Stefan Brennsteiner celebrated his first victory. © APA / SEAN M. HAFFEY

At 34: Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) unlucky athlete celebrates first victory

At 34 years old, Stefan Brennsteiner has finally achieved his long-overdue first victory in the Ski World Cup.

29 November 2025

From: apa/dl

The Salzburg native extended his lead from the halfway point of the Copper Mountain giant slalom, securing a dominant victory ahead of Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen (+0,95 seconds) and Croatia's Filip Zubcic (+1,00). Marco Schwarz finished fourth, just two hundredths of a second shy of the podium.

“It feels really good. I’ve had a lot of tough moments in my life. That’s why it’s really cool that I stayed focused and managed to pull through like this,” Brennsteiner told ORF. Four cruciate ligament tears plagued the technician’s career, compounded by a mix of poor performance and bad luck in crucial situations. At the home World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, the Pinzgau native lost a ski after just a few seconds of skiing.

Alex Vinatzer finished fifth. © APA / SEAN M. HAFFEY

With an outstanding second run, Alex Vinatzer catapulted himself from 20th to fifth place. The Val Gardena native was by far the best Italian skier. Vinatzer thus equaled his two best giant slalom results. Interestingly, this was the third time the South Tyrolean had finished fifth in a giant slalom. However, a podium finish has so far eluded him.

The action continues in Copper Mountain on Saturday evening (starting at 18 pm CET) with the women's giant slalom.