Liensberger fights in the slalom final: fifth place despite high pressure!

Liensberger fights in the slalom final: fifth place despite high pressure!

At the slalom final in Sun Valley on March 27, 2025, the Austrian skier Katharina Liensberger had to surrender again. With a fifth place, she could not exceed the Croatian opponent Zrinka Ljutic, who occupies tenth place. Ljutic thus secured 32 points ahead in the overall ranking. Liensberger said in the ORF interview that the pressure was great and that it was a challenging day for her.

Liensberger has not been able to celebrate a World Cup victory since 2022, while Ljutic won three times this season and secured second place. These impressive results led to Ljutic in the pole position for the overall ranking, which further increased the pressure on Liensberger. Despite these challenges, Liensberger stayed constant in ten races, never separated and was always among the best nine. Her best result was a second place and she also won slalom bronze at the World Cup. Satisfied with her stable performance, she continues to work hard.

results of the slalom final

• Katharina Liensberger: 5th place
• Katharina Huber: 12th place
• Katharina troop: threaded

The ÖSV drivers were able to prove themselves in the slalom final, albeit different successfully. Katharina Huber noted that she was missing in the preparation of the speed. Katharina Truppe, who already triumphed and won the World Cup bronze, regretted her departure, but looked back on her season, which she described as an up and down.

ljutics away to the crown

Zrinka Ljutic, who was able to win the overall ranking as a second Croatian woman after Janica Kostelic, saw her success this season as a starting point for a new era in Croatia sports. Influenced by the challenges and the pressure of the competition, she completed the season with the focus on material development. Her achievements, including an initial place on December 29 in Semmering, show their versatility: Until the final in Sun Valley, she would have had difficulty calling up her best performance. However, she accepted this mental challenge as an educational experience.

The total number of winter sports underline the popularity of skiing. According to current statistics, there are over 14.6 million skiers in Germany. The region has 498 ski areas and is therefore a leader in European comparison. A total of 36% of the population in Germany, Liechtenstein and Austria regularly take part in winter sports, which illustrates the deeply rooted ski culture in these countries.

While the season is coming to an end, the achievements of athletes such as Liensberger and Ljutic offer insights into the developments of alpine skiing. The coming seasons will show how this struggle for trophies and titles will continue to develop and which new talent emerge will be in this exciting winter sports.