Austrian skier Stephanie Venier claimed her first World-Cup win of her career on Sunday’s downhill event at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Germany. She had made the podium on the circuit three times previously, but never won. This race was all hers!
She beat 2018 Olympic champion Sofia Goggia with a time of 1:37.46. Goggia won silver with a time of 1:37.71. While Germany’s Kira Weidle came in third at a time of 1:38.00.
Venier secured her first podium of the season last week, coming third in the downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo. Her victory on Sunday marks her second podium finish this season, placing her fourth in the overall World Cup standings for downhill, with 258 points.
The course in Garmisch proved challenging for the ladies, due to its terrain and low light. A number of competitors failed to finish, or gained injuries during the race. Cornelia Huetter crashed, sustaining a knee ligament and calf muscle injury that has forced her to sit on the sidelines for the rest of the World Cup. Italy’s Federica Sosio crashed off her second jump, resulting in a fracture in her left leg. The jury decided to cancel the race after Sosio’s crash, who was the 42nd skier of the race. The final 10 competitors were not permitted to start.
Venier’s victory capped a successful weekend for Austria’s women in skiing, with team-mate Nicole Schmidhofer taking out Saturday’s super-G. It marks the first time Austrian women have won five downhill races in a world cup season since 1998!
We wish Venier all the best for the rest of the season.
Head to FIS-SKI for the full results.