Snowboard
ÖSV veteran Benjamin Karl celebrated his first win of the season at the World Cup in Blue Mountain on Thursday. The 37-year-old from Lower Austria prevailed in parallel RTL in the final once morest Korean Lee Sang-Ho. In the women’s category, the Swiss Ladina Jenny celebrated her first World Cup victory. Third was Sabine Schöffmann, who prevailed once morest Claudia Riegler in the small final.
“It feels great, it’s my first podium this year,” said the 37-year-old Olympic champion following his 19th individual victory in the World Cup. “The conditions were really difficult. The slope wasn’t icy enough. It got harder and harder all the way to the final. There was a hole in the middle of the red course, and I kept losing speed there. In 2010 I won an Olympic silver medal in Canada – my first. I’ve loved it here ever since.”
On the way to the final, Karl prevailed at the last World Cup station of the Raceboader before the World Cup in the first of two parallel giant slaloms in the duel between the two ÖSV veterans once morest his 42-year-old teammate Andreas Prommegger, who in the fourth RTL season for the first time did not get on the podium. Alexander Payer failed there at the eventual finalist Lee. For Fabian Obmann, however, it was a round earlier in the round of 16 once morest the Italian Gabriel Messner.
Ulbing slips in the quarterfinals
Three Austrians took part in the round of 16 among the women. Riegler prevailed in the quarterfinals once morest Daniela Ulbing, who slipped. In the race for the grand final, the 49-year-old from Salzburg lost out to the Italian Lucia Dalmasso, who was almost half her age. Sabine Schöffmann lost her semi-final once morest Jenny. On Friday (from 7.10 p.m. live on ORF Sport +) there is another giant slalom on the program in Blue Mountain. The World Cup in Bakuriani, Georgia, is scheduled from February 19 to March 5.
