Liensberger is aiming for a slalom victory at the home World Championships in Saalbach!

Liensberger is aiming for a slalom victory at the home World Championships in Saalbach!

On February 15, 2025, the Alpine Ski World Championships in Saalbach were all about the Austrian athlete Katharina Liensberger. The talented skier had already attracted attention this season with a strong fifth place in the overall ranking at the World Championships. Her performance in the slalom qualification was particularly notable, where she felt the spirit of the home fans behind her. Liensberger was optimistic: "I think I was always stronger in slalom than in giant slalom. But I just managed to get the consistency going." Nevertheless, it was disappointing in the giant slalom, where she only finished twelfth as the best Austrian and the gap to the new world champion Federica Brignone from Italy was a considerable four and a half seconds. Her weaknesses in crucial areas cost her valuable speed, which she reflected critically on after the race vorarlberg.orf.at reported.

Successful competition and generational change

In the team combination, where Liensberger started the race with downhill runner-up Mirjam Puchner, the longed-for precious metal also failed to materialize. After Puchner's strong departure, which took third place, Liensberger was unable to maintain his position, so the duo ended up in fifth place. Meanwhile, Swiss female skiers, including Camille Rast, also put in outstanding performances, noting that perhaps a generational change is coming to Alpine skiing. Rast, who has already enjoyed impressive success, noted that she could adjust her goals for next season and praised the atmosphere in Saalbach: “The Austrian fans are really excited and the organization has done a great job,” he said fis-ski.com reported.