can see that you can make a difference if you create an atmosphere of trust.”
Dürr has never forgotten to share her success with the team, the coaches and her colleagues in recent years, and not even on Saturday. “I have to cry now,” Dürr said when Andreas Filser and Jessica Hilzinger appeared behind her during the interview. As they hugged, all three shed tears. Dürr took many detours, but, she says, “I had to accept them to end up here”.
The time almost four years ago, when she had to organize the pre-season herself, shaped her. Maier speaks of an “absolute win-win decision” at the time, which initiated the turning point. Dürr is at peace with herself, with her career: “Everything has to be the way it is.”
