Sofia Goggia suffers broken fingers as Elena Curtoni wins weather-hit St Moritz Friday downhill
The downhill globe leader finished second behind her teammate in Switzerland but later had to undergo surgery to repair a fractured hand.
Alpine Skiing
Italy's Elena Curtoni made the most of an early start draw to win a shortened FIS Alpine Ski World Cup downhill in St Moritz, Switzerland, on Friday (16 December).
Curtoni was second out of a lowered start hut, with the start having been brought down by 155m in altitude due to overnight snow – with more snow and fog continuing throughout the race.
The Italian set a 1:09.40 in the first women's downhill race held on the Corviglia since the 2017 World Championships, then watched on from the leader's chair as conditions worsened for everyone who came after her.
"I'm really happy, I was able to put all the aggressiveness in the slope and I think with this light (the visibility), it makes a lot of difference, even though a couple of turns I'm not happy about," Curtoni said before her win was confirmed.
Teammate Sofia Goggia, 10th down the hill, had to contend with an unexpected interruption right before her run as a course runner hurt himself at the side of the course.
Despite the delay, during which more snow fell and visibility decreased in the second sector on course, the double Olympic medallist still put in a strong run to finish second (1:09.69).
That despite smacking her left hand into the third gate, dislodging the gate and resulting in what Goggia – the downhill globe leader – told fellow racers after finishing was a broken hand.
After a scan in a local clinic, the Italian ski federation confirmed that the PyeongChang 2018 gold medallist "suffered a fracture of the second and third metacarpal bone in her left hand". They added: "She will undergo surgery today in Milan and the medical commission will do everything it can so she can compete tomorrow in St. Moritz."
In the evening the 30-year-old spoke after the operation was successfully completed: "A contact with a block of ice before the third gate caused me a lot of pain and I immediately understood that something was broken. I look ahead: on Saturday I'll decide about racing only a few minutes before the start."
Switzerland's Olympic champion Corinne Suter, who was seventh on course, completed the podium with a 1:10.13.
Despite racing in difficult conditions, American Mikaela Shiffrin – making her season debut in a speed race – managed a sixth-place finish. "That was my top form for today, I felt I didn't risk something and I also felt secure when I got through the finish – that's a good step for tomorrow with hopefully better lighting and conditions," she said after.
Conditions improved towards the end of the race, ensuring a number of racers managed to score career-best finishes, although none of them made the top 10.
With the result, Goggia extends her lead in the downhill standings to 80 points over Suter. Shiffrin remains top of the overall Crystal Globe standings. The women will race a second downhill in St Moritz on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the men's super-G scheduled for Val Gardena, Italy, on Friday was cancelled due to weather.