World Champs Super G - Kriechmayr & Gut-Behrami Take Golds
Battling a tricky set that took down 21 skiers throughout the day, Vincent Kriechmayr of Austria looked unrattled to secure his first World Championships gold medal. Coming into the race, Kriechmayr was the most decorated skier on the World Cup circuit without a major title. Veteran Romed Baumann of Germany—who hadn’t been on a super-G podium in a decade and previously raced for Austria before being cut from their team—was second, and World Cup overall leader Alexis Pinturault of France took bronze.
Much like in the women’s race, which also saw Lara Gut-Behrami earn her first career medal, the pressure was high on Kriechmayr, who entered today as the clear favorite with two straight super-G victories prior to Cortina.
Adding to the pressure was the fact that Kriechmayr, wearing bib #5, watched from the start gate as the first three racers struggled with the opening jump, all unable to make the sharp turn before the next gate. Kriechmayr was essentially the first racer of the day to successfully manage the passage, but no one could tell if the time would hold as the later racers gained valuable experience watching others.
In the end, the upper passage, combined with a second tricky section a few hundred meters later, would knock out nearly a third of the top 30 with DNFs.
The challenging course opened the door for a few surprises to get onto the podium. Robed Baumann (GER) came down at a blazing speed with the late bib #20. He was neck-in-neck with Kriechmayr and ultimately fell just short of the fairy tale ending, finishing just 0.07 seconds behind his former teammate. Baumann, has only one previous World Championship medal to his credit, coming in 2013 in the Combination. The last World Cup podium for the veteran came in 2015.
The next surprise came in the form of a man who is no stranger to success, but a rare face in the top three of speed events. Alexis Pinturault (FRA) earned his first career gold medal in a speed discipline with today’s bronze medal finish 0.34 seconds behind Kriechmayr. Pinturault is known as one of the best all around racers currently on tour, but his last podium in the super-G came in 2014 in Beaver Creek.
Travis Ganong led the Land Rover U.S. Alpine Ski Team men in the first race at the 2021 FIS World Ski Championships, taking eighth place in the super-G. Ganong, who has a silver medal in super-G from the 2015 World Championships in Beaver Creek, Colorado, is no stranger to the pressure that comes from a large event like this. And seeing the first three men DNF, he had to quickly change his plan to secure a top spot.
“During inspection, it seemed kind of easy,” he said. “And then watching the first couple of guys go out, I totally had to change my plan because the course was really challenging. That little chute on the top was very difficult to manage and you had to be really tactical.”
Ganong skied strategically into fifth place and ended up in eighth overall. It’s his best super-G result since snagging fourth in Val d’Isere in December. “I’m really happy with my run,” he said. “My skiing was good. It’s close; it’s so close. It’s a beautiful sunny day and you can’t be mad about that.”
Behind Travis, Jared Goldberg snagged 15th place—his career-best super-G result. Bryce Bennett was 27th.
Notably missing from the 2021 World Championships are the fans, which, due to COVID restrictions to maintain the athletes’ health and safety, are banned from the venue. But with Cortina scheduled to host the Olympics in 2026, the skiers can picture what the venue will look like hosting another worldwide event in the future. “In a normal circumstance without COVID, this place would be absolutely packed full of people and it would be a big party,” said Ganong. “I think it’d be really fun, a big celebration of skiing. It’s a beautiful place. It’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever skied and is a perfect setting for a big event like this. Hopefully, with the Olympics coming back here, we’ll be able to have fans and be able to all celebrate sports together in the mountains. Too bad we can’t have them this year but the show must go on. It’s nice that we’re able to race still and compete during these times—we’re very fortunate.”
After two canceled races due to snow and fog in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, the sun finally shone brightly on Thursday. And the Swiss women capitalized on the weather, going 1-2 with favorite Lara Gut-Behrami taking the gold—her fifth straight super-G win this season and first World Champs gold medal. Her teammate Corinne Suter was second.
Defending Olympic gold medalist Ester Ledecka (CZE) finished just shy of earning her first World Championship medal 0.53 seconds off the pace.
All eyes were on Gut-Behrami heading into today’s race. The Swiss star entered today with four consecutive super-G wins under her belt and was the clear favorite. In the past, the gold medals at major events have eluded Gut-Behrami, she also is still seeking her first Olympic gold. But today, she exceeded all expectations, leaving little doubt after he run that she would end the day as a World Champion.
Suter continued to be a force in major competitions. Today was her third career World Championship medal after earning second place in the downhill and third place in the super-G at the last edition of the World Championships in Are (SWE).
Meanwhile Shiffrin continued to be a magician of the White Circus. The American had only four speed training days this season and no one knew what to expect when she left the start gates. Were it not for a costly late mistake, she could have pulled off her second super-G gold medal as she held a 0.36 advantage over Gut-Behrami at the last split.
Shiffrin came out swinging in Cortina, looking like she hadn't lost anything from her time away from speed skiing as she hammered down the super-G. However, she had to pull off a big recovery near the bottom of the course, pushing her into the soft snow and slowing her way down. But she pulled off the athletic move and salvaged the bronze—her second World Championships super-G medal and eighth World Champs medal. The result also ties Shiffrin for the most World Championship medals for any American with former teammate Lindsey Vonn.
“That was so nice to ski!” said Shiffrin. “It’s a little bit soft, but it felt like skiing through butter—so easy and so nice. I felt like I was carrying really good speed and I was having so much fun while I was skiing. I came down to this last section and really wanted to push it. I missed the timing a little bit coming off that terrain…I was like, that looks like a mistake someone would make from someone who hasn’t skied a lot of super-G recently! But it was really fun.”
Not a lot of super-G is an understatement, as the defending World Championships super-G gold medalist Shiffrin only ran four days of super-G training over the last year. With the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season combined with the tragic death of her father, she lost the necessary hours on her long skis. But she looked like she hadn’t missed a beat in sunny Cortina, gliding back to the podium in her first speed event of the year.
The gracious Shiffrin also was quick to commend her competitors. "For me, it’s just an amazing run on a hill I love to ski,” she said. “I knew how the course was supposed to be skied to win. I executed the way I wanted to for the most part, but at the end of the day, Lara was supposed to win this. With the way she's been skiing all season, it was amazing. I would love to win gold, but it was Lara’s today."
U.S. Alpine Ski Team teammate Breezy Johnson landed in the top 15 in 15th place—her best result in super-G this season. “I’m really pleased with how I skied,” said Breezy. “I went out there with courage and confidence to execute my plan and for that, I’m really grateful.”
But now, Breezy looks towards the downhill, where she’s a favorite after stepping on the podium in four downhill World Cups so far this season. “It’s great to get one race out of the way before the downhill this weekend, which I’m really looking forward to and definitely putting a lot of my hopes on,” she said.
Bella Wright, in her first World Championships appearance, took 22nd—an impressive result for the young 23-year-old. AJ Hurt also squeaked into the top 30 in her first ever World Championships in 29th. Jackie Wiles was 32nd.
It was a long wait for the athletes to finally kick off the 2021 FIS World Ski Championships. Heavy snow forced the super -G on Monday to be moved to Tuesday. On Tuesday, it looked like all systems were go, until a fog rolled in, pushing the race back another two days until today. But it was worth the wait as blue skies and crisp temperatures welcomed the field.
