Lena Dürrr, 30, finished third in the Slalom World Cup for the first time in her career. In Levi, only the world-class racing drivers Vlhova and Shiffrin are faster.
Ski racer Lena Dürr could hardly believe her luck: With tears in her eyes she stood next to Petra Vlhova and Mikaela Shiffrin in the finish area of Levi. With third place in the first World Cup slalom of the season behind the two world-class runners, Dürr, 30, fulfilled a lifelong alpine dream. “Finally. It’s time. It was an eternal journey, but better late than never,” she said when she climbed the podium for the first time in her long career at a slalom award ceremony.
For the DSV athlete it was a big exclamation mark at the beginning of the Olympic winter. Dürr, sixth after a mistake on the steep slope in the first run, was 0.84 seconds behind Vlhova (1: 46.19 minutes). The overall World Cup winner from Slovakia triumphed 0.31 seconds ahead of her great rival Shiffrin from the USA, who missed her 71st World Cup victory. But the congratulations mainly belonged to Lena Dürr, who was hearted and hugged by everyone – including Vlhova and Shiffrin.
Aggressive line: Lena Dürr threads through the bars.
(Photo: Harald Steiner / Gepa / Imago)
ARD expert Felix Neureuther was enthusiastic. “That was a great race of hers, perfect. She took a good step last year, but has now turned a few screws,” he said of Dürr’s aggressive drive, who also secured her participation in the Olympics for Beijing.
It had taken a long start. In 2013 she won a city event in a parallel race in the World Cup in Moscow. But then the jump to the top didn’t work out as hoped. Only last winter did the woman from Munich consistently show her potential with a fourth and two fifth places as well as further top 10 placements.
The German Ski Association (DSV) had another reason to be happy in Levi. The 18-year-old Emma Aicher also impressed with a strong 14th place. With the best World Cup result of her career, the native Swede has secured half the Olympic standard. For Neureuther, Aicher is “a great promise for the future”. She commented calmly on her top result: “That was really cool.”