Emma Aicher secures her first World Cup victory

Skier Emma Aicher has celebrated her first win in the World Cup circuit. The 21-year-old triumphed in the second downhill event at Kvitfjell, Norway, finishing three hundredths of a second ahead of American Lauren Macuga. The third position was claimed by Cornelia Hütter from Austria, who won the previous day’s race.

This victory marks the first downhill win for Germany since the successes of retired skiers Thomas Dreßen and Viktoria Rebensburg in February 2020. Aicher had already made her mark in the downhill event on Friday, securing second place and achieving her first World Cup podium finish.

„I am very surprised. It didn’t feel as good as yesterday,“ Aicher commented, expressing her excitement with a radiant smile, although she appeared somewhat incredulous at first.

Her teammate, Kira Weidle-Winkelmann, unfortunately fell and did not finish the race.

Aicher, a versatile athlete competing in both speed and technical disciplines, is currently regarded as the most promising alpine talent in the German Ski Association.

In 2021, Aicher won a bronze medal with the German team at the World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, and a year later, she earned silver with the team at the Beijing Olympics. During this year’s World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, she also impressed, finishing sixth in both the Super-G and downhill events.

However, prior to the races in Kvitfjell this season, she had not yet scored any points in downhill events.