The Swiss slalom team put on a show of strength in Killington. The slalom specialists last celebrated a double victory 28 years ago. After the race, the athletes emphasize the strong cohesion within the team.
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- The Swiss slalom specialists show themselves from their very best side in Killington (USA).
- Camille Rast takes her first World Cup victory on Sunday, Wendy Holdener comes second, Mélanie Meillard fifth and Aline Höpli scores the first World Cup points of her career in 15th place.
- To find two Swiss women at the top of a World Cup slalom for the last time before Camille Rast and Wendy Holdener, you have to look way back in the history books.
"It's all so crazy, it happened so quickly," beams winner Camille Rast in an interview after the first World Cup triumph of her career, analyzing it casually: "I thought to myself, you just have to go full throttle and nothing else. And I did it, it's incredible."
At 25, Rast has finally arrived among the skiing elite. Thanks to the 100 points for winning the slalom, the Valais native also takes the lead in the overall and slalom World Cup from Mikaela Shiffrin, who had to miss the start of the slalom after her crash in the giant slalom the day before.
Complications prevent faster ascent
The path to the world's top seemed to be mapped out early on for the strong technician. In March 2017, Camille Rast raced to Junior World Championship gold in the slalom in Are. Two years later, still not yet 20 years old, she also won silver in the giant slalom at the same level in Val di Fassa.
But then came the - temporary - break in her career. Health problems, including a knee injury and severe depression, as well as problems with her equipment prevented Rast's rise for several years.
Only since the beginning of 2024 has Rast delivered consistent results in the top 10, often even in the top five. "Finally", she said nine days ago in the finish area in Gurgl, with tears in her eyes, after she was able to celebrate her first World Cup podium finish in third place. The day before her maiden victory, she followed this up with third place in the giant slalom in Killington.
Swiss slalom specialists as good as they were last in 1996
After her first triumph, the 25-year-old also emphasized the team spirit: "I'm really happy. We've trained so much together. To be on the podium with Wendy now is great. I'm so happy for the Swiss team. It's really fun like this."
After the race, Rast and runner-up Holdener are celebrated by the Swiss team in the finish area. "We're going to have a really nice evening together tonight," laughs the 25-year-old. Her colleague echoes her sentiments. "The team result with Camille winning and Mélanie coming fifth is great. It's fun to race here," beams Holdener.
A look at the history books shows just how strong the Swiss team's performance was on Sunday: the last time two Swiss women were at the top of a World Cup slalom was on January 26, 1996, when Sonja Nef triumphed in Sestriere with a 14 hundredths lead over Marlies Oester.
The penultimate time there were two Swiss slalom specialists in first and second place was on November 27, 1994, when Vreni Schneider won ahead of Martina Accola (and Sweden's Kristina Andersson) in Park City, Utah.
52nd World Cup podium for Holdener
Just over a week ago in Gurgl, Wendy Holdener missed out on the podium by just under two tenths. Now in Killington - on the slope on which she had finished third behind Mikaela Shiffrin and Petra Vlhova at the end of November 2023 and had previously achieved her last podium finish - the 31-year-old from Schwyz managed to return to the top 3.
Thanks to the best run time in the final, Holdener moved up from 9th intermediate to 2nd final place. After the race, she had to marvel at the result herself: "I decided to take my heart in my hands. That really worked out. I didn't think I would make it this far forward."
Her 52nd World Cup podium, the 36th in the slalom, is probably one of the best. After suffering a fracture to her left ankle in December 2023, the athlete from Central Switzerland did not compete in any more races last winter.
Partly because her brother Kevin died of cancer in February of this year. Wendy Holdener only spoke publicly about the early death of her brother, who was also her manager, at the beginning of October. She said that the death was still on her mind and that she often thought of her brother.
Meillard only bettered twice in the World Cup
Mélanie Meillard finished fifth and achieved her third place in the top ten in the third slalom of the winter. The 26-year-old from Valais with roots in Neuchâtel has only been bettered twice in the World Cup; both times in January 2018 and thus before her serious knee injury, which she suffered in February of the same year in the immediate run-up to the Olympic Games in South Korea.
Aline Höpli (15th) - with her first ever World Cup points - and Michelle Gisin (19th) rounded off the top Swiss-Ski result in the state of Vermont.
