The tension increased from race to race, the pressure on the DSV-Alpinen grew. One medal hope after the other burst, Lena Dürr had gold in mind after the first slalom run, but then even missed a medal – just as close as Kira Weidle then in the downhill. Even for Linus Straßer in the slalom it was not enough for the hoped-for precious metal.
“Everyone suffered”
As in Pyeongchang four years earlier, there was a risk of a zero round, and again the big picture with coaches, competition preparation and support would have been called into question. “Everyone suffered so much”, said Alexander Schmid afterwards. And the others suffered with him: Schmid lost in the first round of the giant slalom, then only 19th place in the slalom.
Then came the final day for the German ski racers – and they won silver in the mixed team competition. They beat the co-favourites, Switzerland and Sweden, then the USA with superstar Mikaela Shiffrin. Austria was only 19 hundredths faster in the final with a score of 2:2 in the addition of the best times, but the jubilation and the relief to have contributed a medal to “Team D” clearly outweighed it. “That was a huge satisfaction after very, very bitter games up to that point”summarized Schmid.