KVITFJELL, Norway — German skier Emma Aicher won a World Cup downhill on Saturday for her first victory, one day after she earned the maiden podium result of her career.
Following a flawless second part of her run on the Olympiabakken course, Aicher edged out Lauren Macuga by 0.03 seconds, denying the American what would have been her first downhill triumph.
Aicher, who wore bib 16 and started after most top-ranked downhillers had raced, brought both hands to her mouth in apparent disbelief when she saw her time at the finish.
The 21-year-old German prodigy, who competes in all four Alpine disciplines, was runner-up to winner Cornelia Huetter in Friday’s downhill. The Austrian placed third on Saturday, 0.19 behind.
It was the first downhill victory for the German women’s ski team since Viktoria Rebensburg won a home race in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in February 2020.
Macuga’s second place marked another highlight of her breakout season and came less than two months after she won a World Cup super-G, and three weeks after taking bronze in super-G at the world championships.
Her previous best in downhill was fourth, from a race in Beaver Creek, Colorado in December.
Downhill world champion Breezy Johnson finished 0.62 off the lead in 10th, after she was third in Friday’s race.
Johnson was halted at the start for several minutes as course workers needed to repair the safety netting following a crash from the previous starter, Germany’s Kira Weidle-Winkelmann.
Lindsey Vonn was 0.95 off the pace in 16th in her ninth race since her comeback this season at the age of 40 with a new titanium knee after six years away from racing.
Huetter, who won the downhill title last season, closed the gap on leader Federica Brignone in the discipline standings to 16 points with two races remaining.
The Italian finished fourth on Saturday, followed by teammates Sofia Goggia and Laura Pirovano in fifth and sixth, respectively.
