Gian Casanova finishes on the podium in the parallel giant slalom, Felix Trunz jumps into the top 25 in Sapporo and recommends himself for the third Olympic ticket. These are the winter sports facts of the day.
17.01.2026, 10:56
17.01.2026, 18:10
SDA
Gian Casanova finishes on the podium
Snowboard. - Gian Casanova impressed in Bansko. The alpine snowboarder finished 3rd in the parallel giant slalom in Bulgaria. He beat the German Yannik Angenend in the small final. He had previously failed to beat eventual winner Benjamin Karl from Austria in the semi-final. Arnaud Gaudet came second.
Zogg eliminated in the quarter-finals
Snowboard. - Julie Zogg was unable to secure a podium place in the women's event in Bansko. In the quarter-final against Tsubaki Miki, she was unable to finish her run. Ramona Theresia Hofmeister secured victory ahead of Aleksandra Krol-Walas and Miki. The other Swiss women failed to qualify.
Grond in the skating sprint final
Cross-country skiing. - Valerio Grond showed an impressive improvement in the skating sprint in Oberhof. In the prologue, the man from Graubünden qualified for the knockout round in 30th place by the narrowest of margins, but then finished second in his quarter and semi-final run to reach the final of the top six for the second time this season. There, Grond went on the offensive early on, but had to pay tribute to the high pace in the second half of the race and finished sixth.
In the absence of compatriot Johannes Hösflot Kaebo, the young Norwegian Lars Heggen celebrated his first World Cup victory. Janik Riebli, the second Swiss sprint specialist, was eliminated in the prologue after a fall set him back.
In the women's race, Nadine Fähndrich, Lea Fischer and Alina Meier were eliminated in the quarter-finals. Swedish Olympic champion Jonna Sundling secured victory for the third time this season.
Trunz recommends himself - Prevc eighth
Ski jumping. - Sandro Hauswirth was the best Swiss at the Ski Jumping World Cup in Sapporo. The 25-year-old from the Bernese Oberland jumped to 20th place on the 1972 Olympic ski jump. Three places behind him was Felix Trunz, who put himself in pole position for the third Swiss Olympic ticket alongside the seeded duo of Deschwanden/Hauswirth with his second top 25 result of the winter. Killian Peier (35th), Simon Ammann (41st) and Juri Kesseli (42nd) did not make it into the top 30. The last chance to make a decisive impression is the second Sapporo competition on Sunday night.
Slovenian Four Hills Tournament winner Domen Prevc celebrated his eighth win of the season and prevented a Japanese double victory by Naoki Nakamura and Ren Nikaido.
Kalle Koblet in the small final
Snowboardcross. - Kalle Koblet achieved his best result in almost two years at the Snowboardcross World Cup in Dongbeiya, China. The man from Winterthur finished 6th in the last competition before the Olympic Games; only the Italian Lorenzo Sommariva was faster in the small final. The race was won by Jakob Dusek. The Austrian triumphed ahead of Eliot Grondin and Adam Lambert. Valerio Jud, the second Swiss rider, was eliminated in qualifying.
No top result for Siegenthaler
Snowboardcross. - The Swiss women clearly missed out on a top result. The best Swiss woman was Sina Siegenthaler, who was eliminated in the quarter-finals and ultimately finished in 10th place. The other Swiss women failed to qualify. Victory in China went to Charlotte Bankes, who won ahead of Josie Baff and Chloe Trespeuch.
Annen and Blatty outside the top 10
Bobsleigh - Debora Annen and Inola Blatty did not make it into the top 10 in the monobob World Cup in Altenberg in the absence of European Champion Melanie Hasler, who did not compete due to safety concerns. The two Swiss women finished 12th and 13th on Saturday. Annen lost 1.63 seconds to the winner Kailie Humphries, Blatty 1.75 seconds.
The German Laura Nolte secured 3rd place to win the overall Monobob World Cup for the first time.
Third Swiss quota place within reach
Bobsleigh - In the men's event, Timo Rohner and push athlete Mathieu Hersperger made sure of a Swiss success with ninth place in the two-man bobsleigh. Thanks to his top 10 finish, two crash-free runs in the big sled on Sunday are enough for Rohner to earn Switzerland a third quota place in the two-man and four-man bobsleigh for the 2026 Olympic Games in Cortina.
In the absence of Michael Vogt, who skipped the races in Altenberg due to safety concerns after his crash two years ago and instead won the four-man bobsleigh in the European Cup on Saturday, Cédric Follador was the best-ranked Swiss athlete in seventh place. The Germans celebrated their sixth triple success in the seventh and final two-man bobsleigh race of this World Cup season, led by Johannes Lochner, who retired at the end of the season.
Biathletes without a sprint exploit
Biathlon. - At the biathletes' World Cup sprint in Ruhpolding, Niklas Hartweg was the best Swiss athlete in 26th place. With one shooting error, the team leader lost almost one and a half minutes over the 10 km to the Swedish winner Sebastian Samuelsson, who won ahead of the Italian Tommaso Giacomel thanks to a flawless performance at the shooting range. Giacomel had recently triumphed three times in a row and continues to lead the overall World Cup. Of the Swiss quintet that started, Joscha Burkhalter and Sebastian Stalder qualified for the pursuit of the top 60 on Sunday in 31st and 36th place respectively alongside Hartweg.
