Katharina Liensberger’s Instagram bio reads: Ski fast, do what you love, let dreams come true and you’ll see that everything is possible.
The Austrian ski racer lived her philosophy this past season as she surged past Mikaela Shiffrin and Petra Vlhova to become the first Austrian woman to win a slalom discipline title since Marlies Schild in 2012. Liensberger also dominated the world championship slalom in Cortina d’Ampezzo, blazing to a one-second victory over Vlhova and 1.98 seconds ahead of Shiffrin, who was seeking her fifth-consecutive title.
“It pretty much describes my past season as it was a lot more possible than I could have ever imagined before,” Liensberger tells Ski Racing Media when asked about her Instagram. “You will never know any results or outcomes before, all you can do is give your best for what you like or what you want and it’s not the result that makes the work great – it’s actually the entire journey.
“Every single day that you can learn, improve and just do it for yourself – so that’s the life I like,” she said.
It was undoubtedly a breakthrough season for the blossoming Austrian star, who turned 24 on April 1, even though her first career World Cup victory did not come until March 13 in Åre, Sweden, the penultimate slalom on the schedule. Liensberger made it back-to-back wins one week later at World Cup Finals in Lenzerheide, surpassing Vlhova and claiming the slalom globe in dramatic fashion. She amassed 790 points to Vlhova’s 732 and Shiffrin’s 715.
In her fifth World Cup season, Liensberger was the mark of consistency in the discipline that Vlhova, and especially Shiffrin, have been nearly unbeatable over recent seasons. In nine slaloms, the Austrian from Voralberg reached eight podiums – stringing together two third-place finishes, four second-place results and two victories, in that order.
“After the Jasna races, my dream already passed away as it was my first time not standing on the podium this season,” Liensberger said, referring to her fourth place finish at a March 6 race in Slovakia — her pursuit of the slalom title seemingly unattainable with two races remaining. “But I wanted to show what I could, so I gave everything and a little bit more during this time to achieve may goals.
“I needed to win and so it was in Åre with my second and my first place,” she said of consecutive slaloms in Sweden on March 12 and 13. “After those races, my team and I did an incredible job to succeed and reach this globe.”
Liensberger won the season finale in Lenzerheide by 1.24 seconds ahead of Shiffrin, as Vlhova faltered despite clinching an overall title.
“The feeling holding the globe in my hands was amazing and overwhelming,” Liensberger said.
Shiffrin commended her newfound Austrian challenger during February’s world championship in Cortina, in which the U.S. racer won four medals just ahead of Liensberger’s unexpected total of three.
“She’s skiing so strong and she’s just been fast with a good mentality, a healthy mentality,” Shiffrin said. “She’s really motivated as an amazing competitor and it’s cool to see her skiing like that – she’s leading the next generation of athletes.”
Liensberger’s performance in Cortina, in which she charged to gold medals in slalom and parallel, in addition to a bronze in GS, captivated her ski-crazed country as well as the often demanding Austrian press. The World Cup slalom title cemented her status as Austria’s latest ski racing sensation.
“The biggest surprise has been her nerves for sure – she never gave up, kept getting better all season long and delivered in the most important moments,” says Michael Schuen, a veteran ski racing journalist and the head of sports for the Austrian newspaper Kleine Zeitung. “This is a very special gift for any athlete, to be able to do this.
“If you get to know her, then it might not be such a big surprise at all. Katharina is very, very focused and since she has a mental coach, she is able to sort everything out.”
Liensberger enjoyed some well-deserved downtime following her spectacular season and has now returned to training, preparing for an Olympic season in which she realizes that duplicating her achievements will be no easy task.
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“My holidays gave me some time to rest – now I am already in physical training and technical training on snow, and of course excited for the upcoming season,” the Austrian racer said.
“Slalom will be my number one of course and I know I have to improve because it will not be easy to hold my level on the top of the world, but I like this new kind of challenge.
“I want to focus on stability and agility, as well as getting more power into my turns and precision in my line.”
Liensberger is confident she can also make advances in GS, having shown her potential with the world championship bronze, a race that she finished just 0.09 seconds behind winner Lara Gut-Behrami. She also ended a respectable ninth in the GS season standings, although she failed to attain a podium.
“I want to improve in giant slalom to be more consistent, more safe and generate more power in all turns in different kinds of snow,” she says.
Rossignol extension and disagreement with the Austrian Ski Federation
Liensberger announced on Monday a three-year extension of her contract to race on Rossignol skis.
“Thank you Stephan and the whole Rossignol crew for your support, your trust and the work behind the scenes,” Liensberger wrote on her Instagram. “I’m looking forward to a great and strong collaboration for the future.”
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In the past, her indecision over which brand of ski to race has caused issues.
Liensbeger’s accomplishments this past season are considerably more impressive considering a dispute with the Austrian Ski Federation that slowed her development and wasn’t resolved until the 2019-20 season.
As a promising talent, Liensberger made a surprise switch from her ski brand, Rossignol, to the revived Austrian-based brand Kästle, which led to problems with the federation. Complicating the situation, she was unable to find a suitable boot supplier as she wasn’t permitted to use ski boots from a manufacturer outside the federation’s supplier pool.
The conflict caused aggravation and forced Liensberger to sit out the World Cup season opener in October 2019. However, she re-signed with Rossignol the following month and resolved the issues.
Skiing with passion and a “great team”
While Liensberger’s philosophy may be summed up succinctly on Instagram, she seems to enjoy talking at length with international media, often vibrantly expressing how she competes with passion and all of her heart.
She is charismatic and quick to praise others for her success this past season.
“I just focused on my job, on my skiing, and of course on my privilege to live my dream,” Liensberger said. “Skiing is the one thing that belongs to me and of course it’s the story behind the scene that makes it even more beautiful.
“I am so thankful to have such a great team that supported me all the way to this achievement. Moreover, it is Mika (Shiffrin) and Petra for sure that pushed me even more to find my own way getting to the top.”
Shiffrin looks forward to future battles with Liensberger, sharing belief that the Austrian racer’s future in the sport is bright.
“She’s going to keep the inspiration going for a while and the one thing that the sport always needs is someone that’s bringing inspiration, so that’s really cool,” Shiffrin said.
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