Switzerland comes away empty-handed in the snowboard cross at the Freestyle World Championships in the Engadine. Sina Siegenthaler had to bury her medal dream in the semi-finals, while her team-mate Noemie Wiedmer was very unlucky.
28.03.2025, 13:26
SDA
As the fastest in qualifying, Sina Siegenthaler had high hopes for the knockout heats at her home event in St. Moritz. But instead of the first Swiss medal since 2009, all the Swiss boardercross team got was frustration on Friday. Siegenthaler finished fourth in her run in the semi-finals. In the small final, the 24-year-old from Bern crashed early on and finished in 8th place.
Siegenthaler was almost eliminated in the quarter-finals, but the Emmental native was lucky not to be disqualified after a racing accident. What had happened? Her compatriot Noemie Wiedmer was cruising towards a commanding victory for a long time in the first knockout run before she made a small mistake on a jump, causing Siegenthaler to hit her teammate and roommate from behind. This caused both Swiss skiers to fall.
While Siegenthaler was the quickest to pick herself up after the fall and saved second place at the finish, Wiedmer was also knocked down heavily by American Acy Craig as she tried to get up. For the 17-year-old from Bern, who is regarded as a great talent, her first major event ended in huge disappointment. At least Wiedmer was uninjured. "My head hurt briefly, but I'm fine," the teenager from Diemtigtal gave the all-clear in an interview with SRF at the finish.
Italian Michela Moioli took victory in the women's race. The 29-year-old came out on top in the final in a photo finish ahead of Great Britain's Charlotte Bankes. Bankes became world champion ahead of Moioli in 2021. Bronze in St. Moritz went to Julia Pereira de Sousa from France.
