JASNA (January 20, 2024) – A fantastic day unfolded on the slopes of Jasna for 31-year-old Swede Sara Hector. After two brilliant and fastest runs, she won the giant slalom with a total lead of 1.52 seconds over American Mikaela Shiffrin. Third place went to New Zealander Alice Robinson, who trailed the victorious Swede by 2.71 seconds. "The first run went better for me; in the second one, I made a few mistakes right at the beginning, but in the end, it was enough for the podium. So, I'm satisfied. The track really suited me," confessed Robinson.
Hector, the Olympic champion from Beijing 2022, had been waiting for a World Cup triumph for almost two years. Her joy at the finish line was therefore all the more spontaneous. "Amazing. I felt good in the morning, but to achieve this. The snow was fantastic, the atmosphere was fabulous. I really enjoyed it," said Hector at the finish.
It was already the seventh giant slalom of the World Cup season, bringing the name of the fifth winner. Two victories are on the account of Federica Brignone from Italy and Lara Gut-Behrami from Switzerland, while Mikaela Grenier from the USA, Valérie Grenier from Canada, and the aforementioned Hector each have one. Gut-Behrami has now taken the lead in the World Cup, with a 25-point lead over Brignone.
In any case, these were special races with massive time differences. More than five and a half seconds separated the victorious Hector from the tenth-placed Norwegian Lie. Only fourteen racers managed to complete the race, with thirteen of them dropping out in the first round. This included the local favorite Petra Vlhova, who ended up in the hospital for examination.
