Swiss surprise Suter strikes in Sestriere
Fabienne Suter has surprisingly won the women's World Cup super-G ski race in the Italian resort of Sestriere,
The win is the 23-year-old’s first at this level, and the second for the Swiss team in the event after Martina Schild’s victory at Lake Louise in Canada two months ago.
Suter finished equal first on Sunday with Austria’s Andrea Fischbacher, and almost a quarter of a second clear ahead of third-placed German Maria Riesch.
“It was a big surprise for me. I never thought I would do that today,” Suter said.
Second out of the gate, the Swiss skier completed the tricky course without making any mistakes. Fischbacher was finally the only one who came close to beating Suter.
This was by far not the case for many of the competitors, including those who crashed out on their way down. Four Swiss failed to complete the course, including rising star Lara Gut, Fränzi Aufdenblatten, Monika Dumermuth and Dominique Gisin.
Austria’s Maria Holhaus, who had won a super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo this year and finished second in the recent St Moritz downhill, crashed out in spectacular style. She was briefly unconscious and was later taken by helicopter to a Turin hospital with suspected head and knee injuries.
Real talent
Suter’s previous best result in a World Cup race was her seventh place in the St Moritz downhill last weekend, while her best super-G result was eighth three weeks ago. Altogether, today’s win is her fourth top-ten place.
As a teenager, she was considered a real talent, but injuries delayed her arrival among the world’s best. A training accident in Las Leñas, Argentina, in August 2003 almost threatened to end her career prematurely with a serious knee injury.
Another Swiss finished the top ten in Sestriere. Nadia Styger came in seventh, equalling her best super-G result this season, and confirming her excellent fourth place in Saturday’s downhill on the same Kandahar Banchetta piste.
Schild came in 13th, more than second adrift of Suter, while Andrea Dettling was the other Swiss in the top 20 with her 19th place. Nadia Kamer was the only other member of the team to finish in the points with a 28 place.
Today’s result will have taken some of the sting out of the Swiss team’s results over the weekend. While Styger managed her fourth place on Saturday, and Gisin came in ninth, it was a dismal day for the men competing in a slalom in Germany’s Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Only one Swiss qualified for the second run – Marc Gini, winner of one World cup race this season – and he messed up at the first gate during the that run.
swissinfo with agencies
1. Fabienne Suter, Switzerland, 1:21.06
1. Andrea Fischbacher, Austria, 1: 21.06
3. Maria Riesch, Germany, 1:21.30
4. Alexandra Meissnitzer, Austria, 1:21.44
5. Renate Goetschl, Austria, 1:21.53
6. Elisabeth Goergl, Austria, 1:21.58
7. Nadia Styger, Switzerland, 1:21.65
8. Julia Mancuso, United States, 1:21.90
9. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 1:21.96
10. Christine Sponring, Austria, 1:21.97
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