Status: 02/18/2023 8:25 p.m
Lena Dürr won her first World Championships individual medal in the slalom in Méribel. In doing so, she also makes her bitter Olympic experience in Beijing forgotten.
When she finally achieved this career goal, Lena Dürr’s joy was restrained. There was a reason for that: the 31-year-old had benefited from the fact that the Swiss Wendy Holdener, who was significantly faster this Saturday (02/18/2023), retired from the slalom at the Ski World Championships in Méribel. The carelessness of an opponent created this moment in which the Germeringerin Lena Dürr could no longer take her first World Championships individual medal.
She had to remind her a little of her own career, of her own trauma: a year ago she was running so fast herself, leading after the first round and up to the very last split time in the Olympic slalom in Beijing – but only seconds later she was sitting at the finish in the snow, skis on her feet, extremely frustrated. And not far from the three medal winners. She missed gold by 16 hundredths of a second and bronze by seven, which Holdener was happy about in February 2022.
Dürr makes you forget the tears from Beijing
Now the fate of the two turned: Dürr took bronze, Holdener got nothing. This is probably one of the reasons why the German hugged the retired Holdener with both arms and pressed her to her for a while. “It’s a shame” for the Swiss, who was second before the final, Dürr told Sportschau. “But I think it’s just skiing. It comes and goes, and the hundredths were on my side that day. When I think back to the Olympics a year ago: I was so close to being fourth. Maybe today is the day when I get that back.”
All the tears she shed at the finish in China were forgotten by Saturday afternoon. At the age of 31, Dürr has simply catapulted himself to the top. Shortly before the World Championships, she won a World Cup slalom for the first time in Spindleruv Mlyn in the Czech Republic, and now World Championships bronze has followed. She worked hard with the entire team for years, never gave up even after weaker winters, now all that luck has returned: “So today I’m happy that I can give myself and everyone around me the medal.”
It took a while in her career, but now she’s getting off to a stronger start. When her name was called during the “Flower Ceremony,” Dürr looked down. As if she could hardly believe this end of this day.
Wolfgang Maier: “Sometimes God is a German racing driver”
Especially during Holdener’s run, the Upper Bavarian had to tremble for this lucky day, after all she was already in second place at the finish behind the sensational world champion Laurence St. Germain – and after Holdener, Mikaela Shiffrin, who ended up second, should also drive. The American led at half-time, but then lost time to the heavily attacking St. Germain. Nevertheless, the 27-year-old still took silver and won her third medal in Méribel. Shiffrin later said she was really proud of her performance in these three weeks in France.
But back to Dürr: DSV Alpine board member Wolfgang Maier felt bad, while Holdener was wagging so hard down: “I sat there and thought: shit, now she’s going to be fourth again. But sometimes the good Lord is a German racer.” It was “the luck that Lena missed one time or another”.
St. Germain’s slalom sensation
After Alexander Schmid’s gold in the parallel event Dürr won the second German medal at the World Championships in France. “It is generally important for the German Ski Association to have medal contenders on both sides,” said the women’s head coach Andreas Puelacher. The German federation had hoped for Dürr’s precious metal, perhaps even expected it after this strong season in which she almost always finished in the top eight when she crossed the finish line.
The situation is different with the world champion St. Germain, they should have had the fewest experts on the list, because the Canadian’s gold was simply a sensation. “It’s unbelievable,” said Dürr. “But this is just a World Cup. The biggest events always have a bit of their own laws. And I’m incredibly happy for them.”
St. Germain and Dürr chat on the way to the award ceremony
On the way to the award ceremony, Dürr had a little chat with St. Germain, and the Canadian couldn’t stop grinning. She told the German that she had never been better than sixth in the slalom. But on this day everything just fell into place – for both ski racers.
Unlike Dürr, Shiffrin, Holdener and so many others, St. Germain has not yet had a fan club banner in the stands. That should change soon. As a world champion, she has finally arrived in the circle of the really big slalom skiers – like Lena Dürr since this season at the latest.
Source: sportschau.de