DAY #7 SPORTS FOCUS: ‘Swiss Miss’ Gut-Behrami charges to maiden Olympic victory, skier/snowboarder Ledecka a bit short in bid for fourth gold

There were numerous intriguing storylines entering the women’s super-G on ‘The Rock’ piste – would Czech Ester Ledecka once again amaze the snow sports world, pursuing an unprecedented, otherworldly, Olympic skiing/snowboard double-double? Could Mikaela Shiffrin overcome her severe disappointment and internal struggles following two uncharacteristic DNF’s in her opening tech races? And what about the pesky Italians, top three in the World Cup super-G standings, competing on Friday in the absence of Sofia Goggia, who sat the race out, still recovering from injury?

However, the prevailing narrative was 31-year-old Swiss Lara Gut-Behrami attacking with aggression, displaying the composure of the wily veteran she is and laying down a technically proficient run to win her first Olympic gold medal at her third Olympic Games.

Gut-Behrami, kicked out of the start gate seventh, and from the Sugar jump on down through the twisting, two-kilometer course, gained time, increasing her lead over Austrian Mirjam Puchner to .67 seconds at the final split. However she threw away roughly four-tenths in the lower Canyons section of the course, clocking a time of 1:13.51, 0.22 seconds ahead of the Austrian.

Minutes ticked by, seeming like forever on her Swiss watch, as Gut-Behrami nervously observed from the finish area, looking angelic, adorned in a white jacket, white hat and with her white Head skis behind her, as numerous challengers, one-by-one, failed to stop the clock faster than the Swiss star’s time. Victory would become hers.

“I had no strategy at all, I just tried to ski, this has always been a little bit of a problem in the past, thinking what to do what to do better and now I just tried to ski,” Gut-Behrami said after her first Olympic triumph.

I just love super-G – I tried to give my best, and in the finish I wasn’t really sure if it would be enough, but it’s amazing.

“It’s so fresh right now and I was so nervous in the finish area that someone would come and be faster – I’m just happy trying to enjoy it, but I probably need a few more days to really understand what is going on,” she said.

It was a great day to be Swiss as Gut-Behrami was joined by teammate Michell Gisin on the podium, the 2018 Olympic Alpine combined champion having claimed bronze.

The veteran Swiss racer adds Olympic gold to her long resume of achievements: an overall World Cup title, three super-G titles, 34 World Cup wins, eight World championship medals, including two gold, and two previous Olympic medals, including GS bronze in Beijing just four days ago.

She received a big hug from her father, also her coach, in the finish area.

“That’s the most important thing in life, to have family, to have amazing people around me and I’m happy to share that with them,” Gut-Behrami said.

The Swiss champion shed tears on the victory podium as her national anthem played, flanked by her significantly taller fellow medalists – the Austrian Puchner, who took silver and her Swiss teammate Gisin.

Gut-Behrami is the first Swiss female racer to win Olympic super-G gold, the speed event having debuted at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. The victory, IMHO, affirms her status as the greatest Swiss female skier of all-time.

The Czech Ledecka continued her remarkable quest for a fourth Olympic gold medal, having two in snowboard parallel giant slalom, one collected just three days ago just to the north in Zhangjiakou. Her super-G gold came four years ago, in an absolute shocker at PyeongChang 2018, as she charged, somewhat recklessly, from back at the pack, bib 27, and stole what seemed like a certain victory from Austrian Anna Fenninger, leaving the ski and sports world, and even Ester herself, in utter disbelief.

In Friday’s super-G, starting second, the Czech sensation attacked with her usual ‘no fear’ mentality, laying down a solid run, but she was quickly surpassed by the next racer Puchner. Ultimately, her time held up for a solid fifth, 0.43 seconds off the winning pace.

Ledecka continues to astound with her double discipline snow sport pursuits, and the magnitude of her accomplishments still doesn’t receive nearly enough recognition and amazement from the mainstream sports world.

Shiffrin overcame her demons of days past, and skied confidently to a respectable ninth-place finish, 0.79 seconds off Gut-Behrami’s winning time.

“It felt really good to get past those first four or five gates on the hill, but I also wasn’t skiing to finish, I was pushing, and I was skiing good turns, strong turn about where it has to be with no practice in the event, but I just inspected, had a plan – the whole team around us, we all had a really good inspection and I had the right mentality and the right intensity,” Shiffrin said in the finish area after her top-ten finish.

“The last couple of weeks haven’t been going the way I’d expect and I’m not even talking about results, I’m talking about the feeling I had on my skis was just different then how I thought it might be,” said the American three-time Olympic medalist. “Today, it started to line up again and that’s a big relief actually.”

Shiffrin received an outpouring of support and love in the finish area, after her hardships and self-reflection this week, following tough to swallow DNF’s in both the GS and slalom.

Swiss bronze medalist Gisin was seen giving the American a big hug in the finish area, among other happy moments with her fellow racers.

Shiffrin has the downhill, alpine combined and the team event ahead of her.

Shaun White bids farewell, leaving his sport in competent hands

Shaun White came up a little bit short in his bid for a fourth Olympic snowboard halfpipe gold medal, competing at his fifth Olympic Games. The legendary U.S. snowboarder finished fourth in Friday’s halfpipe final, his second run of 85.00, just out of the medals, 2.25 points behind Swiss bronze medalist Jan Scherer.

Japan’s Ayumu Hirano, 23, soared to gold, while Aussie Scotty James, 27, won silver for the southern hemisphere nation.

The 35-year-old White, who is calling it a career, was poignant and emotional, shedding tears, while addressing the future of the sport without him, having competed at his final major competition.

“I pushed myself to do the next big trick and how do I deliver this performance and stay on top and keep this younger generation in their place,” White said, half laughing and half crying. “I knew this day was inevitable, and it’s here finally, and I’m proud to have affected that younger generation.”

“People keep asking me what my legacy is in this sport and I think you saw it today – Ayumu and Scottie, and these amazing competitors putting down dream runs.

“I’m proud to have affected them and I’m hoping to cheer them on from here on out.”

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