'Speechless' Venier wins Super G to claim host Austria's first medal at Saalbach 2025

Stephanie Venier (AUT/Head) won the women's Super G on Thursday morning to secure the first gold medal for hosts Austria at the 2025 Saalbach World Championships.

Wearing the number 7 bib, Venier put down a run of 1:20.47 to oust previous leader Federica Brignone (ITA/Rossignol) by one tenth of a second.

It was a time that proved too tough to beat by those who followed who had been touted for potential medals pre-race, including Sofia Goggia (ITA/Atomic) and Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI/Head), who finished fifth and eighth respectively.

Brignone went on to claim silver, while Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (NOR/Head) tied with this season's young sensation Lauren Macuga (USA/Rossignol) for bronze, 24 hundredths of a second behind Venier. Incredibly it was a second bronze-medal tie at the World Championships for Lie, who shared Super G bronze with Cornelia Hütter (AUT/Head) at the last Championships in 2023.

Venier won silver in the Downhill at the 2017 World Championships in St. Moritz, but Thursday represented her first podium place in Super G, beating her previous best of seventh at the same Championships in 2017.

She is now the fifth woman to win Super G World Championships gold on home snow, and the first since Anja Pärson (SWE) in Are (SWE) in 2007.

"I don't know what to say, I'm just speechless," Venier said. "It was an amazing run, and in front of the home crowd it's even more special.

"It's just a dream. It's just amazing. In front of the home crowd; nothing can beat this.

"I'm a world champ. That's so unreal. Crazy."

Venier's victory makes her the oldest women's winner in World Championships Super G history at 31 years, 1 month and 18 days, beating the previous record held by Regine Cavagnoud (FRA) who won in St. Anton in 2001 at the age of 30 years, 7 months and 2 days.

For Brignone it was a first World Championships medal of any kind in the Super G, and the tone for her result was set on the Panoramasprung where she flew 30 metres before going into a smooth tuck for a fast finish down the final quarter of the course.

"I really fought with myself with what I am used to doing," she said. "I really push on the turns and today I was telling myself 'Just be smooth, don't push, just go down'.

"I knew that if I wanted to fast I had to arrive on the jumps fearless, knowing that if you want to keep the speed you had to jump really far. I've been training for that a lot.

"Actually after the Panorama jump I wanted to push, and I said 'No, no, no, don't push, just go!'."

For Macuga, bronze was a scarcely believable result at her first World Championships.

"Oh my gosh, so good,” she said. “It won't settle in for a while but I keep looking back up at that screen and I'm like wow, my name is there. It's crazy.”

It caps off a superb season so far for the 22-year-old, who won her first World Cup in St. Anton last month.

"After last year I knew I could do it if I just put in some hard work,” she said. “This summer, it was such a hard summer, it was so much time in the gym getting strong but it’s paying off and it’s so fun to see.

“I’m figuring out how to be a better athlete, learning from Lindsey Vonn, learning those tips and tricks. It’s not just about the skiing and the working out. There’s other things you have to do and it’s making the difference. I’m excited.”

Lie said of the tie: "This tie is so special. The skiing was great from Lauren and to share it with her, it means a lot. This medal is everything I've worked for this whole season.

"I've been taking a lot of steps these last weeks in getting more and more self-confident with the gear, with my team and with everyone around me.

"I was really, really nervous today. I was almost sick to my stomach.

"For me it's good to be really nervous when you're inspecting in the morning and in the team hospitality, just to get it out and then you can get less and less nervous going on to the start.

"I was nervous. I tried to embrace it and then get more and more confident the closer we got to the start."

Venier's victory was all but confirmed by the time Lindsey Vonn (USA/Head)'s run in bib number 30 ended after the American collided heavily with a control gate.

"I'm OK, I just hit my nerve somehow when I hit the gate and I lost feeling in my arm but it's coming back slowly," she said.

"I'm sick, I'm a little banged up, but I don't know, I skied the top well I thought.

"I was just a little too aggressive to the gate and it happened. But I'm really happy for Lauren, she skied amazing and I'm really proud of her.”

Vonn said she would assess her shoulder and make a decision on Friday's training in due course but added: "I have to test some more material so I'll probably start tomorrow."