Fog greeted the female skiers this morning on the snows of Schladming for the start of the 2013 World Alpine Ski Championships—an extraordinary, long-awaited event for Austria, which brought the championships back to the slopes of Schladming after a 30-year absence, as well as for international skiers and fans ready to witness a great show.
Early-morning enthusiasm was put on hold when race officials decided to delay the start by fifteen minutes while waiting for conditions to improve. Yet the fog refused to lift. Postponement after postponement pushed the start back to 2:30 PM, when officials finally decided to get the race underway and send down the first skiers.
After a long wait and plenty of controversy, the race began: the first athlete to clock a standout time was Switzerland’s Lara Gut, who blasted out of the gate to build an early 0.39-second lead before giving back time in the middle section to hold just a 0.01-second edge; over the final stretch and the last 5 gates, however, the young Swiss skier produced a brilliant finish, gaining precious hundredths to move into the lead.
Gut’s superb run (despite not being among the top pre-race favorites) was then eclipsed by the unstoppable Tina Maze, who gritted her teeth and knocked her off the top step of the podium.
Crash for Lindsey Vonn
Right after the Slovenian’s great performance, her biggest rival, champion Lindsey Vonn, left the starting gate. Trailing by just a few hundredths in the upper section and determined to claim victory, the American saw her knee give way on the soft snow after a few gates upon landing a jump, sending her crashing off course in a horrific fall. Her right knee twisted violently and buckled beneath her body with her ski still attached as she tumbled down the slope; a piercing scream of pain rang out immediately—cries of agony loud enough to be picked up by the broadcast microphones.
The severity of the crash immediately raised fears of the worst, and the medical crew rushed to her aid before airlifting her to the hospital by helicopter.
The favorite’s crash cast a pall of shock over the crowd and fellow skiers; Elena Curtoni (who skied out) immediately commented that the course was borderline unskiable due to the soft snow, a view shared by RAI commentators who had already voiced their concerns at the start of the race about running the competition in such difficult conditions.
Yet “the show” went on, and after Vonn, Maria Riesch, Anna Fenninger, and several other top contenders also skied out on the tricky snow.
Taking advantage of the attrition were other athletes such as Julia Mancuso, who claimed third place, and young Italian Sofia Goggia, who narrowly missed the podium in fourth place, just 0.05 seconds behind her American rival.
Celebrations were muted after a race marred by endless delays and a terrible crash.
Mounting controversy:
Endless postponements
The skiers began warming up at 8:00 AM, clicking into their skis for course inspection at 9:30 AM; five nerve-wracking hours of constant delays elapsed between inspection and the actual race. That continuous rescheduling certainly took a toll on the mental focus of champions who had prepared to give their all in a major championship event.
Weather conditions
From fog to soft snow, adverse weather plagued the race from start to finish: a grueling wait with fifteen-minute delays due to fog that continued to linger as haze over the middle section of the course even after the race began,
combined with mild temperatures that softened the snow and made the course treacherous, knocking out several star skiers.
Many called for the race to be postponed to another day, but due to scheduling constraints the technical officials decided to push ahead. One cannot help wondering what mark this opening race will leave on the Championships after the loss of one of its biggest stars, the great Lindsey Vonn, who will now have to watch the rest of the races from a hospital bed.
Photo credits: Erich Spiess www.schladming2013.at
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