Industry News
Team USA’s Mikaela Shiffrin won the Downhill event in St. Moritz, Switzerland, on Saturday, December 9, 2023. It marks Shiffrin’s 91st World Cup victory and fourth ever Downhill victory. The American skier is typically strongest in the technical disciplines Slalom and Giant-Slalom, but the victory just exemplifies the rare talent of this all-rounder. She is the only ski racer — male or female — to have won a race in each of the FIS World Cup’s six disciplines (Downhill, Super-G, Slalom, Giant Slalom, Combined, and Parallel).
The weather in St. Moritz was much improved on yesterday, bringing the famous sunshine the resort is known for — the sun is the logo of the resort. First out of the gate was Federica Brignone from Italy who put down a fast pace with 1:29:01, which the second skier, Austria’s Stephanie Venier could not best, finishing 0:41 seconds behind the Italian.
Next out of the gate was Mikaela Shiffrin and the American was ahead of Brignone for the entire run, gaining momentum on the top section and valuable milliseconds on the Italian. The top jump went well — better than in training — and she flew into the bottom section of the course with a 0.43 second lead on Brignone. The lower section of the course was a bit slower, but the American carried her incredible speed into the finish line, finishing 0.17 seconds ahead of the leading Italian.
“It’s tight for the top-10, you had to push. Visibility was great, it was amazing. I think I started to figure out a feeling I want to have in Downhill. Last year’s experience here helped a lot, re-learning the course. I am always wondering, should I bother doing Downhill or should I focus on Super-G, so the podium is amazing.”
Following her teammate in bib no. 4 was Isabella Wright wo finished only 0.83 seconds behind Shiffrin in what was ultimately the 12th place. She miscalculated the Rominger Sprung at the bottom of the course slightly and went too wide as she could have otherwise made a top-10 finish. It is still a very good result to finish in the top 15 for 26-year-old Wright.
Local favorite Lara Gut-Behrami, who had finished in third place yesterday, was racing with bib no. 7. The Swiss lost more than a second on the top section of the course but made up some milliseconds on the lower half and finished 0.89 seconds behind Shiffrin and 0.06 seconds behind Wright in what was ultimately 13th place.
After winning yesterday’s Super-G, expectations were high for Italy’s Sofia Goggia in bib no. 10 — even Shiffrin in the finish area moved into a better position to watch the race. Racing on the same Atomic skis as Shiffrin, Goggia shot out off the gate with a 0.08 second lead and cheers in the crowd were huge. On the next section Goggia lost 0.11 seconds, but everything was still possible and everyone knew as they had watched other racers before her gain significant momentum on the bottom section but it was not enough and the Italian finished 0.15 seconds behind Shiffrin in what was ultimately the second place, 0.02 seconds ahead of her teammate Brignone. The American looked visibly surprised — but equally elated — to have snatched the victory from the defending 22/23 Downhill champion.
Another notable race was put down by Germany’s Emma who skied into an impressive sixth place ahead of much more seasoned ski racers. This is a career best finish for the only 20-year-old ski racer, who came second in Downhill, Slalom, and Giant Slalom at the 2022 World Junior Championships.
Unfortunately the race had to stop early as the clouds started moving in, meaning the final 21 starters were not able to race, including Team USA’s Keely Cashman, Jacqueline Wales, Tricia Mangan, and Lauren Macuga.
Tomorrow’s race will be another Super-G event, so stay tuned for more event updates from Switzerland’s sunniest resort.
