Austria surprises at home World Cup: shower of medals in Saalbach!

Austria surprises at home World Cup: shower of medals in Saalbach!

The 2025 Alpine Ski World Championships in Saalbach, Austria, offered a number of surprises and exciting competitions. In an unexpected high, Austria's athletes brought home a total of seven medals, including two gold ones. The goal of the Austrian ski president Roswitha Stadlober was a medal haul of six to eight, which was considered courageous, but was ultimately achieved precisely. Raphael Haaser reached the highlight of the event when he won gold in the giant slalom with start number 22 and without a previous World Cup victory - a real drama in Austria's “problem discipline”.

Surprising performances by the athletes

The Super-G competition was another stage for the Austrian athlete Stephanie Venier, who caused a stir with her victory and a time of 1:20.47. In the downhill, US star Breezy Johnson showed her strength and took gold in a time of 1:41.29, while Austria's Mirjam Puchner secured the silver medal. According to NBC Sports, Lauren Macuga's women's Super-G medal-winning bronze was a notable achievement for the U.S. team. The championship not only showed the form of the favorites, but also the return of old stars, including the comeback of the Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami.

In men's racing, Franjo Von Allmen of Switzerland won two gold medals, one in the downhill and one in the team combination. His compatriot Marco Odermatt secured the gold medal in the Super-G. Another highlight was the performance of Vincent Kriechmayr, who won the silver medal in the downhill. While the events took place in front of an international audience, the competitions also brought new faces and future stars into the spotlight of the ski circuit and lit up the medal table with unforeseen results.