What a sporty and emotional roller coaster ride at Viktoria Rebensburg in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. On Saturday she wins the downhill and writes a little piece of German ski history. 24 hours later the shock: Your fall on the Kandahar means the season is over.
Bitter: the injured Viktoria Rebensburg is taken care of - and later brought to the hospital.
© dpa / Stephan Jansen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Suddenly it was silent as a mouse in the finish area of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Thousands of ski fans had celebrated Viktoria Rebensburg for their first downhill victory in the World Cup on Saturday - now worried looks went up the mountain.
24 hours after her coup on the Kandahar, Germany's best German alpine athlete had a serious crash in the Super-G - and that was serious, as it turned out only hours later. After a driving error, her skis were torn apart, Rebensburg fell and remained lying next to the track for minutes. It was only when she then crossed the finish line that cheers rose in the stands.
Rebensburg waves to the cheering audience in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
The athlete waved briefly and said after a first short check that she was not seriously injured. The hope was only fulfilled to a limited extent: an MRI examination in the Garmisch hospital did not reveal any ligament tears in the left knee, but a fracture of the tibia head and an internal ligament overstretch. The wound should heal without surgery. Because Rebensburgs is not allowed to ski for six to eight weeks, their winter has ended prematurely.
"It's obviously bitter that the season is over, but I was lucky once again," she said. "All the bands held up, so I am confident that I can ski really quickly again after my rehabilitation." The coming winter, the World Championships in Cortina will be about medals.
Conditions on the Kandahar challenge the skiers, season-out also for Sofia Goggia
Given the many cruciate ligament tears that have been churning the ski world for years, the diagnosis is actually a bit reassuring. Rebensburg fell in the "Hell" section and then hit his knee on a goal bar. She didn't push the fall onto the difficult and changeable slope. The German Alpine boss Wolfgang Maier, on the other hand, said: "For many it was at the limit, for more than half over the limit." Downhill Olympic champion Sofia Goggia from Italy fell in the same place as Rebensburg, broke her arm and had to do the season as well quit prematurely.
What an emotional turn of a weekend when Rebensburg's ski fairy tale should have been the focus in the downhill! "That is part of skiing," said the 2010 Olympic champion, who had left the ski stadium of the Kandahar circuit with the winner Corinne Suter from Switzerland at the end of the Super-G. “If you want to win races, you have to drive at the limit. And that worked out well for me yesterday. ”
Rebensburg succeeds in Garmisch-Partenkirchen dream run in the downhill
The brilliant winner Viktoria Rebensburg on Saturday. "An amazing day," she enthuses.
© dpa / Stephan Jansen
Her dream run on Saturday, the home triumph in front of fans, friends and family, a huge lead over the competition, the first downhill victory of her career: The best German ski racer knew that it would take some time to process all the impressions. "It was a crazy day," she enthused.
In the bright sunshine, the recent slump in earnings was suddenly far away. The otherwise often reserved Rebensburg had a relaxed celebration at the finish line, put its head back, grinned and waved its fist in the air to cheer. A week after the success of Thomas Dreßen, Rebensburg continued the black, red and gold ski festival and toasted with the whole team over a glass of sparkling wine in the evening.
Rebensburg is the second German downhill winner on the Kandahar after Maria Höfl-Riesch
Now Rebensburg wrote a small chapter in German ski history: Ten years after Maria Höfl-Riesch, Rebensburg was only the second German to win a World Cup run on the difficult Kandahar. In the eternal national ranking, thanks to the 19th victory, she has moved up to third place Hilde Gerg. Only Katja Seizinger (36) and Höfl-Riesch (27) won more often.
What pleased Rebensburg most: After 14 successes in the giant slalom and four in the Super-G, the first victory in the supreme discipline was achieved. She had been chasing this success for a long time. She was 0.61 seconds faster than the formally strong Italian Federica Brignone and Super G Olympic champion Ester Ledecka from the Czech Republic (+0.83).
Even women's national coaches were surprised by Rebensburg's ride on Saturday
Even national coach Jürgen Graller was surprised by the race of his best athlete. "The Vicky is an emotional driver, everything has to fit, then it's okay," he said. Rebensburg was the bravest on the icy groomed Kandahar. And Graller said: "Now she is the boss over the skis again."
At the time, however, he had no idea that this assessment would dramatically no longer fit the day after.
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