This could have ended badly. See what happened beyond the finish line
The Alpine Skiing World Cup is underway, with the women's competition taking place in St. Moritz, Switzerland, over the weekend. An unexpected situation unfolded during Saturday's downhill, where Laura Gauche encountered unforeseen problems just beyond the finish line. Fortunately, it resulted in only minor disturbances.
7:07 PM EST, December 9, 2023
The Alpine Skiing World Cup kicked off on October 28. The competitors started their race in Soelden, Austria, with Lara Gut-Behrami taking the lead.
Interestingly, the venues for the men's and women's competitions are different. This weekend, the competitors are battling for Cup points in Val d'Isere, while the ladies are at St. Moritz, Switzerland, a place that played host to the Winter Olympic Games in 1928 and 1948.
The competition continued on Saturday, December 9, with a downhill race. Mikaela Shiffrin came out victorious, marking her 91st World Cup win in her career.
During the second run, Laura Gauche faced unexpected challenges. The 28-year-old from France had a relatively quiet presence in the competition. Despite a slight deficit of more than 1.5 seconds to Shiffrin, she finished in 23rd place, gaining 8 points overall.
She began to break just after crossing the finish line. Unfortunately, a mishap caused her to take a spill, sliding towards the barrier due to the momentum. Standing in her path was a cameraman (see the video posted below).
The cameraman had no time to evade. He attempted to retreat but was knocked off his feet by the skier. The video has since made rounds on social media, showing him quickly getting up and returning to his duties.
Gauche appeared slightly disoriented. Medical services promptly approached her, but she swiftly reassured them that everything was fine. The incident only resulted in a temporary shock, and the French representative is expected to compete in Sunday's giant slalom.
