Wearing a black armband in tribute to the victims of a fatal New Year’s Eve fire in her home region of Switzerland, Camille Rast won the giant slalom race Saturday in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia, the first Alpine skiing World Cup event since the tragic accident. Rast was the first skier on the course and took advantage of the pristine snow, posting the top time in the first run and then edging Austria’s Julia Scheib to close the second run and earn her first career World Cup giant slalom win. After
Rast was the first skier on the course and took advantage of the pristine snow, posting the top time in the first run and then edging Austria’s Julia Scheib to close the second run and earn her first career World Cup giant slalom win.
After the race, she turned the attention to the blaze that killed 40 and injured more than 100 not far from her hometown in the Valais canton in the Swiss Alps.
“It’s amazing,” Rast said of the win. “First of all, this weekend, in my hometown, there was a tragic accident. I think about all those families. We race for them this weekend.”
The fire broke out during a New Year’s party at a popular bar in Crans-Montana, a ski resort community less than an hour from Rast’s hometown of Vétroz that also frequently hosts World Cup Alpine skiing events. The town is scheduled to host men’s and women’s downhill and super-G races at the end of January. All Swiss skiers on Saturday wore the black armbands in honor of the victims.
Rast won in 2:00.09, 0.20 ahead of Scheib, the overall giant slalom leader this season with three victories. American Paula Moltzan was third, 0.47 back, for her second giant slalom podium of this Olympic season. Sweden’s Sara Hector, the reigning Olympic champion, was fourth.
A two-time World Cup winner and the reigning world champion in slalom, Rast had been getting closer to a breakthrough in giant slalom. She finished fourth in a pair of giant slaloms in Tremblant, Quebec, Canada, in December. Last weekend, she was second in Semmering, Austria.
“I love the race rhythm,” the 26-year-old said Saturday. “… I keep working and having fun on the skis.”
Rast is in the midst of a career year, just in time for the 2026 Olympics. She’s second in the giant slalom and third in the slalom standings, in second place overall behind only American star Mikaela Shiffrin.
Shiffrin finished fifth Saturday, 1.05 seconds off the lead, to add to a string of solid runs in giant slalom since her return from a serious injury that she sustained in the event in November 2024. It’s her fifth top-six in giant slalom this season as she seeks her first podium spot in nearly two years.
A slalom race is scheduled for Sunday in Kranjska Gora. Shiffrin has won all five World Cup slalom races so far this season.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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