Who was the real winner at World Championships?

After 13 days of top-level sports action and excitement filling the tribunes and the town center alike, the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 2015 in Vail/Beaver Creek, Colo., closed on Sunday, Feb. 15.

During the 11 competitions, many nations had a chance to shine. Altogether, 10 countries won medals as Austria topped the standings with nine, eight individual medals and a gold won by the team. Austria had a particularly strong showing from their ladies which accounted for five of the individual medals. Team USA flourished in the second week earning two gold medals to bring its total to five; with her three medals, Tina Maze alone put her country in third place in the medal standings.

Individually, Austrian Anna Fenninger and Maze were the most successful skiers. Fenninger collected gold medals in the super G and giant slalom and silver in the downhill, while Maze won gold medals in the downhill and alpine combined and silver in the super G. On the men’s side, Marcel Hirscher was the most decorated athlete winning the alpine combined, a second gold in the Nations Team Event and silver in the giant slalom. The only other man to win more than one medal was Ted Ligety who earned bronze in alpine combined and gold in giant slalom.

The American athletes made their fans wait until the technical events to win races. Ligety stormed the second run of the giant slalom to claim the first gold medal and his third consecutive World Championship giant slalom title. Mikaela Shiffrin, the hometown hero from Vail, capped off a memorable World Championships for the host nation with victory in the ladies’ slalom, retaining the title she won at Schladming 2013.

The men’s downhill and ladies’ slalom brought the most spectators to the Red Tail stadium with more than 25,000 in total packing the stadium, hospitality tents and lining the Birds of Prey course on both days. Also a highlight was the action in Vail at the Nations Team Event. Fans enjoyed the knockout format as the day was a big hit among both athletes and spectators.

Some 125,000 spectators attended the 11 competitions and the official opening ceremony; close to 100,000 visited the Medals Plaza in Vail to create a wonderful atmosphere for the evening ceremonies and vast line-up of concerts.

At the closing press conference FIS Secretary General Sarah Lewis said, “From start to finish, these have been excellently organized and memorable World Championships. It is a tribute to the professional work and dedication of the Organizing Committee during the last five years. The enthusiasm of the officials, volunteers, and spectators created a fantastic atmosphere that gave the athletes the ideal backdrop to shine.”

The Colorado weather also cooperated almost perfectly during the two weeks. With the exception of the men’s super G, which had to be postponed for one day due to heavy snowfall, blue skies greeted the world’s best skiers every day. To conclude the event with a genuine winter atmosphere, snow started to fall during the men’s slalom.

Outside of the races, the program at the Medals Plaza was a massive success. Free concerts every night including major headline bands like Barenaked Ladies, O.A.R., and CeeLo Green provided entertainment following the Medals Ceremonies attracting up to 16,000 visitors per night.

President of the Vail 2015 Organising Committee Ceil Folz noted, “We exceeded all of our goals and are more than satisfied with the result of these World Championships. I am personally very satisfied and very thankful to my whole team and would particularly like to express sincere thanks to the more than 2,200 volunteers.”

Folz added, “A major goal for both the Organizing Committee and USSA was to generate interest and put alpine ski racing on the map in America. Thanks to the massive interest and media coverage during the World Championships, I believe we have taken a major step to do just that.”

Facts and Figures

• 125,000 spectators at the races
• 100,000 visitors at Medal Plaza
• 1,200 accredited media representatives
• 2,200 volunteers
• 9,200 accreditations
• 68 nations
• 500 athletes
• 27 nations broadcasting live
• 200 camera positions
• 70 hours of live coverage over 14 days

The 2017 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships will be held in St. Moritz, Switzerland from Feb. 7-19.

Release courtesy of FIS