Ski racer Emma Aicher narrowly missed out on a podium finish in the first World Cup since the Winter Games.
The two-time Olympic medalist finished fourth in the Soldeu downhill in Andorra.
When the Swiss Corinne Suter won ahead of Nina Ortlieb from Austria, Aicher was 0.29 seconds behind third-placed Sofia Goggia (Italy). Teammate Kira Weidle-Winkelmann narrowly failed to make it into the top ten.
“It’s okay,” Aicher summed up after her trip on “ARD”. “I made a few mistakes and let myself drift down a bit without tension.” The fact that she – unlike other competitors – was in action in Andorra for the first time was not a disadvantage. “On race day, it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve skied down the slope,” she said.
Aicher doesn’t want to think about the Downhill World Cup
Nevertheless, the 22-year-old took a big step towards winning the overall downhill ranking this winter. Fourth place brings her 50 points, the gap to the injured leader Lindsey Vonn (400 points) shrank to 94 points.
There are still three departures left this season. Aicher – who won silver at the Olympics in both the downhill and the team combination alongside Weidle-Winkelmann – still has a good chance of winning the small crystal ball.
But she hadn’t thought about that “at all,” said the currently best alpine athlete in the German Ski Association. “I have to focus on myself, that I ski well. Otherwise there is no possibility anyway.”
Vonn seriously injured
Vonn had clearly dominated the downhill winter so far and reached the podium in all five World Cup races in this discipline – including two victories. However, her fall at the Olympic Games in Cortina and the serious lower leg and knee injury no longer allow the 41-year-old to make a comeback.
The American recently said in an emotional video that doctors even had to save her left leg from amputation during an emergency operation. Vonn expects a very long rehabilitation period.
There will be two more Super-Gs in Andorra on Saturday and Sunday (10:15 a.m. each). Next week there will be two downhill runs and a Super-G in Val di Fassa. The last chance for World Cup points will be at the downhill season finale on March 21st in Lillehammer.
