Cortina d’Ampezzo (Belluno), 4 January 2023 – 2023 is a special year for the Women’s Alpine Ski World Cup in Cortina, as this much loved event on the women’s alpine ski circuit celebrates its 30th anniversary. Although Cortina hosted the Cup in the 1970s, the destination only became a fixture on the World Cup circuit in 1993, and with speed as the absolute protagonist. In fact, 9 January 1993 is the date that marks the beginning of Cortina’s legacy as the Queen of Speed.
To celebrate 30 years of skiing, speed and passion, Fondazione Cortina, the Cup’s organiser, is staging a rendez-vous with the protagonists of the history of speed on the Tofane, to take place during the Ski World Cup 20-22 January. Renate Götschl, the Austrian champion with no less than 10 triumphs in Cortina: superG in 1999, 2003, 2004, and twice in 2005, downhill in 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006 and 2007 has confirmed her presence. She will be joined by Swedens Anja Pärson, who scored twice on the Olympia: in 2003 in the giant slalom and in the superG in 2006.
Italian athletes include Karen Puzter, winner of the giant slalom in 2007, and Hanna Schnarf, second in the superG in 2018, behind Swiss Lara Gut, and Verena Stuffer who made her debut in the World Cup in Cortina, where she also obtained her best result, a fourth place in the superG in 2014, behind Lara Gut, Tina Weirather and Maria Riesch.
«In addition to these five athletes, we are expecting further confirmation of attendances in the next few days» explains Michele Di Gallo, Director of Fondazione Cortina. «We feel it is right to pay homage to the champions who achieved greatness on our slopes and who have made great the World Cup in Cortina. Together we will re-live the excitement of an event which has become a much-loved fixture on the World Cup circuit. They will join us Friday evening in Piazza Dibona for the bib extraction ahead of Saturday’s downhill, and also on Saturday morning for the track inspection and then skiing together as a prologue to the race with the champions of today. At the end of the race, we will present them with the symbol of Cortina, the Squirrel, in a ceremony that will take place on the panoramic terrace of the Tofana Lounge».
«It is with great determination that Fondazione Cortina has embarked on a journey to make the Queen of the Dolomites an undisputable protagonist of winter sports. It is a journey that would not be possible without the nourishment of a long and unique history written by athletes and organisers of the highest calibre» stresses Stefano Longo, President of Fondazione Cortina. «For this reason, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Cup in Cortina, we have invited some of the people who have been instrumental in making the World Cup great and making Cortina a great snow sports destination. In addition to the champions who have brought us excitement on the slope, we will be joined by Enrico Valle, a tireless engine of the Permanent Association of the World Cup, as well as alpine ski champion Bruno Alberti, protagonist in Squaw Valley in 1960 and Innsbruck in 1964, Giovanni Dibona, another great star of the 1950s and 60s, Kristian Ghedina, who won his first Cup on the Olympia slope in Tofana in 1990, and the alpine skier and bobsledder who took bronze in the 1964 Innsbruck Olympics, Gildo Siorpaes».