FIS Alpine World Ski Championships Wrap Up

After thirteen days of top level sports action, the 2019 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Are (SWE) closed on Sunday, 17th February. During the 11 competitions, many nations had a chance to shine.

Altogether, 10 nations won medals as Switzerland and Norway tied for the top spot with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal each. The United States also took home four medals with two gold medals and two bronze.

This edition of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championship included several superlatives. It was the quickest turnaround time of 12 years between hosting World Championships. Additionally, it was the most sustainable FIS World Championships ever staged with full ISO Certification and dozens of actions in place, including exclusively using Audi Etron electric cars for transportation.

Naturally, there were several engaging story lines, but none was as captivating as saying goodbye to two of the biggest stars in Alpine Skiing as both Lindsey Vonn (USA) and Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) celebrated fairy tale finishes to their storied careers in Are. Svindal took the downhill silver medal in his last career race, while Vonn also medaled in her career finale, earning bronze in the ladies’ downhill.

The competitive field made it difficult to earn multiple medals at these World Championships. Still four athletes managed the feat. Two ladies, Mikaela Shiffrin (USA) and Wendy Holdener (SUI) earned two gold medals each, with Shiffrin winning the super-G and slalom, while Holdener was golden in the alpine combined and nation’s team event. Petra Vlhova (SVK) and Marco Schwarz (AUT) took home the most medals with gold in giant slalom, silver in the alpine combined and bronze in the slalom for Vlhova and two bronze and one silver medal in slalom, alpine combined and nation’s team event, respectively.

Marcel Hirscher became the all-time top winner in FIS Alpine World Ski Championship history with his gold and silver performances in the slalom and giant slalom. Hirscher now has five golds and four silver medals, putting him atop the medal standings, but he still one shy in terms of total medals. Kjetil Andre Aamodt (NOR) holds that record with 12 medals (5G, 4S, 3B).

The Are Local Organising committee persevered through challenging weather conditions as participants were greeted by minus 20 degree temperatures in the first week, which turned into stormy rain with high winds in plus-temperatures in the second week. The Are 2019 team worked tirelessly to manage the widely varying conditions in order for the programme to stay on schedule.

FIS President Gian Franco Kasper said about the Championships: "The Are 2019 Organisers had a lot of adverse weather conditions and challenges to overcome and it is a testament to them that I can sit here today and declare these World Championships a complete success. I believe everyone who experienced these World Championships will carry fond memories from Are for many years to come.”

CEO of the Are Organising Committee Niklas Carlsson said, "We are proud of all that we have accomplished with the World Championships. Our goal was to inspire the world to ski and indeed we delivered fantastic races to a global audience and many memorable moments that I hope ignites people’s interest in our sport.”

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