Women’s giant slalom Sestriere

Anja Paerson on top of the world!

Sestriere, March 14th - Sweden’s “wundergirl” Anja Paerson left no doubt who the best female ski racer in the world is Sunday in Sestriere. Paerson had the fastest second run in the giant slalom on her way to winning her 11th event of the season, including five GS, and six slaloms.

She beat by 1,11 second Italy’s Denise Karbon, a winner in December in Alta Badia. Austria’s Alexandra Meissnitzer was a strong 3rd ahead of Spain’s Maria Rienda Contreras who finished 3rd in the GS standings.

Paerson has nothing to prove in this race, but she wanted to end the winter on another great performance.
In fact, the Scandinavian wrapped up the GS cup a month ago by winning at Zwiesel, Germany. Anja finished sixth in the World Cup finals slalom on Saturday, will helped her to secure the overall World Cup title as well.

She also scored more points in Super-G than ever before, and with the eleven victories in the technical races, won the overall title by more than hundred points over Renate Goetschl of Austria, the overall champion in March 2000. Goetschl won the World Cup trophies in her best specialties, downhill and super-G, but scored very less points in GS and slalom.

“It was almost a perfect winter with eleven victories, I reached much more than I thought this winter” said Paerson. “ I was very consistent and was happy with my skiing even when I didn’t win.”

Anja was not too surprised to have won the overall title, but she was astonished about how she felt when she got the actual “big globe”.

“It was really hard to realize what was going on, you know I’m not used to these kinds of feelings,” she said. “ I’ve been working so hard that I really didn’t think about it. I need some time off, alone, to understand all of this.”

For Paerson, winning a World Cup was always a lifelong goal. “Since I started skiing, I always went for it, and knew in my heart I could succeed, “said Paerson. “I’m still young and what’s happening to me is
really unbelieveable.”

“I won a lot of slaloms this season, but I was also very lucky that some girls were making big mistakes during these races,” she added. “I’m proud of my success this season in GS, and I definitely improved technically.”

Anja doesn’t not believe she will equal the exploits of another Swedish ski star, Ingemar Stenmark who won 86 World Cup races and three overall titles.
“I would be really happy to have half of the achievements of Ingemar, she said. “ To win as much as he did, seems totally impossible. I just want people to know I’m winning at my level. Like Hermann Maier and his success this season, its really incredible, I am so happy for him after his big accident.”

Paerson doesn’t believe that winning is about athletic talent alone.
“For me, every race is very emotional, and that’s how I ski, “she explained.” The victories medals and overall globe are almost something you don’t talk about, because its so difficult to describe these kinds of moments.”

Anja Paerson, overall World Cup champ, slalom and GS titlist, has so far won every major title beside an Olympic gold medal. It may happen here in 2006 – maybe in downhill! “It’s my secret dream, I really hope to win once in all specialties!”


Eric Moffitt