Alpine Skiers Cautiously Look Ahead to Beijing 2022 02/23/21
(ATR) Cortina d’Ampezzo passed the International Ski Federation flag to Courchevel Méribel as the next host of the Alpine World Ski Championships for 2023.
Mikaela Shiffrin talks to media in Cortina after winning her fourth medal in slalom on Sunday. (ATR)
As the two-week flagship event concluded on Sunday in the 1956 Olympic resort. some ski racers started to discuss and look forward, cautiously, to the sport’s next major championship, the Beijing 2022 Games. Or perhaps it has more to do with journalists peppering them with questions about the next Winter Games, which are now less than one year away.
“I needed to go full, full, full, even if I will go out,” Ando told
Ski Racing Media in the Cortina finish area.
The 24-year-old Japanese racer clocked 50.45 seconds, on the future 2026 Olympic slalom hill, nabbing seventh place, out of the 24th start position.
“I didn’t expect that – I was really surprised and I’m really, really happy,” Ando said about her run.
Ando pumped her fists and punched the air emphatically, an outpouring of emotion confirming her satisfaction with the result.
“I was so surprised, like ‘wow, what a day,’’ she said, with a big laugh, shortly after finishing a phone call with her mother in Japan.
The 24-year-old achieved a best-ever result for a Japanese woman at the worlds, beating Emiko Okazaki's 13th-place runs at the 1972 Sapporo Winter Olympics.
Second gold for Liensberger in slalom, Shiffrin takes bronze france24.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from france24.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.