Lena Dürr was deeply disappointed. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

“Disaster”: Lena Dürr at rock bottom

Lena Dürr's big Olympic dream of a slalom medal was shattered in the second run after less than two seconds.

February 18, 2026

From: dpa/dl

Despite a strong starting position, the German ski racer experienced a sporting fiasco, catching an obstacle at the very first gate. A sudden end instead of her first individual medal at the Winter Games: "A catastrophe, worst case scenario – but that's how it is now," said Dürr, deeply disappointed.

Completely bewildered, she stood in the finish area with her hands on her hips. Teammate Emma Aicher crouched at the finish line with sunglasses over her eyes and turned away from the cameras in horror when Dürr made the mistake shortly after the start, having finished second in the first run.

"It's still hard to grasp here at the finish line." Lena Dürr

"It's still hard to believe here at the finish. You think you're going to get a re-run and it's all starting again," said Dürr. Being eliminated at the first gate – that hadn't happened to her since about 15 years ago in a lower-level FIS race, she said.

There was already a tragedy in Beijing

Four years after the Olympic drama in Beijing, Dürr experienced two more sporting tragedies in the Dolomites. In China in 2022, she had started the second run of the slalom in the lead but ultimately fell back to fourth place. Although she later won silver with the team, it was only a small consolation.

Lena Dürr straddled the first goal in the final. © APA/afp / MARCO BERTORELLO

In Cortina d'Ampezzo, she squandered good medal chances in both the giant slalom, where she finished ninth on Sunday, and the slalom. The Munich native's greatest individual success to date remains her bronze medal from the 2023 World Championships.