Women's Alpine World Cup Races in Are, Sweden Cancelled
Due to the outbreak and situation with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the upcoming FIS Women's Alpine World Cup races in Åre (SWE) have been cancelled after new recommendations from the Public Health Agency of Sweden.
The health and welfare of the athletes and all other participants, as well as the general public, are in the forefront and the priority of FIS and all stakeholders. FIS is fully compliant with the instructions and decisions of the National and Regional Governments and their Health Authorities in any recommendation regarding public gathers that impact FIS competitions.
Double Olympic champion Mikaela Shiffrin had announced earlier on Wednesday that she would make her return to action in Åre following the sudden passing of her father last month.
The World Cup Finals scheduled in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy for March 16-22, were cancelled last week. The races in Åre, Sweden scheduled for March 12-14 were cancelled and will not be replaced on the World Cup calendar, meaning the 2019-2020 season is officially finished for the women.
Italy's Federica Brignone is the winner of the 2019-20 World Cup overall title, ending Mikaela's three-year reign. Federica becomes the first Italian ski racer since Alberto Tomba in 1995 to win the overall crystal globe, and the first Italian woman to win the title. She also wins the giant slalom globe, while Slovakia's Petra Vhlova wins the slalom globe. Despite missing the sitting out the last eight races, Mikaela was in contention for three globes heading into the final Åre tech series. She ended up second in the overall standings, trailing Federica by 153 points, second in the slalom standings, trailing Petra by a mere 20 points, and third in the giant slalom behind Federica (407 points) and Petra (333), with 314 points.
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About FIS
FIS is the governing body for international skiing and snowboarding, founded in 1924 during the first Olympic Games in Chamonix, France. Recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIS manages the Olympic disciplines of Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Freestyle Skiing, and Snowboarding, including setting the international competition rules. Through its 131 member nations, more than 7’000 FIS ski and snowboard competitions are staged annually. Specific initiatives are undertaken by FIS to promote snow activities as a healthy leisure recreation, notably for the young. For more information, please visit www.fis-ski.com
Release courtesy of FIS.