Swiss skier Camille Rast secured her first-ever victory in a World Cup giant slalom event on Saturday and dedicated her win to the victims of a tragic fire at a bar in Crans-Montana. Rast paid tribute to the affected families by tapping the black mourning band on her arm twice after completing her final run, edging out Austria’s Julia Scheib by two-tenths of a second in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
Hailing from Vetroz, a village near Crans-Montana, Rast expressed her thoughts on the recent devastating accident during a post-race interview. The fire at the bar in the Swiss ski resort claimed the lives of 40 individuals and left over 100 others injured during a New Year’s celebration.
Upcoming World Cup speed races for women and men are scheduled to take place in Crans-Montana on Jan. 30-31 and Feb. 1, respectively, serving as the final events before the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. American skier Paula Moltzan finished third, trailing by 0.47 seconds, achieving her second podium finish of the season. Meanwhile, Canadian Val Grenier finished ninth, leading the Canadian contingent, with a time gap of 2.05 seconds.
A strong showing by the U.S. ski team was highlighted by Nina O’Brien in eighth place and Elisabeth Bocock in 14th, equaling her career-best result from a previous giant slalom event in Sweden. Julia Scheib extended her lead in the giant slalom standings as her main rival, Alice Robinson of New Zealand, skied out in the first run for the second consecutive race.
The competition continues with a slalom event on Sunday at the same venue, with live coverage accessible on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem. Notably, there are no men’s World Cup races scheduled for this weekend.