SAALBACH, Austria (Reuters) – Stephanie Venier gave hosts Austria a dream start to the Alpine World Ski Championships by winning the women’s super-G gold on home snow in the first individual race on Thursday.
Italy’s Federica Brignone had to settle for silver on a clear and sunny day in Saalbach, while Lauren Macuga of the United States and Norway’s Kajsa Vickhoff Lie tied for the bronze medal.
U.S. great Lindsey Vonn, making a comeback at 40 to compete in her first championships since 2019 but battling a heavy cold, hit a gate hard with her arm early in the run and failed to finish after starting 30th.
Vonn said she had momentarily lost the feeling in her arm but should be fine for downhill training on Friday.
Italy, which hosts the Milan-Cortina Olympics in exactly one year’s time, won the opening gold of the championships in the mixed team parallel event on Tuesday.
“It’s just a dream,” said Venier, who started with bib number seven and beat Brignone by 0.10 of a second on a piste named after late Austrian double world champion Ulrike Maier.
Maier won one of her super-G golds in Saalbach in 1991.
“It’s just amazing, in front of the home crowd. Nothing can beat this,” Venier told Eurosport. “I had a good feeling, it was just a good run. I think the best I’ve ever had.”
TIGER HELMET
Brignone, with her snow tiger helmet design, started sixth and went to the top of the leaderboard but the 34-year-old’s jubilation was short-lived as Venier’s time flashed up on the screen.
“Today I was telling myself, ‘Just be smooth, don’t push,'” the Italian, who has won 32 World Cup races, said of her fourth world championship medal.
“It’s my first medal in a super-G in a big event, so this is something I really wanted in my career and I’m really proud.”
The tie with Macuga for third place was deja-vu for Vickhoff Lie, who shared the super-G bronze with Switzerland’s Cornelia Huetter at the 2023 championships in Meribel, France.
“Pushing out of that start I know I’ve got to give it my all,” said Macuga, winner of a World Cup super-G in St Anton in January where Vonn finished fourth. “I was trying as hard as I could.”
While they celebrated, Vonn skied down to the finish area after clutching her arm.
“I’m OK. I hit my nerve somehow when I hit the gate and I lost the feeling in my arm but it’s coming back slowly,” she said.
“I’m sick, I’m a little banged up but … I skied the top well, I thought,” said the American, who was seen making adjustments to her boots before the start.
“I just was a little too aggressive to the gate and it happened but I’m really excited for Lauren, she skied amazing.”
Vonn said she would see how her shoulder felt, and her energy levels, but wanted to test out some more material so planned to start training for Saturday’s downhill.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Ken Ferris)
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