SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria (AP) — The daughter of an off-road motorbike racer, Camille Rast knows what it takes to go over rough roads.
The Swiss skier has had to navigate her way past several obstacles on her career path: Mononucleosis, a torn ACL and meniscus, self-doubt.
Finally, her perseverance is paying off.
The 25-year-old Rast crowned her breakout season on Saturday by beating teammate Wendy Holdener for a Swiss 1-2 in the women’s slalom at the Alpine skiing world championships.
Rast became the first Swiss winner of the slalom since the great Vreni Schneider in 1991 at the same Austrian resort.
“Mentally I was ready for this day. I just wanted to enjoy the whole day. It’s mega cool to be on the podium with Wendy,” said the new champion, whose father, Philippe Rast, had successes in international enduro races.
Rast held on to her big first-run lead to beat Holdener by 0.46 seconds.
Katharina Liensberger, the 2021 world champion from Austria, was 1.32 seconds behind in third.
American teammates Paula Moltzan and Mikaela Shiffrin missed a medal by fractions in fourth and fifth, respectively.
‘This attitude was just right’
Rast was competing at her fifth worlds and won her first medal, after she took gold in slalom at the 2017 junior world championships. She leads the slalom season standings after getting the first two World Cup wins of her career.
“It’s a super season, especially in slalom,” Rast said. “But I did not put myself under the pressure that I had to win a medal here. This attitude was just right to get one.”
The right attitude was what Rast needed several times in recent years to overcame setbacks.
Shortly after scoring her first World Cup points and winning the junior world title, she sat out most of the 2017-18 season with mononucleosis.
Having found her way back, she beat Holdener to win the Swiss giant slalom title in 2019, but the following day she severely damaged her right knee in a slalom crash.
After making gradual progress over the past years, it all has all been coming together for Rast this season.
“Today, all pieces fit together,” Swiss team tech coach Christian Brill said. “That’s her class. We always knew she can ski well. Now she has proven it again at the world championships. She is very focused, knows what she wants, and is a meticulous worker.”
‘I am the record-holder for second places’
Holdener posted the fastest second-run time to improve from fourth position and earn her third silver medal at the worlds, after finishing runner-up in the team combined with Lara Gut-Behrami and in the mixed-team parallel event last week.
“I am the record holder for second places,” quipped Holdener, who missed most of last season as she recovered from a broken left ankle and dealt with the loss of her brother, Kevin, who died in February.
“Today it’s OK to win silver, I showed what I can do. I am grateful to be here in Saalbach and to be so successful,” she said. “The team and my family helped me to gain energy again.”
It was Holdener’s ninth career medal from the worlds, matching the Swiss record held by Gut-Behrami and Pirmin Zurbriggen.
‘It’s just so next level'
Shiffrin missed out on what would have been her record-setting 16th career medal from the worlds. She shares the best mark with German skier Christl Cranz, who won 15 medals in the 1930s.
Shiffrin, who recently returned from a two-month injury layoff, dropped from third after the opening run but was still satisfied with “some of the best skiing I’ve done lately.”
Shiffrin won a medal in slalom — including four gold — at all six previous world championships she competed in since 2013.
Shiffrin won gold with American teammate Breezy Johnson in the team combined on Tuesday but sat out the giant slalom two days later. She felt not ready yet to race GS after recovering from an abdominal injury in a GS crash in Killington, Vermont in November.
Moltzan won bronze in giant slalom on Thursday and posted the second-fastest time in the final run on Saturday to finish three-hundredths ahead of Shiffrin.
Moltzan's final run was even 0.21 seconds faster than Rast's, but the American was full of praise for the winner.
“She’s impressive,” Moltzan said. “It’s just so next level. She can point her skis so straight down the hill and make such a clean turn. It’s just inspiring. And she’s a really kind person and that’s important as well.”
The world championships end with the men's slalom on Sunday.
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The Associated Press
