Strachova Clinches WSC Bronze in Women’s Slalom

Published by Mountainblog on .

5bd36537b8d85d9af34aa91f48931089Sarka Strachova won the bronze medal in the women’s WSC Slalom race on Saturday in Beaver Creek. This was already the fourth medal at World Championships for the top Czech athlete and the second medal for the FISCHER Race Family in an individual WSC race in the USA, with Austrian racer Nicole Hosp having previously taken silver in the Alpine Combined.

Strachova was already in third place after the first run and managed to keep her place on the podium at the end of the race, too. The 30-year-old was beaten this time only by US “wunderkind” Mikaela Shiffrin, who defended her title from Schladming 2013, and Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter.

“My feeling wasn’t as good as in the first run, but I was fast,” said Strachova in an interview at the finish. “The second run was a fight and I put everything I had into the attack. It was close, but it was enough. I am very proud to have won another medal for the Czech Republic.”

Strachova had previously celebrated winning Slalom bronze in 2005. She went on to take the World Championship title in 2007 and in 2009 she won the silver medal.

Hosp out in second run
In twelfth place after the first run, Nicole Hosp was skiing fast in the second leg but made a mistake in the bottom section and skied out. “I was skiing well, the ride was taking care of itself but then unfortunately I was a little too straight over the bumps and there was nothing I could do about it,” explained the 31-year-old, in what was presumably her last race at the worlds. “I’m going home with two medals and that’s more than positive,” is how the Tyrolean summed it up, by no means disappointed.

Good twelfth place for Wiesler, Chable in 15th
Germany’s Maren Wiesler drew attention to herself as the second best Fischer athlete on Saturday. The 22-year-old showed her potential above all in the second run which saw her move up from 15th to twelfth in the final standings. Swiss racer Charlotte Chable, who is only 20 years old, likewise put in a strong performance and improved on her 26th place in the first run to finish in 15th.

 

INFO: FISCHER