Corinne Suter finally secures the first downhill podium of the winter for the Swiss in the first race after the Olympics. The racer from Schwyz even secures victory in Soldeu, her sixth in the World Cup.
Corinne Suter's personal wait for a podium finish came to an end after 13 months. The 31-year-old made the most of her early start number in relatively high temperatures in Andorra. She took the lead with the '4', eleven hundredths ahead of Austria's Nina Ortlieb.
At the finish, Suter was visibly delighted with her almost flawless run, by far her best of the season, which she was only able to start in January due to an injury sustained in training at the beginning of December (torn muscle fiber in her lower left leg, bruised left knee joint and a fracture in the right hindfoot area).
First downhill victory since 2022
The Olympic downhill champion (2022) and world champion (2021) was still feeling pain in the first few weeks after her comeback. In addition, the (visibility) conditions on race days were usually poor. Something that Corinne Suter doesn't like at all.
On Friday in Andorra, however, the sun was shining and visibility was clear. All the top skiers failed to beat Suter's mark - most of them by a wide margin. Only the Italian Sofia Goggia, who ultimately came third, came within 0.24 seconds of the now six-time World Cup winner.
Suter's previous triumph dates back to December 4, 2022, when she won the super-G in Lake Louise. The last time she won the downhill in the World Cup was over four years ago, on January 29, 2022 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Two weeks later, Suter also snatched Olympic gold in the downhill in Beijing. Lara Gut-Behrami took the last downhill victory for the Swiss women in Crans-Montana in February 2024.
Points for World Cup debutant Mathis
The other Swiss starters did not keep up with their teammate in the sixth of nine downhill races this season. Malorie Blanc (17th place), who started the race immediately after Suter, lost a lot of time right from the start. In the end, the 22-year-old from Valais was almost two seconds behind.
Janine Schmitt, who had been responsible for the only Swiss top 10 ranking this season with 5th place in Zauchensee, crashed in the lower part of the course. The skier from St. Gallen stayed down for a short time at first, but in the end she skied down to the finish on her own skis.
Jasmin Mathis was more than satisfied. The 21-year-old from Nidwalden scored eight points on her World Cup debut in 23rd place. Mathis had caused a stir at the 2025 Junior World Championships with gold (in the super-G) and silver (downhill).
Vonn still ahead in the downhill rankings
Thanks to her performances in the first half of the season, Lindsey Vonn, who was injured after her crash in the Olympic downhill, is still clearly leading the discipline World Cup. Before the last three races in this discipline, Emma Aicher, who gained 50 points thanks to her 4th place in Soldeu, is still 94 points behind the 41-year-old American. As the best Swiss woman in this ranking, Suter is only in 16th place with 125 points.
Two Super-Gs follow in Andorra on Saturday and Sunday (race starts at 10.15 am). The women will then continue next week with three speed races: two downhill races (Friday/Saturday) and a super-G (Sunday) will take place in Val di Fassa.
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