New faces and ÖSV disillusionment: That was the Junior World Cup

World championships for young racers in alpine ski racing have been taking place since 1982. However, no event of this kind has experienced such great media interest as was the case in St. Anton over the past two weeks. All competitions were broadcast live on Austrian television. The final men's slalom saw an Italian winner in Corrado Barbera. He had already secured the gold medal together with Marco Abbruzzese in the newly held team combination.

The 20-year-old Swede Hanna Aronsson is leaving Elfman St. Anton as the most successful athlete. The World Cup-tested runner had already won gold in the giant slalom in Bansko in 2021. She was now able to repeat this success and also won the giant slalom. The 16-year-old Lara Colturi, daughter of Italian Olympic champion Daniela Ceccarelli, won gold in the super-G and bronze in the giant slalom.

Lara Colturi is the new star in the ski sky. © Lara Colturi

She is competing for Albania. In the men's race, in addition to Barbera, the achievements of the Frenchman Alban Elezi Cannaferina should be highlighted, who won the giant slalom and took second place in the downhill. The 19-year-old athlete from Chamrousse followed in the footsteps of his famous compatriot Alexis Pinturault, who became junior world champion in giant slalom in 2009 and 2011.

Austria with a weak balance sheet For the Austrian Ski Association, looking at the medal count is sobering. For the first time in the history of the Junior World Championships, there are no silver or gold medals. Bronze for Vincent Wieser in the Super-G and together with Jakob Greber in the team combination are the only medals from an Austrian perspective. Confronted with this, the sporting director of the ÖSV, Herbert Mandl, also explained on the occasion of the night slalom in Schladming that the association is facing major challenges in youth work.

Nevertheless, ÖSV President Roswitha Stadlober was satisfied with the event in St. Anton am Arlberg. At the closing ceremony, she praised not only the athletes, but also the young people who were responsible for moderating the competitions. They were selected by the organizer as part of a casting. For the St. Anton Tourism Association, the Junior World Championships were an opportunity to dare to look into the future, true to the motto “our next step”. “The next step for us would be for St. Anton to be the next candidate for a major World Cup after Saalbach,” explained the association’s director Martin Ebster.

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New faces and ÖSV disillusionment: That was the Junior World Cup

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