Ligety + Shiffrin Win Coronet Peak Night Slalom
QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand (Aug. 21, 2015) — Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) and Mikaela Shiffrin (Vail, CO) took victories at the Coronet Peak Night Slalom, part of the Audi Quattro Winter Games NZ on Friday night.
The Coronet Peak Night Slalom was an overwhelming success according to Audi quattro Winter Games NZ CEO Arthur Klap, who said organizers never imagined they would have such a stellar international field for the debut event.
“Not only did we have the two world champions here but the rest of the elite field was a who’s who of world ski racing,” said Klap. “It was incredibly exciting for spectators and has showcased Coronet Peak and the opening of the Games internationally.”
It was an all American final for both the women’s and men’s races with Shiffrin defeating teammate Paula Moltzan (Lakeville, MN) and Ligety pushing U.S. national slalom champion David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, CO) into second place.
Shiffrin said the head-to-head slalom was a “fantastic way to finish my camp in New Zealand. It was a tough race against Paula who is a very good skier but I am very excited to have won it.”
Alice Merryweather competes in the Coronet Peak Night Slalom. (Getty Images-Neil Kerr)
Ligety also claimed he was lucky to beat Chodounsky who was quicker in the first run but had a bad start in the second.
“The dual slalom here at Coronet Peak was a very cool event,” said Ligety. “The conditions were great and it was a lot of fun being part of it.”
Both Shiffrin and Ligety received $15,000 cash in the winner-takes-all event.
Other Americans women that competed include Nina O'Brien (Edwards, CO), Alice Merryweather (Hingham, MA), Stephanie Lebby (Big Bear Lake, CA), Breezy Johnson (Victor, ID), Keely Chashman (Squaw Valley, CA), Anna Marno (Steamboat Springs, CO), Galena Wardle (Basalt, CO), Jennie Symons (Vail, CO), Patricia Mangan (Derby, NH) and Storm Klomhaus (Boulder, CO). The American men were Drew Duffy (Warren, VT), Jared Goldberg (Holladay, UT), Kieffer Christianson (Anchorage, AK), Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, NY), Sam Dupratt (Park City, UT), Mark Engel (Truckee, CA) and Nick Krause (Northboro, MA).
Ted Ligety celebrates winning $15,000.
Athletes from all over the world joined VIPs and the local community for the Winter Games NZ opening, which began with a ski down Coronet Peak’s shirtfront by young Queenstown Alpine Ski Team racers carrying flags of the countries represented at the Games. Coronet Peak ski instructors followed with flares lighting up the night sky.
A Maori welcome was followed by a kapa haka performance by a 60-strong group of Queenstown school children before the official part of the ceremony.
In his opening speech Audi quattro Winter Games NZ chairman Sir Eion Edgar said the trust managing the Games had fulfilled its 2009 vision to run a premier event. Winter Games NZ now rank as one of the world’s top five multi-discipline winter sports events.
Information courtesy of Winter Games NZ.
