Sochi Games course setter defends difficult super-G set-up

Women's winner rejects claims of Austrian favouritism

ROSA KHUTOR, Russia // Austrian ski-course setter Florian Winkler said yesterday that his Olympic women’s super-G layout was not as fierce as it looked despite a race that saw many skiers crash out.

In a chaotic start in warm conditions in the mountains above Sochi, only US skier Leanne Smith stood at the finish after eight racers had left the starting gate.

Out of the 49 starters in the race won by Austrian Anna Fenninger, an incredible 18 failed to finish the course set by Winkler, who is a coach for the Austrian team.

Germany’s Maria Hoefl-Riesch won silver while Fenninger’s teammate Nicole Hosp was third as the likes of Swiss skier Lara Gut and Slovenia’s Tina Maze missed out on the podium.

But Winkler, who confessed he had designed a challenging course, said it “looked fiercer than it was”.

“It was our goal for the course. Still fair, but you have to think a bit more. I was surprised by the number of girls who skied out. It was a day of mistakes for many,” he added, although he admitted he was concerned after seeing six racers in a row ski out at the start. “I think the best handled it really well, they showed how it’s done.”

Winkler denied that he had set the course with the Austrians in mind.

“Actually, not. It’s a fair course,” he said. “You have to ski technically. We watched the first skiers make some mistakes and sent the information through.”

Fenninger dismissed any notion of favouritism towards the Austrians.

“It makes for a great story, but it’s the same for everyone,” she said. “Of course, we train the type of courses he sets every once in a while. So unconsciously, maybe it’s an advantage, but consciously it isn’t.”

Bronze medallist Hosp also defended her coach, saying there was “no accidental winner. It was those who skied well and raced tactically”.

Other athletes said the snow conditions, more than the design of the course, were responsible for so many skiers failing to finish.

“It was tricky. A lot of girls thought it was easy, but it wasn’t because the snow was changing,” said France’s Marie Marchand-Arvier, one of the first to ski out.

“A lot of girls were having trouble,” Canada’s Marie-Michele Gagnon said. But with the help of radioed information from their coaches, “you could see they were adjusting the line and adjusting their attitude.”