SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria — Stephanie Venier secured Austria’s first gold medal at the Alpine skiing world championships by outpacing the competitors who were favored to win in the women’s super-G event on Thursday. The race concluded with Federica Brignone from Italy finishing just 0.10 seconds behind Venier, earning the silver medal, while Lauren Macuga from the United States and Kajsa Vickhoff Lie from Norway shared the bronze, each 0.24 seconds off the leading time.
Venier expressed her disbelief and joy after the victory, stating, “It’s just a dream, and it’s just amazing in front of the home crowd. Nothing can beat this. It was just a good run; I think my best ever. I am a world champ, it’s so unreal. Crazy, crazy.” The course was set by U.S. ski team coach Alex Hoedlmoser. Lindsey Vonn, who was one of the favorites, encountered trouble when she hooked a gate with her right arm during her run, ultimately finishing with the 16th fastest time at the first split.
Fortunately, Vonn managed to remain upright after the incident but experienced pain as she grasped her arm, which had been pinned by the gate in a way that caused pressure on her shoulder and forearm. Afterward, she reported, “I am OK, I hit my nerve somehow and I hit the gate and lost feeling in my arm but it’s coming back slowly.” This marked her return to the world championships after a six-year hiatus; she had been battling a cold leading up to the event.
Vonn shared her experience, saying, “I’m sick, I’m a little banged up. I know I skied the top well, I thought. Been playing with my material, my boots … just I was a little too aggressive to the gate and then it happened.” The audience reacted with a collective gasp as Vonn experienced the mishap, but she later skied down to the finish line and waved to the crowd, joining Macuga in celebrating the achievements of her teammate.
“I’m really excited for Lauren; she skied amazing, I’m really proud of her,” Vonn commented, conveying her support. After retiring in 2019 with a bronze medal from a previous championship, Vonn made her comeback this season equipped with a new titanium right knee. Macuga recently celebrated her first World Cup victory last month in super-G at St. Anton, another Austrian ski area.
Mikaela Shiffrin, recovering from abdominal surgery in December, is set to compete only in the giant slalom and slalom events in the coming week. As for the super-G event, it started under mainly sunny skies, but the weather turned cloudier as more portions of the track fell into shadow, which coincided with Vonn’s 30th position start.
Venier, previously a junior world champion in super-G in 2013, achieved her first senior-level medal with this victory, having only clinched a silver medal in downhill at the 2017 championships prior to this triumph. “It sounds unreal. I slept so bad last night; I was so nervous. I was extremely nervous at the start; I didn’t know how to handle it, but it was probably a good omen,” she recalled.
Having three career World Cup wins, including a super-G victory in Switzerland a year prior, Venier rose to the occasion under the pressure of the event. During the race, her fellow pre-race favorite, Sofia Goggia, faced difficulties and ultimately missed the podium by just six-hundredths of a second, finishing in fifth. Additionally, Lara Gut-Behrami, who leads the super-G standings in the World Cup this season, also encountered a problem similar to Vonn’s, causing her to finish eighth. Meanwhile, Olympic champion Ester Ledecka appeared to be in contention for a medal but fell just short by placing seventh.
The championships hold significant importance, marking exactly one year ahead of the opening ceremony for the Milan-Cortina Olympics in 2026. Italy had previously claimed victory in the parallel team event that initiated the championship. Up next is the men’s super-G event set to take place on Friday.
