article by Nicholas Pucci
When on February 3, 1978on the runway”Gudiberg” di Garmisch, Lea Sölkner shows up at the starting gate of the slalom which awards the world titleis still waiting to get the first success of a career which, to tell the truth, only started a couple of seasons ago.
Austrian from Bad Aussee, where she was born on Christmas Eve 1958, in fact Sölkner has just turned 19, and if she entered the international panorama of alpine skiing at the age of 17, conquering a fourth place in the combined in Bad Gastein on January 22, 1976, in December of the same year, in Courmayeur, she climbed the podium for the first time in the World Cup, finishing second in giant slalom behind compatriot Brigitte Totschnig, and then repeat that result with a third place in the slalom in Maribor just a few weeks before the world championship eventbeaten by Hanni Wenzel and Maria Epple.
Sölkner, initiated into the ship’s disciplines by her father who is a ski instructor and who in 1974 was national junior downhill champion, is still young and looks to the future with ambition, given that her innate versatility allows her to be consistently among the best in slalom, giant and combined, specialties of which it is the first group of merit. AND when it’s time for the World Championships in Garmisch, the Austrian girl cradles medal ambitions in the two technical competitions with good credentials.
Let’s immediately clear the field of misunderstandings, noting that on February 4 Lea will finish no better than 11th in giant, 3 “81 away from Maria Epple who will take the world champion crown beating Lise-Marie Morerod and Annemarie Moser-Proell (you said little!), and let’s focus instead on what happens 24 hours before between the narrow poles of the slalom.
In season five races have already been held, in December in Cervinia with the French Perrine Pelen who preceded the other transalpine Fabienne Serrat and Hanni Wenzel, and in January in succession in Bad Gastein, in Maribor and twice in Berchtesgaden, when the winners were been Morerod and Wenzel herself, ruler of the last three serpentines. And if the Liechtenstein skier dominates the specialty classification, she also plays the role of the great favorite at the World Championships in Garmisch, where she will have to deal with the two French women, with Morerod and Maria Epple themselves who climbed onto the podium, as well as with Sölkner who finished third in Maribor. If we add a fourth, a fifth and a ninth place to just one retirement in Bad Gastein, Lea confirms that she is among the most punctual in the White Circused the role of ousider suits her perfectly.
In fact, the four great expected protagonists are in the ballot for the victory or at least a placement on the podium, but finally remain cut off closing one after the other in fourth (Pelen 1’25″67), fifth (Serrat 1’25″75), sixth (Wenzel 1’26″09) and seventh place (Morerod 1’26″59)with the Epple that forks and the blue Claudia Giordani, Olympic vice-champion in Innsbruck in 1976, who saves Italy’s honor by finishing eighth. And if Austria places Monika Kaserer on the lowest step of the podium, third in 1’25″37, here Lea Sölkner and the German Pamela Behr compete for the victory, with the Austrian already setting the best time in the first heat, 41″82. And if the Teutonic in the second descent finally returns below Sölkner, in any case the author of the second half of the heats, maintains a 48 cents advantage, just enough for the first victory in her career.
Ed having succeeded in the winning exploit on the occasion of a great competition such as the World Cup is really no small feat. That’s for sure.
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