The World Champions 2011

11 competitions and a bunch of new champions. Here they are in a short portrait.

February 8th, 2011 - Super G Ladies: Elisabeth Görgl (AUT)

For the beginning of the World Championships there was a drum beat: Elizabeth Görgl from Austria relegates the top favourites from the position. Julia Mancuso (USA) finishes in second place, local hero Maria Riesch manages to get the Bronze medal.

The 30 year old Elizabeth Görgl is from Bruck on Mur. Her mother Traudl Hecher had already managed to win four Bronze medals in the World Championships and Olympic Games. Together with Crizz Geisler Lizz sang the official World Championships song “You’re the hero”.

Gold: GÖRGL Elisabeth (AUT)
Silver: MANCUSO Julia (USA)
Bronze: RIESCH Maria (GER)

February 9th, 2011 - Super-G Men: Christof Innerhofer (ITA)

The South Tyrolese Innerhofer won the first men’s competition and surprised the ski world. Among the favourites just Croatian Ivica Kostelic managed to secure third place. Didier Cuche could only finish fourth. After the Gold medal the day before Austria had also won a Silver medal with Hannes Reichelt.

Christof Innerhofer delighted the journalists during the ski World Championships with his performance in the press conference. The South Tyrolese was born in Bruneck in 1986 and is known as one of the biggest womanizers in the ski circus.

G: INNERHOFER Christof (ITA)
S: REICHELT Hannes (AUT)
B: KOSTELIC Ivica (CRO)

February 11th, 2011 - Super Combined Ladies: Anna Fenninger (AUT)

After her first place finish in the Super Combination Anna Fenninger became the third surprise winner in the third race. She relegated the Slovenian Tina Maze and the Swede Anja Paerson from their positions. After the Downhill race Lizz Görgl and Dominique Gisin had secured the first two positions. But Fenninger fought her way from fourth place to first. The local hero Maria Riesch who was weakened with flu could only manage twelfth position.

After four Gold medals in the Youth Championships Anna Fenninger got her first Gold in the Ski World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The 1.66 m Austrian was born in Hallein the region of Tennengau in 1989. In the Super Combined in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games she could only manage 16th position. She studied hotel management and in her free time she enjoys motocross and wake boarding.

G: FENNINGER Anna (AUT)
S: MAZE Tina (SLO)
B: PAERSON Anja (SWE)

February 12th, 2011 - Downhill Men: Erik Guay (CAN)

From 28th position in the Downhill World Cup ranking to first in the World Championships: Erik Guay impressed with his race in the prestige Downhill discipline in the Alpine Ski World Championships. The Canadian won with an advantage of just 32 hundredths ahead of Swiss Didier Cuche and Italian Christof Innerhofer.

In the 2007 Downhill race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen Erik Guay won his first World Cup race. Four years later in the same place he won the Gold medal. He was born in Quebec in 1981.

G: GUAY Erik (CAN)
S: CUCHE Didier (SUI)
B: INNERHOFER Christof (ITA)

February 13th, 2011 - Downhill Ladies: Elisabeth Görgl (AUT)

Lizz Goergl wins again and becomes double World Champion. Confidently and clear minded she secured her second Gold medal. The big duel between the two friends and competitors Maria Riesch and Lindsey Vonn this time the American won and finished second position and Maria Riesch finished third.

G: GOERGL Elisabeth (AUT)
S: VONN Lindsey (USA)
B: RIESCH Maria (GER)

February 14th, 2011 - Super Combined Men: Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR)

The medal package is complete: after winning Gold in the Super G and Bronze in the Downhill Christof Innerhofer could only manage Silver in the Combined. Aksel Lund Svindal’ s victory was almost just a minor point. Peter Fill moved the press with his emotional speech in the press conference when he told them about the hard time due to his father’s sickness.

Aksel Lund Svindal was born on the east side of the capital Oslo Lorenskog in 1982. He is US Julia Mancuso’s boyfriend and one of nowadays most successful skiers. In the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games he won Gold, Silver and Bronze. His first place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen is his forth Gold medal in the Alpine Ski World Championships.

G: SVINDAL Aksel Lund (NOR)
S: INNERHOFER Christof (ITA)
B: FILL Peter (ITA)

February 16th, 2011 - Nations Team Event: France

For the first time the Nations Team Event was set up in a Parallel Slalom: the fans were impressed and the stands where shaking as they watched the exciting duels. The German quartette Veronique Hronek, Lena Dürr, Fritz Dopfer and Felix Neureuther dropped out only 18 hundredths behind France who became World Champions. Austria was placed second, Sweden finished third. Felix Neureuther thought that this event was “definitely suitable for future Olympic Games.”

G: France
S: Austria
B: Sweden

February 17th, 2011 - Giant Slalom Ladies: Tina Maze (SLO)

Tina Maze saved an advance of 9 hundreths after the two Giant Slalom runs in a dramatic final run. She won ahead of young Italian Federica Brignone. Favourite Tessa Worley from France finished on third place after an amazing second run from rank 19 after the first run. Maria Riesch (GER) failed to finish and also Germany's second medal favorite Victoria Rebensburg failed to place on the podium. She finished on fifth position.

She was known as a permanent second. In Vancouver 2010 she won two Silver medals, in the 2011 Super Combined she was also second. After the Giant Slalom she was called World Champion, finally. Tina Maze won her first big title.

G: MAZE Tina (SLO)
S: BRIGNONE Federica (ITA)
B: WORLEY Tessa (FRA)

February 18th, 2011 - Giant Slalom Men: Ted Ligety (USA)

Thousands of fans screamed “Schörgi” but the favourite was not beaten. In the Giant Slalom Ted Ligety won the Gold medal ahead of the French Cyprien Richard in second place. Philipp “Schörgi” Schörghofer finished in third place and the Austrian nation wouldn’t stop partying.

Theodore Sharp is his full name but he is called Ted: Ligety stood on skies at the age of two years in his hometown Salt Lake City in the US state of Utah. After eight World Cup victories in his favorite discipline Giant Slalom now he has won Gold in the World Championships. The 26 year old friend of Felix Neureuther designs ski goggles, sun glasses and ski helmets in his free time.

G: LIGETY Ted (USA)
S: RICHARD Cyprien (FRA)
B: SCHOERGHOFER Philipp (AUT)

February 19th, 2011 - Slalom Ladies: Marlies Schild (AUT)

Austria again and again. After Marlies Schild’s victory and the second place finish of Katrin Zettel in the ladies’ slalom the slogan “Festival in the snow” changes into “Austrian festival in the snow”. Schild rescued her advantage from the first run to the finish and became World Champion. Swede Maria Pietilae-Holmner improved her position from fourth place to third and relegates Maria Riesch to an unthankful fourth place.

She is a real slalom queen. Marlies Schild, 29 years old, ist the best Slalom runner in Austria's history and the second-best overall after Swiss Vreni Schneider. Marlies Schild and her boyfriend Benjamin Raich are Austria's most successful winter couple.

G: SCHILD Marlies (AUT)
S: ZETTEL Kathrin (AUT)
B: PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria (SWE)

February 20th, 2011 - Slalom Men: Jean-Baptiste Grange (FRA)

Jean-Noel Augert (FRA) was the last Slalom World Champion of France. He won the Slalom 1970 in Val Gardena/Gröden. 41 years after his win Jean-Baptiste Grange went into the footsteps of Augert. Grange ist 26 years old and is from the Savoie. He defended his lead of the first run in a superior way. The Silver medal went to Sweden's Jens Byggmark, the Bronze medal to Italy's Manfred Mölgg.

G: GRANGE Jean-Baptiste (FRA)
S: BYGGMARK Jens (SWE)
B: MOELGG Manfred (ITA)

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