In a race full of surprises, with main favorite Sofia Goggia disqualifed (DSQ), Jasmine Flury from Switzerland claimed the World Champion title in the Downhill. She beats Austrian Nina Ortlieb by just four hundredths of a second. Olympic Champion, and World Champion in Cortina 2021 Corinne Suter finished on third place 0.12 seconds behind her teammate Flury.
It was a dream day in Méribel for the Swiss Team with Jasmine Flury surprisingly winning the World Championship gold in the Downhill, and Corinne Suter taking bronze.
The 29-year-old, whose best Downhill result was a second place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in 2022, took advantage of an early start with bib 2 and an extremely clean ride.
Jasmine Flury is the second Swiss woman to win the Downhill world title, after Corinne Suter has won in Cortina 2021, since Maria Walliser won back-to-back world titles in the Downhill in 1987 and 1989.
“I really don’t know what to say, I still can’t believe it. It feels unreal, crazy. I don’t know what is happening and with Corinne on the podium, I don’t know, more than a dream has come true. I knew that the material would work great on the snow. And today I managed a great run, unbelievable. I knew it was a good ride and I was happy, but the wait ended up being even worse than the ride. I wasn't really able to enjoy my first victory, but I'll really enjoy it now", Flury said.
Nina Ortlieb achieved the 5th medal at the 47th Alpine World Ski Championships in Méribel and Courchevel for the Austrian Team. It was her first medal at her first major event for the Vorarlberg skier.
"It's amazing, hard to put into words what's going on inside you. You don't fully realize it yet. I have a difficult story, but everyone has their story, not everyone always goes uphill, those are exceptions. Of course, the injuries are a part that shaped my career. But I will forget my injuries and think it was worth it. In my case, I won the silver medal today because it was not foreseeable that things would go so well", Ortlieb said.
Corinne Suter claimed her 3rd medal in the Downhill, -She finished on the podium in Åre 2019 (silver), Cortina 2021 (gold), and Courchevel-Méribel 2023 (bronze)-, and 5th medal at a World Championships for the Downhill Olympic champion in Beijing.
“It was anything else but easy for me. The last weeks I started thinking and thinking. Also today I wasn’t sure if I could do it but my coach said to me today, ‘Corinne you are the only one who knows how to ski’. I just tried to do my best”, Suter said.
Big favorite and World Cup leader in the Downhill standings Sofia Goggia was disqualified (DSQ) in today's Downhill after straddling a gate. The wait for a World Championship medal in Downhill continues for dominator of the discipline in the last seasons.
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