Snow, rain, fog, sunshine – the weather at the Tofane Alpine Skiing Centre on Saturday (14 March) was just as unpredictable as the slalom races as the female Para Alpine skiers took on their last event of the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games.
Heavy snowfall covered the course in the morning, making it tricky for some athletes, although the conditions cleared up as the second run progressed. But rain or shine, no weather conditions could derail Veronika Aigner as the Austrian skier pushed through in the women’s vision impaired race for her fifth medal at the 2026 Paralympics, to add to the two golds she won at Beijing 2022.
Aside from a silver in the super-G, 23-year-old Aigner leaves with a golden record, winning the first three medals with guide Lilly Sammer and the last two with her tech guide Eric Digruber. Both guides stepped in at the last minute after Aigner’s regular guide, older sister Elisabeth Aigner, was injured at a World Cup in February.
As the winning time flashed on the clock, more than four seconds in the lead, Digruber fell to his knees and bowed to the athlete, while silver medallist Elina Stary rushed out from the leader’s area to embrace her Austrian teammate.
“I was happy for the first gold medal, and then comes more medals and more medals, and I’m very happy about that,” Aigner told Olympics.com.
For 19-year-old Stary, it was the third medal at Milano Cortina 2016, and the best so far. She previously earned two bronze medals.
Slovakia’s Alexandra Rexova picked up a bronze to add to her two bronze medals in the speed events.
More to follow…