Hardware handed out at national championships worldwide

By Published On: April 15th, 2016Comments Off on Hardware handed out at national championships worldwide

When the World Cup season ends, athletes head home but not always for time off. Many compete to their country’s national championships for an opportunity to add to the hardware collection while juniors hope for the chance to beat their idols. You already know about U.S. Alpine Championships in Sun Valley and the Canadian National Championships in Whistler. This is what happened around the rest of the world.

Austria
On the ladies side, Stephanie Brunner, who was unable to complete a World Cup slalom this season, took home the national title in the discipline, ending her season on a distinctly high note. Similarly to Brunner, newly-crowned giant slalom national champion Ricarda Haaser had a tough World Cup season in the discipline, but managed to eek out a win. A household name, Elisabeth Goergl, topped the results in the super G race, earning her third national title in the event. Rosina Schneeberger won the alpine combined. Last but not least, the ladies’ downhill produced a tie between World Cup star Tamara Tippler and Christina Ager, an up-and-coming athlete.

The men’s results were equally drenched in big names. Marco Schwarz, who had something of a breakout season on the World Cup this year, took the slalom title and the alpine combined title. Philipp Schoerghofer, the 10-year World Cup veteran, snagged the his second career national giant slalom title. Hannes Riechelt took the win in super G, earning his third national title in the discipline. Sebastian Artz, who has never competed in a World Cup race, took home the national title in downhill.

France
In Les Meunuires, France, superstar Alexis Pinturault dominated the men’s tech events and took home both the giant slalom and slalom national titles. Matthieu Bailet won the national super G title and Valentin Giraud Moine skied off with downhill title. Wrapping it all up was Thibaut Favrot, who earned top honors in alpine combined.

The women did not crown an alpine combined champion, but Adeline Baud Mugnier, who suffered a knee injury at World Cup finals in 2015 and had a tough slalom season, was able to claim the slalom title. Taina Barioz took home the giant slalom crown while her teammate, Romane Miradoli, won the super G. Anne-Sophie Barthet, another World Cup veteran, walked away with the downhill title.

Germany
The German national championship spanned two venues: Garmisch for speed and Todtnau for tech. In Garmisch, Susanne Weinbuchner and Klaus Brandner took home the women’s and men’s super G titles. Brandner also earned the downhill crown while Kira Weidle, who competed in her debut World Cup competitions this season, took the women’s downhill crown. Andreas Sander and Patrizia Dorsch each won the alpine combined event.

In Todtnau, Lena Duerr and Fritz Dopfer earned the slalom national championship titles. Katrin Hirtl-Stanggassinger and Fabio Gstrein walked away with the giant slalom titles.

Photo from Federica Brignone

Photo from Federica Brignone

Italy
In the Italian Alps, Irene Curtoni snapped off some fast slalom turns to win her nation’s title. Teammate Federica Brignone was third in that race, but she managed to win the alpine combined event and leave the series with a national title of her own. Not be outdone, sisters, Nadia and Elena Fanchini won the super G and downhill titles. The women’s giant slalom race was canceled.

On the men’s side, Patrick Thaler, who has been racing on the World Cup since 1997, won the slalom in Monte Pora. Fellow World Cup veteran Riccardo Tonetti skied fast enough to claim the giant slalom title. Mattia Casse dominated in the super G competition while De Vettori Matteo found balance between speed and tech to earn the alpine combined national title. Christof Innerhofer, no stranger to the World Cup podium, found his happy place on the national stage, taking the win in the downhill.

Norway
The Attacking Vikings stunned on the world stage all season long then traveled home to do the same. On the women’s side, two women swept up all the national titles. Nina Loeseth, the tech specialist who earned her first World Cup win this season, took home both the slalom and giant slalom national titles. Her teammate, Ragnhild Mowinckel, did what she does best and dominated in the super G, downhill and alpine combined races at her nation’s championships.

Aleksander Aamodt Kilde came off of a stellar World Cup season, after earning the super G globe, to show that his skills span tech and speed. He won the giant slalom national title as well as the downhill title. Young gun Bjorn Brudevoll, a relative outsider, stunned the field with the slalom victory, besting World Cup globe winner Henrik Kristoffersen along the way. Adrien Smiseth Sejersted, younger brother of injured World Cup athlete Lotte Smiseth Sejersted, snagged the super G win, while Marcus Monsen won the alpine combined.

Sweden
The Swedish National Championship results looked similar to its Scandinavian neighbor’s – the national titles went to the few dominant athletes. For the women, Marie Pietilae-Holmner earned the national title in slalom after World Cup globe winner Frida Hansdotter was disqualified in the first run. The other four events – giant slalom, super G, alpine combined and downhill – were all won by World Cup veteran, Kajsa Kling.

Photo from Westberg Ski Team

Photo from Westberg Ski Team

The men had three athletes take national titles. Andre Myhrer, who won the slalom at World Cup finals in St. Moritz, dominated the tech events, skiing to the slalom and giant slalom titles. Alexander Koell, a relative unknown on the international circuit after only starting in two World Cups back in 2015, took home the super G and alpine combined titles. Hans Olsson (pictured left), emerged from retirement for one more race to win the downhill title.

Switzerland
The country that is prepping to host World Championships next season has a strong set of athletes to represent them. On the men’s side, Daniel Yule won the slalom at the national championship race. Justin Murisier skied to the win in giant slalom. When it came to speed, Neils Hintermann made a strong showing, earning both the super G and downhill titles. Loic Meillard won the alpine combined.

For the ladies, Wendy Holdener, who took the alpine combined World Cup globe this season, won the slalom race at her nation’s championship. Aline Danioth, the World Junior Champion in alpine combined, skied to the giant slalom title. Denise Feierabend found her footing in the super G and earned the discipline title. Rahel Kopp snagged the national title in alpine combined while Fabienne Suter earned the title in downhill.

Share This Article

About the Author: Gabbi Hall

A California native, Gabbi moved to Vermont to ski on the NCAA circuit for St. Michael’s College, where she served as team captain and studied journalism. Before joining Ski Racing, she worked as a broadcast TV producer and social media manager in higher education. She can be reached via email at gabbi@skiracing.com