Ski racer Kira Weidle defied all odds and showed her best downhill run in a year two days after her serious fall in training. The 27-year-old raced to a good fifth place in Altenmark-Zauchensee, Austria, just 0.12 seconds short of the “Stockerl”. Emma Aicher fell during Italy’s Sofia Goggia’s 24th victory, but apparently remained uninjured.
After a courageous drive with a buzzing head in her favorite race, Weidle was 0.46 seconds behind Goggia, who was the first Italian woman to win at the Kälberloch. The Austrians Stephanie Venier (+0.10 seconds) and Mirjam Puchner as well as Nicol Delago (Italy/both +0.34) completed the podium.
“One of the hardest descents”
“It was a big weight off my mind when I reached the finish line,” said Weidle relaxed. She hasn’t been this far ahead since third place in Cortina d’Ampezzo in January 2023 – and that was after the violent departure on Thursday, on the only possible practice run on an extremely demanding slope. Mentally, she emphasized, “it was one of the hardest descents for me.”
The competition also recognized this and congratulated her many times. “They also know that it was tough for me,” said Weidle. “I’m a bit proud of myself for how I handled it. I can be really, really happy with the history.”
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At the finish, she showed her right fist in relief and gave a timid nod. Weidle left behind, among others, world champion Jasmine Flury and top riders like Lara Gut-Behrami, while Olympic champion Corinne Suter (all Switzerland) was eliminated.
