Photo: Sofia Goggia. St. Moritz. GEPA pictures.

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland – Saturday’s race occurred with perfect conditions. The skies were cloudless, and the snow was hard. The course crew did what they could to smooth the track, but bumpy sections still existed. The race track and Sofia Goggia were both worse for wear but ready for the day. 

Goggia won the race in impressive style, leading runner-up Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia by 0.43 seconds, a day after breaking two fingers when she hit a gate but still finished second in a downhill on the same Corviglia course. Ilka Stuhek and Kira Weidle followed her in second and third place, respectively. Just off the podium was Mikaela Shiffrin, improving on her result from the day before.

After Friday’s accident, Goggia went to Milan to have surgery. The Italian ski team said a metal rod and screws were placed inside her hand to stabilize it and her hand wrapped in a cast.

With her left hand bandaged and the glove attached to her ski pole with yellow duct tape, Goggia was the ninth starter as she seemed not visibly hampered by the injury.

“When I understood today that I could make it, I think there was no girl who was (as) happy as I was today at the start gate. It was not guaranteed that I could be at the start today,” said Goggia, adding the Italian team even considered not putting her on the start list for Saturday’s race.

“I said: ‘Are you crazy? You crazy?’ I don’t give up this way,” Goggia said.

Early in the race, it was all Swiss smiles until Austrian Nina Ortlieb arrived half a second faster than the Swiss athletes. However, Ortlieb had just settled in the leader’s chair when Germany’s Kira Weidle arrived 0.29 seconds faster. 

The injured Sofia Goggia bib nine then showed the crowd what bravery is. With her left hand taped to the pole, she ignored the higher speeds into the bumpiest sections, kept her skis arching to the bottom, and crossed with a 0.52-second lead.

At the end of the race, it was the queen of downhill, Sofia Goggia, showing again that she is the best; Slovenia’s IIka Stuhec took her first podium of the season finishing second. Also, German women get their first speed podium of the season with third place going to Weidle. Notably, Stuhec has accomplished her first podium on the Kästle skis. 

New days bring new performances, apparent when yesterday’s bronze medalist Corine Suter finished 1.49 seconds behind, followed by yesterday’s winner Elena Curtoni arriving 1.18 seconds slower than Goggia eighth. 

It looked like Austria would have a member on the podium until the Slovenian skier IIka Stuhec, bib 18. She showed courage, skiing into second and replaced the Austrian on the podium. However, Stuhec was still 0.43 seconds behind the brave leader Goggia. 

Then the World Cup overall leader Mikaela Shiffrin showed her determination. She was skiing the most technical sections amazingly well. Shiffrin displayed balance and power through the bumpy S turn as she crossed under the lift. She improved on yesterday’s good result by skiing into fourth place. 

“I tried to really just focus on the skiing that I wanted to do, the aggressiveness I wanted to feel, fluidity with my skis in the snow, said Shiffrin. “My skis felt like they were blazing fast, Lukas Rottinger [Shiffrin’s tech] did an amazing job.”

It became clear that the bumpy S-turns located as the racers crossed under the chair lift would play a significant role in the results. This section, in particular, dared the skiers to arch their skis. It challenged their balance yet offered speed. Those who could solve the difficult puzzle carried considerable momentum into the next section and found themselves fast at the bottom. 

USA’s Isabella Wright failed to finish yesterday but was a racer who met the challenge. Skiing near her very limit, Wright stayed committed to moving to the outside ski and crossed in 11th place. Wright is producing high-level skiing and is emerging as a consistent player in the World Cup. 

Yesterday’s top American, Breezy Johnson, attacked the course with commitment, but the course fought back. She was struggling to find complete transitions from ski to ski and she did well to arrive at the finish upright. But it showed she was physically strong. Many racers would have seen the surface of the snow given the same threats. However, even with her difficulties, Johnson could collect World Cup points completing the day in 25th. 

Additionally, Canadian Marie-Michele Gagnon finished in 27th and continues to look for the speed she can produce. 

Today four North Americans were in the points, and our attack from the back didn’t quite materialize like it did on Friday. Only two racers with bibs higher than 30 scored today.

Analysis of top the top three and North Americans in the top 30 and top 30 results

Top 30 results from December 17th St Moritz downhill

The Associated Press and USST contributed to this report.