World Cup in Slovakia
Ski racer Vlhova injured in home race
After her fall, Petra Vlhova is taken to the valley on a sled by rescue workers. photo
© Pier Marco Tacca/AP/dpa
In Jasna, Slovakia, thousands of ski fans were hoping for a duel between Vlhova and Shiffrin. But then the local hero falls and injures herself. Shiffrin can’t win either.
Top ski racer Petra Vlhova is at her home eventWorld Cup in Jasna fell and injured himself. The Slovakian fell in the first round of the giant slalom, hitting her back and head and twisting her knee.
She had to be treated on the route in the Carpathians and then taken to the valley by rescue sleigh. As the team announced, the former world champion and 2022 Olympic slalom champion was taken to a clinic for examinations. A diagnosis was initially pending.
This meant that the hoped-for duel with World Cup leader Mikaela Shiffrin was canceled for many Slovak fans. Instead of the two long-term rivals, another one stood out: Olympic champion Sara Hector from Sweden showed two fantastic runs on an icy and difficult slope and prevailed with a 1.52 second lead over the American Shiffrin. Alice Robinson from New Zealand came third (+2.71).
From the German team, only Lena Dürr made it to the second run. The racer from Germering, who can compete for the podium in the slalom on Sunday, finished the giant slalom in 29th place, 8.77 seconds behind.
In general, the competition on Saturday was characterized by extreme time differences. The Italian co-favorite Marta Bassino, for example, was 8.21 seconds behind in the first run without making any major mistakes and clearly missed the final. Meanwhile, Kajsa Vickhoff Lie from Norway made it to tenth place despite being five and a half seconds behind Hector.