Here are some random final thoughts about the 2011 Alpine Skiing World Championships.
Best Post-Race Celebration: Tie between Tina Maze (Slovenia) and Didier Cuche (Switzerland). When Maze realized that she won the gold medal in the giant slalom, she did a roundoff. It was especially impressive because she was wearing heavy ski boots. Cuche is a real showman and has a special ritual that he performs after every race. He loosens one ski, kicks it into the air so that it flips a couple of times, then catches it with one hand.
Best Trick Skiing: Bode Miller of the USA in the men's Super-G event. About halfway down the course he hit a gate, which knocked one of his poles out of his hand. Up until he lost his pole, he had the fastest run. Even after losing his pole, he had the fastest split times until the final one, when he had to make a big turn toward the finish area. He lost his momentum on that turn, but still did well enough to finish 12th. Miller skied better with one pole than most people do with two.
It's a Family Affair: There are several sets of siblings on various ski teams. Some of them competed in Garmisch, while others didn't make the team. Here are some sets of siblings: Matteo and Francesca Marsaglia (Italy), Maria and Suzanne Riesch (Germany), Mariles and Bernadette Schild (Austria) Manfred and Manuela Moelgg (Italy), Marc and Sandra Gini (Switzerland), Christian, Macarena, and Maria-Belen Simarni Birkner (Argentina), Britt and Michael Janyk (Canada), Elizabeth and Stefan Goergl (Austria), Lena and Katarina Duerr (Germany), and Marc and Dominique Gisin (Switzerland). The Gisins have a 17-year-old sister named Michelle who we may see on the Swiss team in the near future. World Cup overall leader Ivica Kostelic of Croatia is coached by his father. His sister Janica was one of the greatest skiers of all time.
The Odd Couple: Christof Innerhofer of Italy and his teammate Peter Fill. Innerhofer and Fill are best friends and often share a room while on the road. Innerhofer describes himself as an extrovert and the one with the messy side of the room. Fill is an introvert and keeps his side of the room clean. He'll often clean Innerhofer's part of the room too. Innerhofer describes Fill as "a good wife." Move over, Oscar and Felix!
Biggest Whiner: Lindsey Vonn of the USA. Before the championships even started, she complained about the course being too fast, icy, and bumpy. Vonn went so far as to say that the Kandahar course was unsafe and posted her complaint on her Facebook page. Her comments practically went viral on the Internet and newspapers around the world. She said that the International Skiing Federation (FIS) did a poor job preparing the course and had no consideration for skier safety. The Austrian and German newspapers had a field day with Vonn's complaints and her fans who wanted her to encourage the other athletes boycott the championships. The Austrian women and Garmisch native Maria Riesch (the overall World Cup leader this season) said that the course was challenging but fine. The Austrians had a point because they won 3 out of 4 races on that course (I'm including the downhill portion of the super combined here). Riesch also earned two bronze medals on it. Even men's combined champion Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway said that world class skiers should be able to handle any course. Despite Vonn's complaints about how bad the course was, she still opted to race on it and earned a silver medal in the downhill event. So it seems like all of that whining about the course was done to create drama, which Vonn and her husband/coach also did at the 2010 Olympics.
The Mighty Austrians: Before the championships, four Austrian skiing stars were injured severely enough to miss the championships. Speed specialists Hans Grugger, Mario Scheiber, and Georg Streitberger, plus slalom specialist Marcel Hirscher all got injured and will miss the rest of the season. Super-G silver medalist Hannes Reichelt hurt himself in training for the giant slalom and Benjamin Raich tore knee ligaments during a fall in the team competition. A lesser team would be devastated, and possibly wouldn't even be able to field a team, but Austria is at the top of the medal table. The Austrians are so strong that they are almost interchangeable. The "depleted" Austrian men earned two individual medals and contributed to the team silver.
Say Hello to Some Future Stars: Anna Fenninger of Austria is one of the young skiers who achieved her junior potential with a gold medal in the combined event. Lara Gut of Switzerland had 4th place finishes in the Super-G and downhill races. She is only 19 and has a bright future now that she has recovered from an injury. Lotte Smithest Sejersted of Norway showed that she will be a contender soon when she had the best second downhill training run. She won the junior world downhill championship earlier this month. Emilie Wiekstroem of Sweden is another promising young skier and is being touted as a replacement for superstar teammate Anja Paerson. Frederica Brignone, another junior world champion, won a silver medal in the giant slalom. On the men's side Nolan Kasper of the USA could be a medal challenger in the slalom very soon. Bjorn Sieber and Joachim Puchner are young Austrians who also have star potential. They both got to compete in Garmisch due to injuries to their teammates and performed creditably. Justin Murisier of Switzeland also showed some promise. Another skier to watch in the near future is Paolo Pangrazzi of Italy, who was 6th in the combined.
So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodbye: Michael Walchhofer of Austria announced that this season would be his last back in the fall. Garmisch was the last world championship event for the 35-year-old. Others for whom 2011 could be their last world championship include: Patrick Jaerbyn of Sweden (41 years young!), Didier Cuche of Switzerland, Bode Miller of the USA, Kalle Pallander of Finland, Urs Imboden of Moldova, Mario Mott and Benjamin Raich of Austria. On the women's side, Anja Paerson of Sweden hinted at retirement when she was asked about going for a record-tying 20th medal in World Championship and Olympic competition and said that she wasn't planning on it. She already has the women's record with 19--17 individual and 2 team medals. Team USA member Sarah Schleper and Tania Poutiainen of Finland are both over 30, though Poutiainen shows no signs of slowing down with age.
Final Medal Count:
Austria: 8 4 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze
Italy: 6 1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze
France: 4 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
Sweden: 4 1 silver, 3 bronze
USA: 3 1 gold, 2 silver
Germany: 2 2 bronze
Slovenia: 2 1 gold, 1 silver
Canada: 1 1 gold
Croatia: 1 1 bronze
Norway: 1 1 gold
Switzerland: 1 1 silver
Multiple Medalists:
Christof Innerhofer, Italy: gold in Super-G, silver in combined, bronze in downhill
Elizabeth Goergl, Austria: gold in Super-G and downhill
Tina Maze, Slovenia: gold in giant slalom, silver in combined
Anja Paerson, Sweden: bronze in combined and team competition
Cyprien Richard, France: gold in team competition, silver in giant slalom
Marlies Schild, Austria: gold in slalom, silver in team competition
Tessa Worley, France: gold in team competition, bronze in giant slalom
Maria Riesch, Germany: bronze in Super-G and downhill
Anna Fenninger, Austria: gold in combined, silver in team competition
Marie Peitilae-Holmner, Sweden: bronze in slalom and team competition
Showing posts with label world championship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label world championship. Show all posts
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
More World Championship Stories
As I said in a previous post, every skier at the World Championships has a story. Here are more stories about some of the skiers at the 2011 World Championships.
Jaroslav Babusiak (Slovakia): According to the commentator on German Eurosport, Babusiak is a student in the off-season. He is planning to become a teacher.
Elizabeth Goergl (Austria): Before the women's Super-G race on the first day of competition, Goergl had a hard time deciding which pair of boots to wear. She was torn between two pairs. The ones that she chose were obviously the right ones because she won the gold medal in that event and also in the downhill. In addition, she enjoys singing. Goergl sang the song, "You're the Hero (Between Heaven and Hell)," a song specially written for the World Championships, during both of her award ceremonies and at the opening ceremony.
Andre Myhrer (Sweden): The Swedish slalom specialist is also an accomplished guitarist. His band was featured at one of the local clubs a few days ago.
Laurenne Ross (USA): Ross is one of the more recognizable members of the US ski team because she wears her hair in dreadlocks. Like Myhrer, she is also a musician. Ross plays the piano, violin, and cello.
Aksel Lund Svindal, Kjetil Jansrud, Lars Elton Myhre (Norway): These three skiers made a Michael Jackson tribute video during 2009 fall training in South America. All three, along with their coach, made up a dance routine to "Beat It." The skiers wore their speed suits and ski boots. Unfortunately, it's no longer on YouTube due to copyright issues.
Alexandra Coletti (Monaco): Coletti is not the only one in her family who is a sports star. Her brother, Stefano, is a very successful Formula 1 auto racer.
Mirko DeFlorian and Urs Imboden (Moldova): Neither of these skiers is Moldovan. DeFlorian is Italian and Imboden is Swiss. DeFlorian was a member of the Italian ski team until he received an 18-month suspension for cocaine use in 2008. He got Moldovan citizenship this season. Imboden briefly competed for Switzerland then became a Moldovan citizen before the 2006-07 season. Both of these men comprise the Moldovan ski team.
Jean-Pierre Roy (Haiti): Roy is a Haitian citizen who has lived in France since he was two. He is 47 years old and the only athlete at these championships who is a grandfather. His skiing experience is the annual week-long family ski trip that he has taken since he was eight. Roy is the Haitian Ski Federation president, the Haitian team captain, and the Haitian ski team. He will be trying to qualify for the giant slalom and slalom events later this week.
Silvan Zurbriggen (Switzerland) and Felix Neureuther (Germany): Both of these men have relatives who were big skiing stars. Zurbriggen's cousin is Pirmin Zurbriggen, who is an Olympic and World Championship gold medalist and 4-time overall World Cup winner. Neureuther's mother is 1976 Olympic gold medalist Rosi Mittermaier. His father is 1972 and 1976 Olympian Christian Neureuther. Both Zurbriggen and Neureuther have really come into their own and are no longer being compared to their famous family members.
Hans Olsson and Matts Olsson (Sweden): Both of these Olssons are cousins. They competed together in today's team parallel giant slalom event and were instrumental in Sweden's bronze medal performance.
Ivica Kostelic and Natko Zrncic-Dim (Croatia): They grew up together because their parents were good friends. Kostelic describes his younger teammate Zrncic-Dim as a perfect training partner who pushes him to excellence.
There are many more untold stories from these World Championships. Even though most of the athletes here in Garmisch won't earn a medal, they are still interesting people.
Jaroslav Babusiak (Slovakia): According to the commentator on German Eurosport, Babusiak is a student in the off-season. He is planning to become a teacher.
Elizabeth Goergl (Austria): Before the women's Super-G race on the first day of competition, Goergl had a hard time deciding which pair of boots to wear. She was torn between two pairs. The ones that she chose were obviously the right ones because she won the gold medal in that event and also in the downhill. In addition, she enjoys singing. Goergl sang the song, "You're the Hero (Between Heaven and Hell)," a song specially written for the World Championships, during both of her award ceremonies and at the opening ceremony.
Andre Myhrer (Sweden): The Swedish slalom specialist is also an accomplished guitarist. His band was featured at one of the local clubs a few days ago.
Laurenne Ross (USA): Ross is one of the more recognizable members of the US ski team because she wears her hair in dreadlocks. Like Myhrer, she is also a musician. Ross plays the piano, violin, and cello.
Aksel Lund Svindal, Kjetil Jansrud, Lars Elton Myhre (Norway): These three skiers made a Michael Jackson tribute video during 2009 fall training in South America. All three, along with their coach, made up a dance routine to "Beat It." The skiers wore their speed suits and ski boots. Unfortunately, it's no longer on YouTube due to copyright issues.
Alexandra Coletti (Monaco): Coletti is not the only one in her family who is a sports star. Her brother, Stefano, is a very successful Formula 1 auto racer.
Mirko DeFlorian and Urs Imboden (Moldova): Neither of these skiers is Moldovan. DeFlorian is Italian and Imboden is Swiss. DeFlorian was a member of the Italian ski team until he received an 18-month suspension for cocaine use in 2008. He got Moldovan citizenship this season. Imboden briefly competed for Switzerland then became a Moldovan citizen before the 2006-07 season. Both of these men comprise the Moldovan ski team.
Jean-Pierre Roy (Haiti): Roy is a Haitian citizen who has lived in France since he was two. He is 47 years old and the only athlete at these championships who is a grandfather. His skiing experience is the annual week-long family ski trip that he has taken since he was eight. Roy is the Haitian Ski Federation president, the Haitian team captain, and the Haitian ski team. He will be trying to qualify for the giant slalom and slalom events later this week.
Silvan Zurbriggen (Switzerland) and Felix Neureuther (Germany): Both of these men have relatives who were big skiing stars. Zurbriggen's cousin is Pirmin Zurbriggen, who is an Olympic and World Championship gold medalist and 4-time overall World Cup winner. Neureuther's mother is 1976 Olympic gold medalist Rosi Mittermaier. His father is 1972 and 1976 Olympian Christian Neureuther. Both Zurbriggen and Neureuther have really come into their own and are no longer being compared to their famous family members.
Hans Olsson and Matts Olsson (Sweden): Both of these Olssons are cousins. They competed together in today's team parallel giant slalom event and were instrumental in Sweden's bronze medal performance.
Ivica Kostelic and Natko Zrncic-Dim (Croatia): They grew up together because their parents were good friends. Kostelic describes his younger teammate Zrncic-Dim as a perfect training partner who pushes him to excellence.
There are many more untold stories from these World Championships. Even though most of the athletes here in Garmisch won't earn a medal, they are still interesting people.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
World Championship Stories
While the media focuses only on the top athletes at the Alpine Skiing World Championships, I think that every skier has his or her own story. It doesn't matter if that skier is a gold medalist or the last place finisher from a small country who is just here for the experience. Here are some interesting stories about some of the skiers at the World Championships:
Erik Guay (Canada): This season has not been his best due to a back injury. But as the Austrian commentator on ORF said, "Erik Guay and Garmisch go hand-in-hand." Two out of his three World Cup wins have been on the Garmisch Kandahar course, one in a downhill and the other in a Super-G. On Wednesday he had a poor performance in the Super-G and wasn't among the favorites for the downhill. But he had a blistering run in today's downhill. Guay ended up breaking the course record and winning World Championship gold. As I said in my last entry, Guay also speaks a little bit of Norwegian. It seems like commentators can't figure out how to pronounce his name. The German-speaking ones say, "Gay" and the English speakers say, "Guy."
Werner Heel (Italy): My son has a friend whose father has a house in the Italian Suedtirol (Southern Tirol) on the Italy-Austria border. Werner Heel is the friend's father's neighbor. Last summer Heel gave my son's friend extra Italian ski team posters and photo cards so that my son could have some.
Sarah Schleper (USA): In addition to being one of the oldest women on the pro skiing tour (32 next Saturday), Schleper is also a mother. She has a three-year-old son named Lasse. He was named after Norwegian great Lasse Kjus. Schleper is a slalom and giant slalom specialist whose ritual before each run is to let out a scream or war cry.
Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway) and Julia Mancuso (USA): They are dating each other. Mancuso spent last Christmas at Svindal's home in Norway. Mancuso also has a lingerie line called "Kiss My Tiara." At the 2010 Olympics Mancuso wore a small tiara under her helmet.
Benjamin Raich (Austria) and Marlies Schild (Austria): Raich and Schild are engaged to each other.
Anja Paerson (Sweden): Paerson is one of the all-time greats. After winning the bronze medal in yesterday's super-combined, she broke the all-time women's record for World Championship and Olympic medals. She has 17 individual medals and one team medal. Only Norwegian star Kjetil Andre Aamodt has more with 20. She earned medals in 3 Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010) and 5 World Championships (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011). She is the first skier in history, male or female, to have World Championship gold medals in all 5 Alpine events.
Dominique Gisin (Switzerland): Her helmet has photos of various children on it. When my husband asked if the kids in the photos were family members, she said, "No." Gisin has a website where fans can send photos of their children. If her fans like the photos, she will wear them on her helmet in competition. Gisin speaks perfect, almost unaccented, English. She placed 4th in yesterday's super-combined race.
Ivica Kostelic (Croatia): Kostelic is currently leading the overall World Cup standings. If he ends up winning the overall title, he will be part of the second brother-sister pair to win World Cup overall titles. His sister Janica won World Cup overall titles in 2001, 2003, and 2006. In 1980 Andreas and Hanni Wenzel of Liechtenstein won World Cup overall titles. He would also become the first Croatian man to win a World Cup overall title.
Patrick Jaerbyn (Sweden): At age 41 he's the oldest competitor at the World Championships. He has been competing in World Championships since 1996. In the 2007 World Championships he won a bronze medal and became the oldest podium finisher in a world championship at 37. In December 2008, at age 39 years and 9 months, he became the oldest podium finisher in a World Cup race.
David Chodounsky (USA): Chodounsky was not a full member of the US ski team at the beginning of the season. His father was traveling with him and financing him so that he could compete. He earned his first World Cup points this season in a slalom race in Wengen, Switzerland and was so excited when he finished the second run. It was a refreshing change to see the joy on his face at getting points because so many of the big stars pout when they don't win a race. Here is a video of that run. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsZfaIxDboA Chodounsky's nickname is "Chowder."
Daniel Albrecht (Switzerland): I'm saving the most inspirational story for last. Two years ago during downhill training in Kitzbuehel, Austria, Albrecht lost control on the last jump and landed in a heap by the finish. He had to be put into a coma to prevent his brain from swelling. Nobody knew if he would have permanent brain damage or if he would even be able to walk again. Here is the video of that crash. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HC_ityOY3g At the beginning of this season Albrecht came back and was good enough to make the mighty Swiss Alpine skiing team. In his first race coming back from his horrific injury, a giant slalom in Beaver Creek, Colorado, he placed 21st and was thrilled about earning World Cup points. He has happy to be back racing and has a new perspective. For him it doesn't matter if he gets on the podium or even places high enough to earn World Cup points (the top 30 get points). Here is his comeback race. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_CY8cAUcvo The commentary is in German. A loose translation is that he placed 21st in the race and was very surprised at how well he did considering that he hadn't raced for two years and also that he was close to 2 seconds behind winner Ted Ligety in the qualification run. Daniel Albrecht is one of the best comeback stories in sports.
Erik Guay (Canada): This season has not been his best due to a back injury. But as the Austrian commentator on ORF said, "Erik Guay and Garmisch go hand-in-hand." Two out of his three World Cup wins have been on the Garmisch Kandahar course, one in a downhill and the other in a Super-G. On Wednesday he had a poor performance in the Super-G and wasn't among the favorites for the downhill. But he had a blistering run in today's downhill. Guay ended up breaking the course record and winning World Championship gold. As I said in my last entry, Guay also speaks a little bit of Norwegian. It seems like commentators can't figure out how to pronounce his name. The German-speaking ones say, "Gay" and the English speakers say, "Guy."
Werner Heel (Italy): My son has a friend whose father has a house in the Italian Suedtirol (Southern Tirol) on the Italy-Austria border. Werner Heel is the friend's father's neighbor. Last summer Heel gave my son's friend extra Italian ski team posters and photo cards so that my son could have some.
Sarah Schleper (USA): In addition to being one of the oldest women on the pro skiing tour (32 next Saturday), Schleper is also a mother. She has a three-year-old son named Lasse. He was named after Norwegian great Lasse Kjus. Schleper is a slalom and giant slalom specialist whose ritual before each run is to let out a scream or war cry.
Aksel Lund Svindal (Norway) and Julia Mancuso (USA): They are dating each other. Mancuso spent last Christmas at Svindal's home in Norway. Mancuso also has a lingerie line called "Kiss My Tiara." At the 2010 Olympics Mancuso wore a small tiara under her helmet.
Benjamin Raich (Austria) and Marlies Schild (Austria): Raich and Schild are engaged to each other.
Anja Paerson (Sweden): Paerson is one of the all-time greats. After winning the bronze medal in yesterday's super-combined, she broke the all-time women's record for World Championship and Olympic medals. She has 17 individual medals and one team medal. Only Norwegian star Kjetil Andre Aamodt has more with 20. She earned medals in 3 Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010) and 5 World Championships (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2011). She is the first skier in history, male or female, to have World Championship gold medals in all 5 Alpine events.
Dominique Gisin (Switzerland): Her helmet has photos of various children on it. When my husband asked if the kids in the photos were family members, she said, "No." Gisin has a website where fans can send photos of their children. If her fans like the photos, she will wear them on her helmet in competition. Gisin speaks perfect, almost unaccented, English. She placed 4th in yesterday's super-combined race.
Ivica Kostelic (Croatia): Kostelic is currently leading the overall World Cup standings. If he ends up winning the overall title, he will be part of the second brother-sister pair to win World Cup overall titles. His sister Janica won World Cup overall titles in 2001, 2003, and 2006. In 1980 Andreas and Hanni Wenzel of Liechtenstein won World Cup overall titles. He would also become the first Croatian man to win a World Cup overall title.
Patrick Jaerbyn (Sweden): At age 41 he's the oldest competitor at the World Championships. He has been competing in World Championships since 1996. In the 2007 World Championships he won a bronze medal and became the oldest podium finisher in a world championship at 37. In December 2008, at age 39 years and 9 months, he became the oldest podium finisher in a World Cup race.
David Chodounsky (USA): Chodounsky was not a full member of the US ski team at the beginning of the season. His father was traveling with him and financing him so that he could compete. He earned his first World Cup points this season in a slalom race in Wengen, Switzerland and was so excited when he finished the second run. It was a refreshing change to see the joy on his face at getting points because so many of the big stars pout when they don't win a race. Here is a video of that run. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsZfaIxDboA Chodounsky's nickname is "Chowder."
Daniel Albrecht (Switzerland): I'm saving the most inspirational story for last. Two years ago during downhill training in Kitzbuehel, Austria, Albrecht lost control on the last jump and landed in a heap by the finish. He had to be put into a coma to prevent his brain from swelling. Nobody knew if he would have permanent brain damage or if he would even be able to walk again. Here is the video of that crash. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HC_ityOY3g At the beginning of this season Albrecht came back and was good enough to make the mighty Swiss Alpine skiing team. In his first race coming back from his horrific injury, a giant slalom in Beaver Creek, Colorado, he placed 21st and was thrilled about earning World Cup points. He has happy to be back racing and has a new perspective. For him it doesn't matter if he gets on the podium or even places high enough to earn World Cup points (the top 30 get points). Here is his comeback race. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_CY8cAUcvo The commentary is in German. A loose translation is that he placed 21st in the race and was very surprised at how well he did considering that he hadn't raced for two years and also that he was close to 2 seconds behind winner Ted Ligety in the qualification run. Daniel Albrecht is one of the best comeback stories in sports.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Photo Day at the (Training) Races
Today was a downhill training day for both the men and women at the World Alpine Skiing Championships. Training was open to the public free of charge. My husband and I decided to take advantage of it and get autographs from the skiers and also their photos. I could only attend the men's training session because I had to go to work in the afternoon. Living 400 meters from the gondola to the ski area where the championships are being held has its advantages. I could see a training session and still be home in time to have lunch and get ready for work.
On our first chairlift ride we sat with a skier from Uzbekistan who was doing slalom training on the easy slope. Between his few words of English and my pidgin Russian, he told us that skiers in his country only do slalom and giant slalom. He was going to be in both of those races next week. Then it was up to the top of the Kandahar run to see if any athletes were making their way to the start house. It was pretty early and we saw a lot of course monitors and slippers. For those who don't know about ski racing, a slipper goes on the course after a racer and smooths down any rough spots. Since it was early, we decided to go to the top of the Kreuzeckbahn gondola station. The athletes had to take that gondola to get to the start house. We just missed the Swiss team; but we saw skiers from: the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Germany, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Austria, France, and Italy. We got autographs from many of them. The Italians were especially friendly. I got my photo with Matteo Marsaglia and 2011 Super-G world championship gold medalist Christof Innerhofer. Marsaglia gave us one of his photo postcards. I also had my picture taken with Austrian skier Bjoern Sieber, who recently moved up from the junior squad and was here for world championship experience.
A funny story about meeting Christof Innerhofer...my husband started asking the skiers their names so that he could decipher their autographs. When we saw the very tall Italian skier, my husband said, "Excuse me, what's your name?" When he replied that he was Christof Innerhofer, I congratulated him on his gold medal from yesterday and wished him good luck in the downhill race on Saturday. He was very nice and let my husband take a photo of him and me together. It turned out that Innerhofer had the fastest training run today, showing that his gold medal in the Super-G was no fluke.
When the racers all departed, it was time to go to the finish area to watch the training races. After the first 30 racers did their runs, we started seeing some of the racers who had already completed their training runs starting to leave the area: Eric Guay and Jan Hudek from Canada, Swiss veteran Ambrosi Hoffman, and top Slovenian downhillers Andrej Sporn and Alex Gorza. We got to speak a little bit with the Canadian skiers. I noticed that Hudek skis on Rossignols, which is what my skis are. He told me that my skis looked nicer than his. I replied that his skis were much faster. Eric Guay said that he spoke a little bit of Norwegian. He told us that the universal language on the pro ski tour is German. More pro skiers speak German than English, which makes sense because there are so many from German-speaking countries. The two Slovenians had a friend with them who took a photo of my husband and me with them. Then it was time to head home.
In the gondola station I saw a female Austrian skier. We got into the gondola after hers and saw her at the top outside the station after we got off. It was one of the big Austrian stars, Michaela Kirchgasser. She seemed friendly and gave us an autograph and let my husband take a photo of me with her. My husband also got a photo of Swiss speed specialist Dominique Gisin and her autograph. It turned out that he had ridden in the same gondola with her on Monday and had chatted with her quite a bit. He told me that she spoke perfect English and hardly had an accent.
The skiers that we approached were all so gracious about signing autographs and having their pictures taken. Even big stars like Innerhofer and Kirchgasser were happy to do it. In the States it seems like most of the big sports stars charge for their autographs. But the skiers, who are major stars in their countries (especially Austria and Switzerland), let fans have their autographs for free. The only skier who snubbed the fans was US star Bode Miller, which wasn't really a surprise. My son was in school during the men's training session. But he was so thrilled when I showed him all of the autographs we got in our little booklet.
I just got tickets to see the men's slalom race on the 20th. It's the last race of the world championships and to me the most interesting. There are about 10 skiers who have good chances to earn a medal. Slalom is also the most technically challenging of the 5 Alpine skiing disciplines. In the past I thought that slalom was the most boring discipline until I realized just how tough it really is. I'm looking forward to seeing that race.
On our first chairlift ride we sat with a skier from Uzbekistan who was doing slalom training on the easy slope. Between his few words of English and my pidgin Russian, he told us that skiers in his country only do slalom and giant slalom. He was going to be in both of those races next week. Then it was up to the top of the Kandahar run to see if any athletes were making their way to the start house. It was pretty early and we saw a lot of course monitors and slippers. For those who don't know about ski racing, a slipper goes on the course after a racer and smooths down any rough spots. Since it was early, we decided to go to the top of the Kreuzeckbahn gondola station. The athletes had to take that gondola to get to the start house. We just missed the Swiss team; but we saw skiers from: the Czech Republic, Poland, Croatia, Germany, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Austria, France, and Italy. We got autographs from many of them. The Italians were especially friendly. I got my photo with Matteo Marsaglia and 2011 Super-G world championship gold medalist Christof Innerhofer. Marsaglia gave us one of his photo postcards. I also had my picture taken with Austrian skier Bjoern Sieber, who recently moved up from the junior squad and was here for world championship experience.
A funny story about meeting Christof Innerhofer...my husband started asking the skiers their names so that he could decipher their autographs. When we saw the very tall Italian skier, my husband said, "Excuse me, what's your name?" When he replied that he was Christof Innerhofer, I congratulated him on his gold medal from yesterday and wished him good luck in the downhill race on Saturday. He was very nice and let my husband take a photo of him and me together. It turned out that Innerhofer had the fastest training run today, showing that his gold medal in the Super-G was no fluke.
When the racers all departed, it was time to go to the finish area to watch the training races. After the first 30 racers did their runs, we started seeing some of the racers who had already completed their training runs starting to leave the area: Eric Guay and Jan Hudek from Canada, Swiss veteran Ambrosi Hoffman, and top Slovenian downhillers Andrej Sporn and Alex Gorza. We got to speak a little bit with the Canadian skiers. I noticed that Hudek skis on Rossignols, which is what my skis are. He told me that my skis looked nicer than his. I replied that his skis were much faster. Eric Guay said that he spoke a little bit of Norwegian. He told us that the universal language on the pro ski tour is German. More pro skiers speak German than English, which makes sense because there are so many from German-speaking countries. The two Slovenians had a friend with them who took a photo of my husband and me with them. Then it was time to head home.
In the gondola station I saw a female Austrian skier. We got into the gondola after hers and saw her at the top outside the station after we got off. It was one of the big Austrian stars, Michaela Kirchgasser. She seemed friendly and gave us an autograph and let my husband take a photo of me with her. My husband also got a photo of Swiss speed specialist Dominique Gisin and her autograph. It turned out that he had ridden in the same gondola with her on Monday and had chatted with her quite a bit. He told me that she spoke perfect English and hardly had an accent.
The skiers that we approached were all so gracious about signing autographs and having their pictures taken. Even big stars like Innerhofer and Kirchgasser were happy to do it. In the States it seems like most of the big sports stars charge for their autographs. But the skiers, who are major stars in their countries (especially Austria and Switzerland), let fans have their autographs for free. The only skier who snubbed the fans was US star Bode Miller, which wasn't really a surprise. My son was in school during the men's training session. But he was so thrilled when I showed him all of the autographs we got in our little booklet.
I just got tickets to see the men's slalom race on the 20th. It's the last race of the world championships and to me the most interesting. There are about 10 skiers who have good chances to earn a medal. Slalom is also the most technically challenging of the 5 Alpine skiing disciplines. In the past I thought that slalom was the most boring discipline until I realized just how tough it really is. I'm looking forward to seeing that race.
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