Hutter Takes Her First Super G Win Of Season; Vonn Has Impressive Return

Conny Hütter (AUT/Head) claimed her first Super G victory of the 2024/25 World Cup season in St. Moritz, Switzerland, while 40-year-old Lindsey Vonn (USA/Head) impressed as she marked her return with a fourteenth-place finish almost six years after her last race.

Vonn finished 1.18 seconds behind Hütter, who made up for her fourth-place finish from last week. 32-year-old Hütter sped to the finish line in one minute and 15.18 seconds, finishing 0.18 ahead of home favourite Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI/Head) and 0.33 ahead of last week’s winner Sofia Goggia (ITA/Atomic). Elena Curtoni (ITA/Head) and Federica Brignone (ITA/Rossignol) rounded out the top five.

Hütter became the first Austrian to win the Super G event in St. Moritz since Michaela Dorfmeister (AUT) in 2006. A big scream at the finish line showed just how much the win meant to Hütter. “Today was a really historic race. To hear that statistic is nice, for sure”, Hütter said with a smile. “Winning is not that common for me. It’s not everyday business."

And it wasn’t easy out on the Swiss slopes, either, Hütter said. “After inspection, I thought it would be a little bit easier. But then when I skied down, I was thinking ‘Oh my god, it’s not that easy, it's really tough’. That was also my feeling through the run. It’s (the slope) really tricky, the gates are coming so fast. I think the last part I was skiing really good. To see the green light at the finish was great.”

Gut-Behrami, who recovered from an error in the middle part of the race, landed in second just like last week.. “I did a few mistakes today, which caused me a lot”, Gut-Behrami said afterward. “But in the end, I’m just happy I’m skiing well and (that I) found my confidence back. I hope tomorrow I can come to the finish line without making mistakes.”

Goggia, who won the season-opener in Beaver Creek, continued her phenomenal return from injury with another podium finish. “It was not a super nice run, but also not a bad one. I didn’t ski so fluid as last week. But in the end, it was not so bad”, Goggia said.

“I was a bit nervous this morning. St. Moritz is always a tricky slope. You really do need to have your strategy in your head after the inspection. You have to find the balance”, she added.

In St. Moritz, all eyes were on bib number 31, American star Vonn, who returned to the World Cup stage for the first time since January 2019. The 40-year-old proved to herself – and others – that she still has it as she finished 14th after a remarkable ski. Vonn started off cautious on the first section, but came out looking like she never left.

A broad smile as she received a standing ovation on the finish line said it all. “Today was the perfect start. I had a solid run, got to the finish”, Vonn said afterward. “The first one is the hardest. I felt really good. The course was a little bit bumpy when I went, so in some sections I was a little more conservative with my lines. But in some sections, I was really fast. There’s definitely a lot that I have left to give, I just wanted to get to the finish today and be solid.”

Vonn admitted she had been a bit nervous just before going out. “I was a little bit stressed, I was a little bit behind. I forgot a couple of things. It was hectic, I just hadn’t done it in a while. But it was nice to feel the nerves again. When I’m on the starting gate, I don’t see anything else but the gates in front of me. It feels so good to have the nerves and to have the butterflies, the adrenaline to push yourself. I always feel it’s just me against the mountain. I love that feeling Tomorrow will be better now that I’m used to it", Vonn said.