ÖSV team celebrates again

The women’s World Championship downhill – LIVE from 11.30 am

Mirjam Puchner is celebrated by the fans.

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Third individual competition, third medal for Austria: Mirjam Puchner raced to SILVER in the World Championship downhill in Saalbach on Saturday! Gold went sensationally to the US woman Breezy Johnson, with the Czech Ester Ledecka in third. 

Puchner was 0.15 seconds behind Johnson, who had the great run of her life with bib number 1. Cornelia Hütter finished fourth (+0.34) and suffered her third world championship penalty.

Mirjam Puchner

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Mirjam Puchner

(Bild: Birbaumer Christof)

Conny Hütter

(Bild: Pail Sepp)

Breezy Johnson

(Bild: Pail Sepp)

Ester Ledecka

(Bild: Pail Sepp)

Great atmosphere in Saalbach

(Bild: Pail Sepp)

Super-G World Champion Stephanie Venier finished ninth (+0.99) in the Pinzgau region. Ariane Rädler, who had slipped into the ÖSV line-up due to Ricarda Haaser's knee injury, had to make do with 17th place (+2.01). US champion Lindsey Vonn (15th) was just a little faster. With Federica Brignone (10th), Sofia Goggia (16th) and Lara Gut-Behrami (retirement), some of the top skiers had to accept bitter disappointment.

Here are the final results:

Leading the medal table
"I tried everything. It's cool that it worked out," said a jubilant Puchner on ORF. The Salzburg native had only set herself up for the career highlight in training. The 32-year-old found the 15/100 straight away. "At the top it cut my ski a few times, not quite fine, that took the pace away from me a bit." World Championship silver is her biggest success after Olympic silver in the 2022 super-G. For Austria, it is the third medal of the current Saalbach World Championships after gold for Venier and super-G silver for Raphael Haaser. Red-White-Red now leads the medal table. 

Here is the medal table:

Hütter plays poker with material
Hütter, who was rated higher in the run-up to the event, did not let her disappointment show. "I've had enough tinnies, but that's life. Congratulations to Miri, she really fought hard at the start of the season." After a disappointing tenth place in the super-G, Hütter had thrown the equipment overboard. "We gambled big time, it almost worked out, but just didn't."

Johnson, still without a win in the World Cup, set a real benchmark right at the start with a brilliant middle and final section, which turned out to be the winning time. Two-time season winner Hütter went all out. It stretched her a few times in the undulating terrain, but the intermediate time was just right (-0.47). By investing in the line, the lead melted away and the following full throttle approach to the finish was just not enough.

Big names fail
Puchner, who had earned herself the status of a secret favorite with her training performances on the glider course, fought a hundredth of a second thriller with Johnson despite some minor blunders. The day was disappointing for the big names. Gut-Behrami slipped off the course after a mistake on the inside. Goggia didn't get up to speed at all and is still without a World Championship medal in her showpiece discipline. Brignone, the super-G silver medallist, was also among the losers.

Venier, who had "slept like a baby" in the super-G, unlike before her gold medal run, "only" managed a solid race this time. With Lauren Macuga (5th/+0.38) and the German latecomer Emma Aicher (6th/0.48), Puchner's silver once again wobbled in a World Championship downhill that was short and sweet without any major crashes. Only 33 skiers were at the start.