Latest news with #Super-G
Forbes
25-03-2025
- Sport
- Forbes
Lauren Macuga Is On A Mission To Get More U.S. Girls Into Speed Skiing
USA's Lauren Macuga skis during the women's downhill training at the Audi FIS Ski World Cup Sun ... More Valley Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho on March 21, 2025. In her first-ever World Cup giant slalom race, 22-year-old Lauren Macuga showed off her rapidly improving technical skills—on one of skiing's biggest stages. The speedster spent the majority of this past offseason training to hone her overall skill set, with the goal of earning her first giant slalom start. Her 15th-place finish on Tuesday at the Sun Valley World Cup finals was high enough to earn her FIS points. It was a soft launch, if you will, of this discipline for the multifaceted skier. 'Now I can't wait for when I really want to tackle the GS World Cup,' Macuga said Tuesday. 'Like when I'm so set in the speed that I can go tackle that; I can't wait for it.' Ultimately, however, the speed disciplines—Super-G particularly—are what fill Macuga's cup. 'One run and go and it's done—that's fantastic, so I still love that,' she said. Saturday's World Cup finals downhill race was called off due to windy conditions, and Macuga took a DNF in Sunday's Super-G—another career first. But it was only because the Park City resident was pushing her limits, no doubt fired up racing alongside her longtime idol, Lindsey Vonn, who returned to ski racing this season five years after retiring. Vonn took second in Super-G on Sunday, emphatically demonstrating that, at 40, she still belongs at the highest levels of ski racing. It's been a breakout season for Macuga, who earned her first World Cup win in mid-Janguary, in Super-G in St. Anton, Austria. She then went on to take bronze in her first world championships. Ultimately, Macuga finished fourth in the standings in downhill and sixth in Super-G this season. Between Vonn, a living legend; 29-year-old Breezy Johnson, who took gold in the downhill at February's alpine skiing world championships; and rising star Macuga, there's a lot to love in the speed department on the U.S. Ski Team. But there's no question the U.S. women are currently technical specialists. In Tuesday's giant slalom, five of the 30 women on the start list were American. 'We need to get girls back in speed,' Macuga said. 'Yeah, it is scary; don't get me wrong, I cried before my first downhill in Sugarloaf, but now here I am overcoming that and having fun doing it. 'There are so many kids here [in Sun Valley]; I hope they see it and say, 'I want to do that, this looks fun.'' Between now and the Park City Olympics in 2034, where Macuga will be 31 and, she hopes, 'in her prime,' she hopes to see more homegrown downhill and Super-G talent develop in the U.S. And marquee events like the World Cup finals being held on U.S. soil are instrumental in creating that kind of growth. Lauren may not be the only Macuga going for Olympic gold when the Games arrive in her town. Siblings Sam and Alli are on the U.S. ski jumping and moguls national teams, respectively. Younger brother Daniel is a fellow alpine skier. What created this family of athletic prodigies? Good genes? A competitive mindset? Ultimately, the Macugas just find sliding around the snow really fun. And most of all, that's what Lauren hopes to impress upon the next generation. 'Growing up, that's all our mom said; 'If you're having fun, you can go do anything,'' Macuga said. 'But I think she really ingrained in us that we should enjoy it, and I think that's what gotten all of us where we are. '
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vonn determined to enjoy possible US farewell at Idaho World Cup finale
Lindsey Vonn said Friday she is relishing what could be her final races on US soil this weekend as the Alpine skiing World Cup season reaches its climax in Idaho. Vonn, 40, stunned the world of skiing this season after making a competitive return to World Cup racing after a near six-year absence. The American speed queen, who is dreaming of taking part in her fifth Winter Olympics next year, will aim to continue her comeback on Saturday, when she lines up in the women's downhill at Sun Valley. Vonn said Saturday's downhill -- and Sunday's Super-G, where she is also due to take part -- may be her final competitive appearances on American slopes. "When I heard the World Cup finals were in Sun Valley, I was really sad because I was like, 'Well, I really would have loved to race there'. And lo and behold, I'm here racing," Vonn said on Friday. "So I think to be able to be racing at home, especially racing speed is really special. "This is maybe my last chance to race at home in my lifetime and I am going to enjoy it." Vonn is competing at the season-ending finals for the first time since 2018, a stage she enjoys. "I always love finals. I like racing with the men. I think it's a lot more exciting and the atmosphere is nice," Vonn said. "It's spring so it's not as cold and just overall finals are always fun. - 'Like riding a bike' - "So it's nice to be back and as (US team-mate) Breezy (Johnson) so kindly pointed out yesterday at the team meeting, I am, I think, the oldest woman to ever make a World Cup finals," she added. "I'll take it." Vonn got her first look at Saturday's downhill course on Friday, describing it as "fun" and "challenging". "You need to be challenged and that's what I enjoy - challenging myself," she said. "This course is a fun challenge for me." Reflecting on her comeback season, Vonn added that while she was satisfied with her progress, it had taken her longer than anticipated to get her equipment sorted out. "I learned that I haven't forgotten anything, you know. It's like riding a bike. I know exactly what I need to do and everything came back very quickly," she said. "What surprised me was more the fact that, you know, my equipment would take so long to figure out. I kind of underestimated that challenge but the sport hasn't changed that much since I left. I just have to figure out my equipment and I think I'll be in a good place." Vonn also hopes that her example will inspire other women to see age as just a number. "I think there's just an expectation of, especially women at a certain age, you need to be doing a certain thing and I don't believe in that at all," she said. "You have to keep an open mind. If you feel good, if you mentally have the drive, there's no reason why you should stop doing what you love to do. "The reason why I stopped before was because my body wasn't working and now that my body is working again, you know, my mind is able to do what it wants to do, which is go fast." rg/rcw/dj
Reuters
09-03-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Odermatt secures third successive super-G World Cup title
KVITFJELL, Norway, March 9 (Reuters) - Switzerland's Marco Odermatt won his third successive Alpine skiing Super-G World Cup crystal globe, and moved closer to a fourth overall title in a row, in a shortened race won by Italy's Dominik Paris on Sunday. Odermatt was sure of retaining the title in the discipline before leaving the start hut in Kvitfjell, Norway, after Italian rival Mattia Casse was injured in training and withdrew. The Swiss finished fourth and missed out on the podium by 0.01, the narrowest possible margin, to Slovenian Miha Hrobat who started 21st and ended a run of 22 men's super-Gs with a Swiss skier in the top three. Canadian James Crawford finished second, 0.38 behind Paris, after starting fifth. The win was a second in three days in the Norwegian resort for Paris, 35, who has now reached a career milestone of 50 podiums with 24 wins. The Italian won a downhill on Friday and Sunday was his first super-G victory since 2019, a welcome return to form less than a year before home Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina. "Next year for sure I want to go on, because I have the Olympics," he said. With one super-G remaining at the World Cup finals in Sun Valley, Idaho, Odermatt has a 210-point lead over Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr. He could formally clinch the overall crystal globe in a giant slalom in Hafjell, Norway next Saturday. Odermatt leads Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen, a technical specialist who has not been competing in speed events, by 570 points with 600 still to be won.
Reuters
03-03-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Sarrazin not haunted by near-fatal crash but still unsure of return
March 3 (Reuters) - French skier Cyprien Sarrazin says he is not experiencing post-traumatic stress after his heavy crash at a World Cup downhill event in December, at least for now, but that he is not yet sure if he will compete again. Sarrazin, 30, was airlifted to hospital after his crash in Bormio, Italy, and underwent surgery to drain a bleed in his brain. He also suffered injuries to his foot and knee, and left intensive care in January. "I came close to death. I remember everything up to 20 metres before the fall. From that moment until five days after the operation, I have no memories," Sarrazin told Monday's French sport daily L'Equipe. "I don't remember how I felt after the fall, or the evacuation ... That's good because I don't have any post-traumatic stress right now," he said, adding: "I'm aware that it could happen to me at any moment." Sarrazin said he was receiving increased psychological support, but was not suffering from anxiety. His double vision was improving day-by-day. "The airbag saved my life. It detected the 16G of the impact," he said. "If it hadn't been for the airbag, it would have been even more dramatic." Sarrazin had his strongest World Cup season last year, securing four wins including a downhill in Bormio, two in Kitzbuehel and a Super-G in Wengen. But he had yet to claim a victory in the 2024-25 season before his crash. Switzerland's Gino Caviezel also suffered a serious crash during the World Cup Super-G in Bormio in December. The venue is due to host the men's alpine skiing events at the 2026 Winter Olympics. "It's too early to say I'll be back. Given the way things are going, I'm not against a comeback," Sarrazin said. "I'm taking it one day at a time, trying to recover 100% from the aftermath before I really ask myself that question. I'm going to start skiing again, but I don't know about competing, but I've still got that fire inside me."
Reuters
05-02-2025
- Sport
- Reuters
Vonn suffering flu but determined to race Super-G at worlds
SAALBACH, Austria, Feb 5 (Reuters) - U.S. great Lindsey Vonn said she was suffering a "bad cold or flu" but would not let sickness derail her Alpine ski world championship comeback at the age of 40 in Thursday's Super-G. The oldest female skier to medal at a championships, her last a downhill bronze in 2019 at age 34, posted a story on Instagram showing her wearing an inhaler mask and the words "current be better". "I have a bad cold or flu but don't worry, I wouldn't let something like that prevent me from racing after everything I've gone through to get here," she said in a post from the Austrian resort of Saalbach. "I guess the competitor in me is still there." Vonn, an eight times world championship medallist and 2010 Olympic downhill champion, calculated it had been 2,187 days since her last championship race. The 82 times World Cup race winner finished fourth in a Super-G race in St. Anton, Austria, last month and sixth in a downhill in the same resort. She is due to start with bib number 30 on Thursday. "I feel lucky to get this opportunity but also thankful that I was able to earn my way here with a body that is finally working again," said the two times world champion before the sickness update. "I know I still have the ability to succeed in this sport but will all the pieces of the puzzle fit together tomorrow? I don't know. "What I do know is this: I will give it my all, I will not take it for granted and I will have fun... and if everything doesn't fit together tomorrow, that's OK too. I still have 368 days to figure it out." Vonn has made skiing at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, which start next February, the main goal of her comeback.
