On a day billed as "Downhill Super Sunday" at the 2017 Skiing World Championships, the St.Moritz crowd were treated to a stunning morning of racing, with home favourite Beat Feuz claiming gold in the men's race. 

Feuz topped the timesheet in the men's race ahead of wednesday's Super-G champion Erik Guay to give the Swiss their second gold of the championships, while Slovenia's Ilka Stuhec triumphed in the women's race.

Stuhec's victory means that her nation hold on to the world title which the now-retired Tina Maze won back in Beaver Creek two years ago. 

Ilka Stuhec celebrates taking Downhill gold (image source: Giovanni Auletta/AgenceZoom/GettyImages)

Feuz thrills Swiss crowd with Downhill gold

Having had to wait 24 hours following yesterday's postponement, the men's Downhill lived up to it's billing as the blue riband event of these championships, producing an excellent race. 

Eventual winner Beat Feuz captured his first world title following a fine run down the mountain, with his starting position definitely aiding his cause once the early fog had dissipated somewhat. 

Roger Federer was among the large crowd waiting at the finish line to cheer Feuz and his Swiss teammates on, and the noise generated when Feuz claimed provisional gold will have been heard many miles away. 

There were plenty of threats to ruin the Swiss party, with wednesday's Super-G winner Erik Guay finishing just 0.12 seconds behind Feuz as the conditions improved for the later starters, but nothing materialised and Feuz held on for a famous win. 

It had been Kjetil Jansrud who had set the early lead with a daring ski, which saw him take on the jumps with authority, yet he eventually finished outside of the medals, alongside Patrick Kueng in fourth. 

Max Franz gave the Austrian team reason to cheer with a bronze medal, as he finished the course 0.02 seconds ahead of Jansrud and Kueng. 

Big names among the earliest of starters including Carlo Janka, Dominik Paris and Peter Fill finished way down the standings, as it became clear that they competed during the toughest course conditions. 

Stuhec keeps Downhill gold in Slovenia's hands with commanding victory

The leader of this season's World Cup standings in the Downhill event, Ilka Stuhec, was the women to beat coming into the World Championships, and she proved her credentials with an impressive gold medal performance.

Stuhec during her gold medal run (image source: Hans Bezard /Agence Zoom/GettyImages)

Unlike the men's race, the early starters enjoyed the best of the conditions, with the top six finishers all among the first ten skiers out of the gate. 

Sofia Goggia finished in the worst possible position of fourth, following a pair of mistakes on the second half of her run, with Lindsey Vonn capitalising to take bronze in what was her seventh medal at a World Championships.

Having suffered some bad injuries over the past couple of seasons, Vonn was always likely to fall short of gold, but her podium finish will give her confidence ahead of the Winter Olympics next February. 

Stephanie Venier of Austria took silver, with Stuhec's win coming by a margin of 0.40 seconds as she backed-up her two fastest times in the training runs which took place earlier in the week. 

Monday sees the men's Alpine Combined event take place, with the Swiss skiers confidence sky-high, meaning they are likely to contend once more. 

VAVEL Logo
About the author