Ledecka – it was a surprising win
It was interesting. It was exciting, because there was a lot of different stuff going on in the race. Nobody really knew what run was fast, there was a lot of green on the split times that turned out to be slow. Vonn’s mistake… there was just a lot to it. It’s always exciting in an Olympics when someone pulls something off that’s so unexpected. For the most part so far the races have gone to the way they should have gone, a lot of predictable stuff. This was a really big upset, maybe the biggest in Olympic history.
Anna Veith thought she was Olympic champion. What do you feel for her?
It’s horrible. Plus, I made a comment in the commentary the other day that was not directed at her in any way – I love Anna and have known her for years and support her entirely and have met her husband – it was just a joke, and then everyone went crazy on it. So I was really excited to see her in the lead today, and then obviously I was excited to see Ester come down with a great run but it’s just so painful when you think you’ve won. All the big bullets had been dodged at that time, and so to get beat by a hundredth is always so hard, because you just have this question mark of what if I’d reached for the finish line more or what. Ana is quite a champion, I think she will be ok and a silver medal is still an amazing achievement.
Ledecka still has the snowboard to come. It’s not very common to compete at both.
I don’t think it’s happened, so it’s incredibly uncommon. Somebody who did that would likely be from a country that’s not very good at one or other of the events, but after today it appears Ester is very elite level at both events, which is incredible. That’s happened in the US, in other sports, with the likes of Deon Sanders, so more power to her, it’s incredible.
Men’s giant slalom tomorrow. How will that turn out?
Unfortunately, I think it’s going to be back to the usual. I think it’s going to be a pretty predictable race, I would say Hirscher. I would be surprised if Ted was on the podium, but I think he’s capable. It depends on how he likes the snow, how the snow comes round for him. After watching the women’s race, I think it could suit him if he skis really aggressively. I loved the way he skied in the slalom, so he can mix it up with those guys, certainly. I would also expect Pinturault to be in there, I think that snow will suit him down the steep part, I think he can ski pretty aggressively. Beyond that, Matts Olsson possibly, a very strong and dynamic skier. I think its liklely Hirscher with the win, Ted 3 4 or 5, Pinturault 3 4 5 and the French have a strong team but it’s anyone’s game for those last medals.
You can’t count out the Norwegians completely – what about Kristofersson?
Sorry for not mentioning him. He obviously has a chance, but Hirscher would have to make some kind of bobble in my mind. He is certainly in the running for the silver medal and is likely to take one of those two spots (on the podium)
Hirscher has a gold under his belt. How important is that?
It’s Hirscher. I wouldn’t say it’s that important. If he hadn’t won the combined, if something had gone wrong, I think he’d come in here and do the same thing. That’s partly what makes him not that exciting a racer to watch. He was asked what he should do to win his first gold medal, ‘what’s your plan?’ Nothing special. Two words. That says a lot right there.
Eurosport, Casa delle Olimpiadi
