Vlhova Wins First-Ever World Championships Gold For Slovakia

The start of the second competition weekend at the 2019 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Åre (SWE) provided weather that was the total opposite of the start of the first week which saw sunny skies and degrees well below freezing. But even rain, wind, and temperatures considerably above freezing did not stall the ladies' giant slalom. Mikaela Shiffrin was a pre-race favorite but only managed the fourth fastest time in the first run, trailing Viktoria Rebensburg, Petra Vlhova, and Ragnhild Mowinkel.  

Vlhova, who was second after the first run, beat Shiffrin by 0.38 seconds and proved to be faster than even Rebensburg. That meant she claimed the first ever World Championships gold medal for Slovakia. 

In the second run Vlhova laid down an ace to knock Shiffrin back to second and put the pressure on Rebensburg. However, the German lost a considerable amount of time in the last split and came up 0.14-second short and settled for the silver medal. The gold for Vlhova was her first career World Championship victory, adding to the silver medal she won in the alpine combined last week in Are.

"I am so proud that I am from Slovakia because we are not a big country and now I am a world champion so it’s amazing. The whole team did a great job, and finally I showed everyone who Petra from Slovakia is," said Vlhova. 

Winds increased as the day went on which impacted both the racers and slope crew who fought to maintain the good conditions and secure material along the course. The start position was moved down to the reserve start for both runs due to the wind.

"It was a strange day. The winds kept changing but this is an outdoor sport and I decided to do my best in the second run to see where I end up," said Mikaela Shiffrin after the first run.

The racers who managed to hold their line performed the best in the second run. Shiffrin took the lead by 0.49 seconds after crossing the finish line. Mowinckel fell behind her to ultimately finish fourth as Shiffrin secured the bronze medal. 

"There was more fighting (in my second run) and it was more aggressive and more deserving of the podium. So I’m really happy with that and coming away tonight with a bronze medal after the gold in super-G is very much a dream come true," reflected Shiffrin.

Rebensburg, silver medalist at Vail 2015, kept her lead for most of the second run but then lost time at the very end, finishing 0.14 seconds behind Vlhova, claiming silver in the end.

"It’s a cool story since I raced in my first World Championships here in 2007, I also had a really good run so for now it’s cool that I could win a medal here. For me it’s a really special place, I have so many nice memories from here, and it's a special thing for me," said Rebensburg.  

“Everyone was dealing with wind, and it was kind of a strange race with tough conditions,” said Shiffrin. “It’s an outdoor sport - weather is one of the many variables you can’t control. The wind was challenging, but the surface was also soft. It kind of reminded me of the Semmering (Austria) GS. I was thinking in between runs how bummed I was after Semmering, where I ended up fifth. It was a terrible race for me...so I wanted to fight for it. So today it was like redemption for that, in a way. As far as the weather goes, it is what it is.”

But it wasn’t just Shiffrin who had to battle the stiff, swirling winds that were blowing straight up the mountain. France’s Tessa Worley faced a full-on gust in her second run that was so strong it blew over a volunteer who was trying to hold onto one of the sponsor banners. Race officials also removed the overhead finish line banners for the second run due to the wind.

Having a bronze is quite exciting,” said Shiffrin, after earning her sixth World Championships medal dating back to 2013. “At times, for me, if it’s not gold it feels disappointing, but bronze doesn’t feel like that for me today. Sometimes a bronze medal feels as sweet as gold.”