Kristian Ghedina: This is how the King of Cortina ticks

South Tyrol plays a special role in Ghedina’s life. His partner Patrizia Auer, who gave him a son last September, comes from Brixen. He has won the downhill run on the Saslong in Val Gardena four times. And the service man who always accompanied him during his World Cup career is also a South Tyrolean. His name is Leo Mussi, he comes from Innichen and hardly anyone will know Ghedina better than him. Coincidentally, the two even have their birthday on the same day (November 20th).

Ghedina only relied on his feeling when skiing and didn't like to listen to the trainers' advice. “You should stop the barrels and let me drive,” he is said to have often said. There has probably never been a downhill skier who jumped as beautifully as him. He was a gifted glider, but jumps were his passion. The straddle at the finish jump in his last race on the Streif in Kitzbühel probably made him more famous than all his victories. Car accident threw him back “I only enjoy it when there is a risk involved.” He often said that. He was always looking for risk, not just when skiing. He was never seriously injured in ski races. However, in 1990, shortly after his first World Cup victory, he had a serious car accident. “It took a few years until he got really good again. “He has lost his best years, otherwise he could have won as many downhill races as Franz Klemm,” Mussi is convinced.

It wasn't easy for him at the beginning with Ghedina because he just drove and didn't give him much feedback about the material. “Once a year he said something about the material and you had to save it,” remembers Mussi. Although he is a sociable person who always seems to be in a good mood, Ghedina could also be moody. However, the mood suddenly improved when a jump was added to the training slope.

Because he was so extroverted, “Ghedo” was considered an airhead who liked to party. But that wasn't the case. He never celebrated victories much. After his success in Kitzbühel, he even broke the tradition of the downhill winner serving beer in the “London” and went straight home. What Ghedina was missing was strong nerves at major events. He never won a major title and once lost the downhill ball in the last race. At the World Championships he won two silvers and one bronze, and at the Olympics his best results were two 6th places in the downhill. Too small a jump In his hometown, Ghedina was not always fully admired. He runs an “agriturismo”, the construction of which took a long time due to differences with the community. But he was always the face of the World Cup bid and also that of Cortina d'Ampezzo's Olympic bid. There is a jump named after him on the “Vertigine” men’s downhill slope. But he wasn't happy with the course setting at the World Cup because “his” jump turned into a hop. Something like that wouldn't deserve the name Ghedina Jump.

By the way, ski waxer Leo Mussi has become a good friend over the years. Ghedina visits him often. Only recently have visits become a little less frequent due to the Corona situation.

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Kristian Ghedina: This is how the King of Cortina ticks

Anyone who says Cortina must also say Ghedina. Kristian Ghedina is the best-known living Cortinese. He was one of the world's best downhill skiers and won 13 World Cup races, including the biggest classics in Kitzbühel and Wengen.

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