Anna-Lena Forster earns three Para Alpine Skiing World Cup wins on home soil

Four-time Paralympic champion Anna-Lena Forster bagged three wins in Feldberg, which hosted a Para Alpine Skiing World Cup stage for the first time 24 Jan 2025
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A female Para alpine sit skier is in action
Athletes competed in three slalom races on a steep slope in the German ski resort of Feldberg.
ⒸTom Weller / DBS
By FIS, NPC Germany, IPC

Germany’s Anna-Lena Forster earned three impressive victories at the Para Alpine Skiing World Cup in Feldberg. Making her return to competition after a brief break due to a concussion, she excited the home crowd in the southern German city, which hosted a Para Alpine Skiing World Cup stage for the first time.

Athletes competed in three slalom races on a steep slope at the three-day World Cup in the German ski resort while battling conditions that started with aggressive snow but softened as rain and warmer temperatures. 

 

Celebrating with a fan club 

In the final event on 23 January, the four-time Paralympic champion Forster finished just three seconds ahead of Spain’s Audrey Pascual Seco, who pushed hard to challenge the German’s dominance. Forster had her fan club supporting her.

“I was very nervous today! It’s a great experience to race in Germany, in front of my family and fan club – it’s really, really cool, but I was nervous,” Forster said. “The race was very tough.”

Forster embraced competing in front of a home crowd. @Tom Weller / DBS

 

Forster made her Paralympic debut at Sochi 2014 and won two gold medals at PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022. But she said that competing in front of a home crowd was a different experience. 

“I’m really happy. It’s cool that it has worked out like this now. The tension and pressure were different than usual, which was also a good preparation for the Paralympics next year,” she said.

“There was really something going on, and it’s even more fun.”

Pascual Seco said the events in Feldberg will help her prepare for the FIS Para Alpine World Ski Championships in Maribor, Slovenia.

“In the last races, I had a lot of DNFs, so my goal here was simply to cross the finish line and put together a good race. The first run wasn’t great, but the second was much better,” she said after her second slalom.

Ebba Aarsjoe of Sweden completed back-to-back wins in the women’s standing category. Anna-Maria Rieder, who finished runner-up in three events, also embraced the opportunity to compete on home soil.

“It was really nice, my first home race with family and friends here,” Rieder said. “I’m happy with my skiing, though I know I can push more.”

 

Hat-tricks in Germany

France’s Arthur Bauchet completed a hat-trick in the men’s standing category and shared podiums with teammate Oscar Burnham.

Jeroen Kampschreur skied to three wins in the men’s sitting category, beating his rival and five-time Paralympic champion Jesper Pedersen of Norway. Kampschreur said these wins would give him a “good for the mindset” ahead of the World Championships.

“It’s a different slope than the World Championships, so it’s not going to have a direct effect on it, but I’m sure my mind will be in a good rhythm,” he said.

In the women’s vision impaired category, Austria’s Veronika Aigner and her sister and guide Elisabeth Aigner also collected three wins. While Elina Stary and guide Vanessa Josefa Arnold took the lead after the first run on the opening day, the Aiger sisters triumphed by just three-tenths of a second before winning two more events.

Johannes Aigner and his guide Nico Haberl won the first event in the men’s vision impaired category, with Italy’s Giacomo Bertagnolli and guide Andrea Ravelli winning on Day 2 and Day 3.

 

Next stop: Maribor

In two weeks, the world’s best Para alpine skiers will gather for the FIS Para Alpine World Ski Championships in Maribor, Slovenia. The World Championships, which will take place from 4-11 February.