Grass Skiing World Championships conclude in Marbachegg (SUI)
Aug 21, 2019·Grass Skiing
The FIS Grass Skiing World Championships in Marbachegg (SUI) came to an end after four days of excellent competitions in super combined, giant slalom, slalom and super-G.
The event began with a bib draw ceremony for the super combined on Tuesday, 13th August. Athletes from nine participating nations received their bibs in the framework of an opening event with FIS Grass Skiing Committee Chairman, Fausto Cerentin and local music and children’s groups.
The first competition day, 14th August, saw an exciting super combined that saw result lists change considerably between the super-G and slalom. In the end, Chisaki Maeda (JPN), claimed the gold in the women’s event with her sister Marino Maeda (JPN) taking bronze, ahead of Jacqueline Gerlach (AUT). On the men’s side, the first set of medals was won by Edoardo Frau (ITA), Sascha Posch (AUT) and Hannes Angerer (AUT).
The giant slalom on the second competition day saw local hero and Grass Ski veteran Stefan Portmann (SUI) storm to the gold medal. More than one second divided Portmann and runner-up Martin Bartak (CZE). The bronze medal was the second for Edoardo Frau. The second gold medal in as many days went to the strong Japanese team with Chiskaki Maeda winning the giant slalom. Jacqueline Gerlach (AUT) followed up with her second silver medal and the women’s bronze went to Yukiyo Shintani (JPN).
Chisaki Maeda simply couldn’t stop winning and so she also claimed the title also in the slalom the next day. This time, Maeda’s teammate Tamura Minori took the silver medal and Austria’s Daniela Krückel surprised with bronze. On the men’s side, the Swiss team celebrated a double victory with gold going to Mirko Hüppi and Stefan Portmann extending his medal collection with a silver medal in slalom. Pietro Guerini (ITA) finally claimed a medal of his own with bronze after often being the unlucky fourth in the past.
On the final competition day, Chisaki Maeda completed the sweep with her fourth gold medal of the championships in the super-G. The silver went to Czech Republic’s Adela Kettnerova, who beat out Marino Maeda (JPN) for second place. Edoardo Frau returned to his winning ways and claimed the last men’s gold in the super-G. Mirko Hüppi (SUI) concluded his championship with a silver medal and Hannes Angerer rounded the podium with the bronze medal.
