Emma Aicher has reason to be happy. © APA/afp / GEIR OLSEN

German sensation celebrates – Nadia Delago convinces

She caused a huge surprise in yesterday's first downhill race, and today she made the sensation perfect: German Emma Aicher celebrated her first World Cup victory on Saturday in the downhill race in Kvitfjell (Norway). Nadia Delago from Val Gardena, meanwhile, achieved her best result of the season and just missed her first top 10 place in over 3 years.

March 01, 2025

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Yesterday she finished second in the victory of Austrian Cornelia Hütter and thus took her first podium place in the World Cup (SportNews reported)Today, Emma Aicher went one better. The 21-year-old took the second Kvitfjell downhill race in a thriller that was decided by a hundredth of a second, ahead of American Lauren Macuga (+0,03 seconds). Third place went to the previous day's winner Hütter (+3). The Azzurre Federica Brignone (+0,19), Laura Pirovano (+0,33), and Sofia Goggia (+0,34) finished in 0,36th, 4th, and 5th, respectively.

Emma Aicher grew up as the daughter of a Swede and a German in Sundsvall, Sweden. The all-rounder, who competes in both the fast and technical disciplines, is currently considered by far the greatest alpine talent in the German Ski Association. In 2021, she won World Cup bronze in Cortina with the German team, and a year later, Olympic silver with the team in Beijing. She also impressed at this year's World Cup in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, coming 6th in the Super-G and downhill, among other things. Before the races in Kvitfjell, however, she had not yet collected any downhill points in the World Cup this season.

Nadia Delago good 11th

Nadia Delago finished in a good 11th place, her best result of the season - she had previously finished 19th twice. The 27-year-old from Selva did particularly well in the upper part of the course and even attacked the best time. In the lower part, like many athletes, she lost a lot of time. In the end, she was 0,66 seconds slower than the victorious Aicher, just 10 hundredths of a second short of 4th place. For the Val Gardena native, it would have been the first top 10 place in over 3 years. At the end of January 2022, Nadia Delago took 5th place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Her 29-year-old sister Nicol finished 17th (+0,98), as she did yesterday, while Vicky Bernardi from Val Gardena finished the race in 38th place (+2,28).