The weather has delivered a third spectacular day for the women’s races in Lake Louise. Although still not warm, it was warmer. The situation created a perfect venue for the race. If nothing else, this is a day to celebrate all that Lake Louise has contributed to the sport of ski racing. 

Sunday’s Super-G provided great sports entertainment. A fitting end to what could be the final World Cup in Lake Louise. 

With a challenging course set pushing the women to their limits, the weekend saw its first non-Italian winner. Although no one on the podium was a surprise, the podium athletes were spread over ten start numbers, a testament to the quality of the surface.

Ultimately, Switzerland’s Corinne Suter picked up her first Lake Louise victory by 0.02 seconds over Austria’s Cornelia Huetter. This time margin amounts to a photo finish at the line. While neither woman was outstanding in the first sector, they were both excellent in the final three. It was Suter’s second career World Cup Super-G victory. 

During the weekend, Suter finished second in the first downhill, 0.04 second behind Goggia, and third in the 2nd downhill, 0.03 seconds behind second-place Austrian Nina Ortlieb. However, this time the hundredths advantaged Suter. This proves just how close the abilities of the top women are.

Suter had earned five previous podium finishes at Lake Louise — including second place on Friday and third on Saturday — but never had managed to climb to the top step at the Canadian speed venue until now.

Third place went to Norway’s Ragnhild Mowinckel, who skied the first two sectors brilliantly only to lose time in the bottom two sectors and finish 0.26 behind Suter. Notably, Mowinckel won the last women’s World Cup Super-G in France at last season’s finals. It was her 5th Super-G podium.

Sofia Goggia must be mentioned. Despite a big mistake, the double downhill winner finished 5th on the day. Goggia was 0.36 behind the winning Suter. She was one of three Italians in the top ten.

Top North American results

The top North American on the day was Canadian Marie-Michele Gagnon. She notably finished in the 8th position, the best Lake Louise result of her career. Gagnon started with bib 24 and delighted the hometown fans when she crossed the finish line. She propelled herself up the ranks by skiing the last three sectors beautifully. 

Veteran Canadian Valerie Grenier missed World Cup points finishing 31st, only 0.06 out of 30th.

The US can be proud of the week-long efforts of Breezy Johnson and Bella Wright. While both women are capable of podiums, they were able to ski well in all three races. Both women had top 5 sectors in the Super-G.

“It was a tough weekend for me. I definitely did not have the confidence that I was looking for and that I had in training. Gotta go back to the drawing board and figure out how to get that confidence back,” said Johnson.

Wright leaves Canada with a season rank of 15th in downhill and 24th in Super-G. Johnson is currently 20th in downhill and 23rd in Super-G.

Anaylsis of top three and top 31 North Americans and top 31 results for Lake Louise Dec. 4th Super-G

Lake Louise World Cup women’s Super-G results from 12/4/22

The Associated Post contributed to this report.