Ski Alpin: Federica Brignone becomes giant slalom world champion

Federica Brignone has long been on racing slopes of this winter world, the 34-year-old Italian has experienced almost everything there. Times when the skis under their feet seemed to be so far away from the head that the ideas from above no longer arrived on the edge of the steel. However, she has always managed to survive such phases before reaching intimidating heights. Brignone once expressed it in the SZ interview: “Then everything is easier, everything is merged: your mind, your body, your ski.”

On Thursday in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Brignone apparently once again discovered a completely new formula in the higher skier interior. The woman from the Aostatal carvte through the World Cup giant slalom, as if it did not consist of humps and strokes. Rather, she made it look like a cozy spring skiing, and maybe that was it for her, in view of the strikingly high temperatures in the Glemmtal. Brignone not only won the World Cup giant slalom, she also drove in both passes and in the end had almost a second lead over the runners-up Alice Robinson from New Zealand-and almost three seconds to the third Paula Moltzan from the USA. The time intervals to the world champion were so great that Brignone could have sipped an espresso on the way.

The German Emma Aicher may have tasted less likely to have this eighth race day, she came in 23rd place. Her German teammate Lena Dürr was all the more succeeded, she was not showing ambitions for larger turns for the first time this winter. In passing one, the slalom specialist demonstrated a technically considered journey on complicated terrain, which many of her competitors struggled: she chose a rotating round line that proved to be advantageous, because many competitors who went on the goals with more direct swings rose out .

“That was my dream for many years,” says Brignone

After seventh place at the halftime and a somewhat more due final trip, the 33-year-old ended up ninth in nine-her best season result in the giant slalom after tenth place in Sölden. “I tried to hide everything,” said the Munich native at the finish line, looking forward to her personal climax, the slalom. “Now I can go off the slope with a really good feeling, I’m really looking forward to Saturday.”

Brignone, however, had apparently just got a taste for the finish line. With her helmet in the tiger design, she could be celebrated by the audience, and even if there was no Austrian representation on the podium, like the day before, the 11,000 spectators in the Saalbacher Skistadion were solved-whether the interruption of the Swiss Festival at this World Cup. “It was my dream for many years. I’ve been second twice and I finally wanted to go to the top, ”said Brignone. “It’s just crazy and incredible that I did it today.”

Federica Brignone comes from the municipality of La Salle, early grew into skiing, but her ascent was not as rapidly as much more gifted. Her father Daniele is a ski instructor, mother Maria Rosa once won four World Cup slaloms and accompanies the daughter’s races today as a reporter. As a child, Brignone once said, she was never feared with cold, wind or storms. She preferred to drive in deep snow and liked any kind of alpine competition: “Also from the stupid variety, for example who jumps the farthest”.

She needed a few winter before she transferred her skills to constant yields; An ankle surgery, however, robbed her of almost a season. In summer 2015 she adapted her training philosophy: difficult work is essential, she had learned, but only if you sometimes treat the body to rest. In October 2015 she won her first World Cup, the giant slalom in Sölden. At the time, she said that she had to wait so long for it, “that I just didn’t deserve it so far”.

Brignone is now one of the best skiers in the world, 77 podium places in individual races has collected, 32 of which they won. In 2019/20 she secured the large crystal ball for the overall World Cup victory; This winter she leads in the overall ranking with 70 points ahead of the Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami. In 2023, Brignone was also the first Italian world champion in combination. Almost exactly one year before the start of the Winter Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, the competition is now all the more warned. Less because of Brignones Tiger helmet, but because this Italian will be one of the gold favorites in her home games even in the very high skier interior of then.