Skaardal sweeps down the mountain to triumph in super-G
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Atle Skaardal (pictured above) became the first Norwegian to win a World Championship super-giant slalom gold medal as Scandinavians dominated in Sierra Nevada, Spain, yesterday.
Skaardal, the downhill silver medallist at the 1993 World Championships, recorded 1min 21.80sec. Sweden's Patrik Jaerbyn took silver in 1:22.09, with another Norwegian, Kjetil-Andre Aaamodt, third in 1:22.11.
Jaerbyn, who has had a disappointing World Cup season, was the first man to go and set a surprisingly fast time on the technical 1.37-mile piste which was powdered by fresh snow overnight. The Swede had never previously finished higher than fourth in his career and was faster than several of the leading skiers until Skaardal went down the 44-gate run as the 12th racer out of the hut.
The reigning World Cup super-G champion, Peter Runggaldier, of Italy, and the downhill champion, Luc Alphand, of France, were among those to disappoint. Hans Knaus, the leader of the super-G standings, had one of his worst races this season, and finished 12th. The men's super-G title was not awarded at the 1993 championships in Morioka, Japan, because of bad weather. The last winner was the Austrian Stefan Eberharter, who has been overshadowed by his team-mates this season and finished down the field.
"I was pretty nervous before the race," Skaardal said. "My main concern was adjusting my edges and deciding how hard I should take the turns. You can lose or win a lot of time on them. I had the perfect race, it could not have been better. "
Results, Sporting Digest, page 31
Photograph: Ruben Sprich/Reuter
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments