Austrian Stephanie Venier was the surprise super-G winner on home snow at the World Alpine Skiing Championships, while American Lauren Macuga shared bronze in the first senior worlds race of her career.
Venier, 31, prevailed by one tenth of a second over Italian Federica Brignone, the world’s top overall ski racer this season. Brignone, 34, broke Lindsey Vonn’s record as the oldest woman to earn an individual world medal.
Macuga and Norway’s Kajsa Vickhoff Lie were 24 hundredths behind in Saalbach.
Venier, ranked ninth this World Cup season in the super-G, earned her second world championships medal — eight years after taking downhill silver. She is the oldest woman to win a world super-G title and the oldest Austrian woman to win world championships gold in any individual event.
ALPINE SKIING WORLDS: Results | Broadcast Schedule
Macuga, a 22-year-old having a breakout season, is the youngest skier to win a world championships medal in a speed race (downhill or super-G) since Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami took super-G silver in 2013.
She is also the first American to win a medal in her first world championships race since 1993.
“Coming into this year, I was just hoping to make the team,” Macuga said on Peacock. “It’s just cool to see that I’m figuring out how to do it more and more consistently.”
Macuga’s older sister, Sam, competes this weekend in the first women’s ski jumping World Cup ever held in the U.S. (in Lake Placid, New York). Younger sister Alli is expected to compete in a moguls World Cup in Deer Valley, Utah.
Vonn skied out after smacking and dislodging a pole of the 11th gate with her right arm and helmet, 24 seconds into her run.
She said she mistimed the gate because she changed to different ski boots from what she used in past races. She is still fine-tuning her equipment after spending five years in retirement.
“I just went in a little bit too early to the turn, and I caught my shoulder and my arm on the gate,” Vonn said. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that in my career, so I was a little bit confused. I’m fine. My arm was numb when it happened. I’m getting feeling back, so I’ll be fine for the downhill on Saturday.”
Vonn, the 2010 Olympic downhill gold medalist and 82-time World Cup race winner, is skiing at her first worlds since 2019. Her goal is to make a fifth Olympic team next year and retire for good after the Milan Cortina Games.
Vonn began considering a comeback after partial right knee replacement surgery last April. An initial goal was to be a non-competitive forerunner at worlds. She returned to World Cup competition Dec. 21 and in seven races on the circuit has best finishes of fourth (super-G) and sixth (downhill).
“I had no preparation. I didn’t expect to be here,” she said. “Literally every day is a test. I’m trying new things. I’m trying to get everything in a position to where next year I’m competitive. I know my skiing is there. I just need to get all of the other pieces put together to make a whole picture, and right now I don’t really have that. Again, I think I’ve done pretty well for what I have, but I just need a little bit more time.”
Vonn said Wednesday that she had “a bad cold or flu” on the eve of worlds.
“I kind of like the challenge,” she said after Thursday’s race. “I’m sick, and I’m low energy, but I need to be able to focus when I’m in the starting gate, and I did that. Obviously, I made a mistake, but I was prepared today.”
Worlds continue Friday with the men’s super-G, live at 5:30 a.m. ET on Peacock.
FIS World Alpine Skiing Championships Results — Women’s Super-G
Gold: Stephanie Venier (AUT) -- 1:20.47
Silver: Federica Brignone (ITA) -- +.10
Bronze: Lauren Macuga (USA) -- +.24
Bronze: Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (NOR) -- +.24
5. Sofia Goggia (ITA) -- +.30
6. Emma Aicher (GER) -- +.52
7. Ester Ledecka (CZE) -- +.63
8. Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) -- +.70
9. Elena Curtoni (ITA) -- +.76
10. Cornelia Huetter (AUT) -- +.91
19. Breezy Johnson (USA) — +1.73
24. Keely Cashman (USA) — +1.99
DNF. Lindsey Vonn (USA)
