Winter sports news blog
Ski star is “worried” about Vonn
Updated 12/10/2024 – 3:30 p.mReading time: 14 minutes
The winter sports season has begun. In our news ticker you will find all the important news about ski jumping, biathlon, alpine skiing and cross-country skiing.
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
Sofia Goggia is poised for a comeback eight months after her severe shin fracture. She said this at a press conference. Her leg is doing so well again, “as if nothing had happened.” In Copper Mountain, the Italian got used to the racing conditions and was confident.
Goggia has mixed feelings about the return of Lindsey Vonn – who also wants to collect points in the World Cup again soon: “When I found out that Lindsey wanted to return, I was overjoyed. Because it means that she is doing well. On the other hand “But I’m also worried because I really like it. But that feeling applies to everyone because we know that we’re playing a dangerous sport.”
Trouble continues: ski stars rail against the head of the association
The fight for power in the world winter sports association Fis has reached a new dimension. Alpine superstars such as Mikaela Shiffrin and Marco Odermatt, numerous council members and national associations such as the German Ski Association (DSV) have written an incendiary letter criticizing President Johan Eliasch’s apparently lonely decision to reject an investor’s multi-million dollar offer. This is reported by the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (SZ), among others.
The controversial Eliasch, head of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation Fis since 2021, received a tempting offer from CVC, one of the largest private equity companies in the world, on November 30th: 400 million euros for 20 percent of the shares a company in which the winter sports associations jointly held 80 percent. The goal: joint and central marketing of media and sponsorship rights, among other things.
CVC suggested paying 375 million euros in advance and then starting its marketing machine as soon as possible. The company, which had to exit as a possible investor in the German Football League (DFL) in February after fan protests, assured the Fis and the national associations full control over “sporting and regulatory decisions”. With a similar strategy, the distributions to the teams in Formula 1 were quadrupled from 2006 to 2017, claimed CVC.
As the “SZ” reports, Eliasch more or less clearly rejected the offer in an email to CVC on December 2nd. On December 6th, the 62-year-old, whose own controversial concept for central marketing has been sued by the DSV, among others, tried to explain his decision in an email to the members of the Fis Council. The committee immediately protested and Eliasch was asked to negotiate with CVC.
In addition to the signature of the German Council member Franz Steinle, the fire letter also bears the signature of representatives of the powerful associations in Switzerland and Austria. But that’s not all: around three dozen prominent athletes have also signed it, including Shiffrin and Odermatt as well as figureheads such as Lara Gut-Behrami, Federica Brignone, Sofia Goggia, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and the German slalom rider Linus Straßer.
Sunday, December 8, 2024
Lindsey Vonn has not yet achieved any top placings on her return from skiing retirement, but has shown further solid performances. In the Super-G races in Copper Mountain, the former speed dominator and Olympic champion took places 24 and 19. The 40-year-old was just over two behind the American Lauren Macuga, who was fastest twice on Sunday seconds.
