In silver in the inaugural combined of these Worlds, Wendy Holdener will go in search of an 11th international medal on Tuesday in Méribel. The Schwyzoise will have to set the tone in the team parallel. To follow on RTS2 from 12:00.
Wendy Holdener is the most experienced athlete fielded by Swiss-Ski for this Team Event. Andrea Ellenberger is certainly also 29 years old, but she only competed in one race – 10th in the giant in 2019 – as part of the Worlds. Livio Simonet (24) and Semyel Bissig (25) are “rookies” at this level.
In search of a 6th world medal, Wendy Holdener will be one of the few stars in the running, in the first of 6 consecutive days reserved for the technical events. She is, it is true, comfortable in this format: she took part in the 2 Swiss coronations in history, at the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeogChang then at the 2019 Worlds in Are.
These 2 titles are also the only medals obtained by Switzerland during the first 7 Team Events contested on the international scene (5 times at the Worlds, 2 at the Olympic Games). A statistic that clearly demonstrates that anything is possible in an event where the slightest fault can not be forgiven.
With giant skis
In any case, the Swiss team will approach this day without pressure. These Worlds are already a success thanks to the 3 medals won in the downhill. Everything else will be a bonus, especially for Wendy Holdener on Tuesday – then Saturday in the slalom – and for Marco Odermatt on Friday in the giant.
This team parallel, which will start at 12:15 p.m., will be played in the form of duels with 4 head-to-head matches each time over a round. In the event of a 2-2 tie, the addition of the best times achieved by gender will be decisive. Note that skiers will use giant skis for this event.
ats/bao
The Worlds program
TU 14.02: Team-Event in Méribel (12.15 p.m.).
ME 15.02: Men’s and women’s parallels in Méribel (12:00 p.m.).
TH 16.02: giant ladies in Méribel (10 am/1.30 pm).
FRI 17.02: giant gentlemen in Courchevel (10 a.m. / 1.30 p.m.).
SA 18.02: ladies’ slalom in Méribel (10 a.m./1.30 p.m.).
SUN 19.02: men’s slalom in Courchevel (10 a.m./1.30 p.m.).
The selection of Swiss-Ski
Dames (10): Aline Danioth, Andrea Ellenberger, Jasmine Flury, Michelle Gisin, Lara Gut-Behrami, Joana Hählen, Wendy Holdener, Priska Nufer, Camille Rast, Corinne Suter.