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'The Women Are So Powerful': Fans Flock To World Cup In Killington

Thousands of fans and hundreds of volunteers turned out for the women's ski World Cup in Killington over the weekend.
Andrew Shinn
Thousands of fans and hundreds of volunteers turned out for the women's ski World Cup in Killington over the weekend.

Despite cold, strong winds and construction, more than 30,000 fans turned out to watch the top skiers in the world race this past Saturday and Sunday at Killington. Olympic gold medalist Mikaela Shiffrin continued her streak of World Cup wins.  

Hundreds of volunteers were out early, guiding traffic, handing out programs and welcoming a steady stream of spectators. Killington resident Morgan Willis was passing out noisemakers and directing fans around a sprawling construction site that, at this time next year, will be the resort’snew, state-of-the art base lodge.

Construction continues on the new base lodge at Killington Ski Resort, which held the women's World Cup this past weekend.
Credit Nina Keck / VPR
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VPR
Construction continues on the new base lodge at Killington Ski Resort, which held the women's World Cup this past weekend.

“That’s such a Vermont-y thing, that you have so many volunteers that just show up to things,” Willis said. “It’s so much fun. It’s pandemonium, but like the best kind.”

Katy Mack of Lincoln, New Hampshire was at the World Cup with her husband and two daughters. Despite the bone-chilling temperatures, all were thrilled to be back.

“This is our sport that we like to spectate – we’re not really basketball or football fans,” Mack said. “So here we are, bundled up at 15 degrees, and we’re going to brave the day.”

This is the fourth year Killington has hosted the international event. Before that, the World Cup hadn't been in Vermont since Stratton Mountain hosted it in 1978.  The races are broadcast around the world, and competitive skiers travel from race to race during the season, accumulating points based on their finishes.

Crowds gather at Killington Ski Resort for the women's ski World Cup.
Credit Andrew Shinn
Crowds gather at Killington Ski Resort for the women's ski World Cup.

High winds forced race officials to lower the starting gate for Saturday’s giant slalom, but many skiers, like France’s Tessa Worley, still raved about the snow.

“I loved those conditions, they were amazing,” Worley said. “And the snow is really hard, a little icy, but with the edges we have, it’s really nice to ski.”

Worley and Nina O’Brien, a U.S. skier who attends Dartmouth, also appreciated how many fans turned out.

“I feel like everyone loves coming to Killington just for the atmosphere and the crowd,”O’Brien said. “It’s really special to be an American here. It feels like I have all my friends here cheering for me, which is fun. So I love it.”

An enthusiastic crowd cheers for ski racers at the women's World Cup, held at Killington Ski Resort Saturday and Sunday.
Credit Andrew Shinn
An enthusiastic crowd cheers for ski racers at the women's World Cup, held at Killington Ski Resort Saturday and Sunday.

O’Brien finished 28th in the giant slalom while Worley took fifth. Crowd favorite Mikaela Shiffrin finished on the podium in third, behind Marta Bassino and Federica Brignone of Italy, who took first and second.

During Sunday’s slalom race, however, Shiffrin reminded fans why she’sdominated World Cup standings. She laid down a blistering first run on a steep, icy course that many of her fellow racers had trouble finishing.

Mikaela Shiffrin takes her first run in the slalom on Sunday. She went on to win the race.
Credit Charles Krupa / Associated Press
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Associated Press
Mikaela Shiffrin takes her first run in the slalom on Sunday. She went on to win the race.

“It’s kind of intimidating, ‘cause it’s really hard, like icy snow,” Shiffrin said. “It does tend to put you in the backseat on the defensive, because especially with a straight course, and with skis that want to turn – I mean, slalom skis want to turn, so if you’re trying to put them straight, it’s kind of sketchy – but I did have a pretty good line, I had good tactics, and just a really good game plan for that run in order to make it as smooth and as connected as I could, and it worked.”

The 24-year-old Burke Mountain Academy alum was the very last skier of the day on Sunday. She threw down a near flawless second run, winning the slalom event for the fourth straight time, by more than a second, and thrilling thousands in the stands. Petra Vlhova of Slovakia took second, and Sweden’s Anna Swenn-Larsson finished third.

Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates in the top spot on the podium for the Sunday's World Cup slalom race, along with Petra Vlhova of Slovakia who took second (left), and Sweden's Anna Swenn-Larsson, who finished third (right).
Credit Andrew Shinn
Mikaela Shiffrin celebrates in the top spot on the podium for the Sunday's World Cup slalom race, along with Petra Vlhova of Slovakia who took second (left), and Sweden's Anna Swenn-Larsson, who finished third (right).

Erika Alusic-Bingham from Antrim, New Hampshire stood at the base of the run and grinned as people on all sides of her roared.

“Oh, it’s incredible, it really is, the women are so powerful,” she said. “Like you can get that here, where you can’t see it on TV, it’s just an amazing experience.”

And being able to see that kind of power and skill with her daughter, Alusic-Bingham said, was priceless.

Copyright 2019 Vermont Public Radio

Nina has been reporting for VPR since 1996, primarily focusing on the Rutland area. An experienced journalist, Nina covered international and national news for seven years with the Voice of America, working in Washington, D.C., and Germany. While in Germany, she also worked as a stringer for Marketplace. Nina has been honored with two national Edward R. Murrow Awards: In 2006, she won for her investigative reporting on VPR and in 2009 she won for her use of sound. She began her career at Wisconsin Public Radio.

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