Goggia Wins Downhill Globe in Nail-Biter Final Race

By Published On: March 14th, 2018Comments Off on Goggia Wins Downhill Globe in Nail-Biter Final Race

Fans could see the worry on Sofia Goggia’s face as the cameras cut to her intensely watching the race in the finish area of the final World Cup downhill in Are, Sweden. The Italian sat in second place, 0.06 seconds behind American Lindsey Vonn and with a three-point lead in the discipline standings. If anyone got between them–like Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka or American Alice McKennis–Goggia’s dream of winning the globe would slip away instantly.

Racer after racer came down unable to match the rivals’ pace and the times held, though McKennis got close, sliding into third place just 0.28 seconds away from the win. When all 26 racers came across the finish line, it was official: Goggia had won the first World Cup globe of her career.

“I’ve been dreaming this since lifetime, and now I have it,” the Italian said in the finish area. “I really think it’s unbelievable. The last days were really tough. I was really exhausted and tired, and I used all the energy I had to perform my best in this race.”

The daredevil skier is just the fourth Italian woman to win a World Cup discipline globe, and the second to win a downhill globe. After the race, she said that winning the globe was confirmation that her Olympic gold medal in downhill was not a fluke. No doubt the combination of the two awards made for a dream season.

“It reminds me of the days when Maria [Hoefl-Reisch] and I were fighting for every single title, every single year, and now there’s new face and Sofia’s a great character,” Vonn said of her rivalry with the Italian. “She always gives it 110 percent and sometimes she wins, sometimes she crashes. I feel like it’s very similar to myself, so we have a great deal of respect for each other and it’s been fun competing with her this year.”

For Vonn, the victory brings her one step closer to the all-time wins record held by Sweden’s Ingemar Stenmark, who had 86 World Cup victories in his career. The American now has 82 victories to her name, and could surpass the record next season.

In the shadow of the Goggia-Vonn rivalry, McKennis won a personal victory, returning to the podium for the first time since she won a downhill in St. Anton, Austria, in 2013. The American battled back from several injuries over the last few years and a disappointing 2016-17 season that she thought might mark the end of her career. After her fifth-place downhill performance in PyeongChang, McKennis carried her momentum into Finals, taking third.

Alice Mckennis charges to third place in the women’s downhill on March 14 in Are, Sweden. // Image credit: Alexis Boichard/Agence Zoom

“I mean I’m obviously incredibly excited and so stoked,” she shared. “It’s been a journey to get here again and to be on the podium again is amazing.”

The American was able to share the personal milestone with her family despite being so far from home.

“My dad is here, and it seems like whenever he’s around, I either do pretty well or really bad, so I think today he was a good luck charm,” McKennis said with a smile.

There were two other U.S. Ski Team members in the mix with Breezy Johnson skiing to eighth place while Stacey Cook did not finish.

Action continues on Thursday in Are, Sweden, with the final men’s and women’s super-G races of the season.


Top 10

  1. Lindsey Vonn (USA) – Head / Head / Head
  2. Sofia Goggia (ITA) – Atomic / Atomic / Atomic
  3. Alice McKennis (USA) –Head / Head / Head
  4. Viktoria Rebensburg (USA) – Stoeckli / Lange / Marker
  5. Jasmine Flury (SUI) – Stoeckli / Lange / Marker
  6. Johanna Schnarf (ITA) – Fischer / Fischer / Fischer
  7. Tina Weirather (LIE) – Head / Head / Head
  8. Breezy Johnson (USA) –  Atomic / Atomic / Atomic
  9. Nicole Schmidhofer (AUT) – Head / Head / Head
  10. Nadia Fanchini (ITA) –Dynastar / Lange / Look

Official Results

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Total Time Diff. FIS Points WC Points
 1  13  537544 VONN Lindsey 1984 USA  55.65  0.00  100
 2  9  298323 GOGGIA Sofia 1992 ITA  55.71  +0.06  1.35  80
 3  23  538685 MCKENNIS Alice 1989 USA  55.93  +0.28  6.29  60
 4  3  205218 REBENSBURG Viktoria 1989 GER  55.98  +0.33  7.41  50
 5  4  516248 FLURY Jasmine 1993 SUI  56.02  +0.37  8.31  45
 6  6  296427 SCHNARF Johanna 1984 ITA  56.08  +0.43  9.66  40
 7  7  355050 WEIRATHER Tina 1989 LIE  56.14  +0.49  11.01  36
 8  12  6535455 JOHNSON Breezy 1996 USA  56.21  +0.56  12.58  32
 9  19  55970 SCHMIDHOFER Nicole 1989 AUT  56.34  +0.69  15.50  29
 10  8  296729 FANCHINI Nadia 1986 ITA  56.36  +0.71  15.95  26
 11  22  155763 LEDECKA Ester 1995 CZE  56.42  +0.77  17.30  24
 12  20  516319 SUTER Corinne 1994 SUI  56.47  +0.82  18.42  22
 13  1  55947 VEITH Anna 1989 AUT  56.60  +0.95  21.34  20
 14  24  516280 HOLDENER Wendy 1993 SUI  56.70  +1.05  23.58  18
 15  11  425929 MOWINCKEL Ragnhild 1992 NOR  56.74  +1.09  24.48  16
 16  15  516284 GISIN Michelle 1993 SUI  56.81  +1.16  26.06  0
 17  26  705423 VLHOVA Petra 1995 SVK  56.82  +1.17  26.28  0
 18  10  206668 WEIDLE Kira 1996 GER  56.88  +1.23  27.63  0
 18  2  197383 GAUTHIER Tiffany 1993 FRA  56.88  +1.23  27.63  0
 20  16  56087 SIEBENHOFER Ramona 1991 AUT  56.90  +1.25  28.08  0
 21  25  196928 WORLEY Tessa 1989 FRA  57.04  +1.39  31.22  0
 22  17  56177 VENIER Stephanie 1993 AUT  57.15  +1.50  33.69  0
 23  21  426257 LIE Kajsa Vickhoff 1998 NOR  57.37  +1.72  38.63  0
Did not finish 1st run
 14  537582 COOK Stacey 1984 USA  0
 5  516138 GUT Lara 1991 SUI  0
Did not start 1st run
 18  297601 BRIGNONE Federica 1990 ITA  0

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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