THE BULLETIN • SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2021 B3
WORLD CUP SKIING | WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Corinne Suter wins downhill for her 1st gold
BY ERIC WILLEMSEN
Associated Press
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO,
Italy — Corinne Suter ended
Switzerland’s 32-year wait for
a women’s downhill world ti-
tle on Saturday, winning her
fourth straight medal at a ma-
jor championship but the first
gold.
Racing in sunshine under
crisp blue skies, Suter mas-
tered the Olympia delle Tofane
and decided the race by us-
ing excellent gliding skills on
the flat bottom section of the
iconic course.
“It’s for sure a huge step,”
Suter said about her first gold.
“I am so, so happy because all
the hard work in the last years
paid off today.”
Suter’s teammate Lara
Gut-Behrami led for most of
her run, but two costly mis-
takes saw her drop to third,
earning bronze after she had
beaten Suter to gold in Thurs-
day’s super-G.
Kira Weidle finished a ca-
reer-best second for silver,
winning the second medal for
Germany this week.
Olympic super-G champion
Ester Ledecka missed the po-
dium by seven-hundredths in
fourth.
Breezy Johnson, who had
four World Cup podiums this
season, was among the fastest
racers but the American failed
to make up enough time after
nearly skiing out early in her
run and finished ninth.
The top favorite for gold,
Sofia Goggia, missed the race
after the Italian suffered a sea-
son-ending knee injury two
weeks ago.
Goggia had won the last
four downhills on the World
Cup circuit, after Suter had tri-
umphed in the first race of the
downhill season in France in
December.
Suter believed her second
place in the worlds opener
helped her believe she could
win gold in downhill two days
later.
“I started with a silver medal
in super-G. That was already
amazing for me. I always knew
in downhill there are more
chances,” said Suter, who is a
passionate horse rider when
away from the slopes.
Suter, who won the season
Marco Trovati/AP
Switzerland’s Corinne Suter speeds down the course during the
downhill at the world championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on
Saturday.
titles in both speed disciplines
in the last World Cup sea-
son, became the first women’s
downhill world champion
from Switzerland since Maria
Walliser won in 1989.
She said she didn’t speak to
Gut-Behrami before the start
as the two Swiss skiers both
went for gold.
“I raced for me. I usually
don’t look too much at the oth-
ers,” Suter said. “Also today, I
was at the start and didn’t want
to race against someone. I just
wanted to prove what I can do.”
Suter has medaled in the last
four speed events at worlds,
after taking silver and bronze
in downhill and super-G two
years ago.
She also won gold in both
speed events at the junior
worlds seven years ago.
“I just try to have fun on the
hill. The adrenaline helps me
also to go to my limits,” Suter
said about her consistency in
the big events.
Gut-Behrami seemed on
course for her second gold
medal in two days when she
led Suter by more than three-
tenths for most of her run.
However, she came off the
race line too much on two
occasions and failed to carry
enough speed into the final
section.
Still, the 2016 overall World
Cup champion called it an
“amazing day.”
“The win for Corinne is well
deserved. She had an amazing
run and she is one of the best
skiers in downhill,” Gut-Beh-
rami said.
Starting fifth, Johnson
looked out of contention
when she lost balance on her
outside ski after 15 seconds
into her run and just avoided
crashing out.
The mishap cost her about
eight-tenths of a second, but
the American went all-in and
made up time at each split to
take an intermediate lead.
Johnson said she got dis-
tracted after her goggles
fogged at the start.
“I lost sight of what I
needed to do there,” she said.
“I hit the bump and went on
my head and lost a bit of time.
I thought I was going to go
out but managed to hold it to-
gether.”
She waved with her right
hand and held one finger up
after finishing, but her lead
didn’t hold up for long as
Suter was the next starter.
“I am happy with my ski-
ing, I skied my best, and that’s
what matters,” Johnson said.
Only 31 racers took part as
some big names were sitting
out the event.
Apart from Goggia, Italians
Federica Brignone and Marta
Bassino also didn’t race, while
Mikaela Shiffrin and Petra
Vlhova opted to train for up-
coming events.
Shiffrin was expected back
in action for the combined
event Monday.
The men’s downhill is
scheduled for Sunday.
Bad back forces Ligety to retire 6 days early
CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — Olympic skiing champion Ted Li-
gety’s career ended six days earlier than planned.
The two-time Olympic champ was going to retire next Friday af-
ter the giant slalom at the skiing world championships.
But he woke up to severe back pain on Friday and announced on
Instagram on Saturday that a scan revealed his back was “herniated
to the point it’s not safe to ski right now.”
Next to his post, Ligety included what appeared to be an image
of his back bones.
The American is going home and will not race in Cortina.
“Now it’s time to get my back healthy to support a lifetime of
playing and skiing with my kids,” Ligety said.
“I was excited to race one last time then retire on my own terms.
Unfortunately it was not to be, my back said I’m the boss and you
are finished now. … Yesterday, I woke up to the worst sciatic pain of
my life. I can’t point to anything that triggered it but I had been ex-
periencing low grade sciatica for a week or two.”
Ligety won the combined at the 2006 Turin Games and the giant
slalom at the 2014 Sochi Games. He also claimed five world titles
and was for many years the premier giant slalom skier.
— Associated Press
Ducks
Continued from B1
The Ducks and Wildcats
were supposed to meet in Eu-
gene on Jan. 16, but that was
postponed due to Oregon’s
COVID-19 issues.
Through all the starts and
stops this season, Oregon had
its top five scorers on the floor
together for the first time all
season Thursday against Ar-
izona State. They played well
together, building a 17-point
lead before holding off the Sun
Devils 75-64.
The Ducks started strong
against Arizona with an early
nine-point lead, went into an
offensive funk and found their
rhythm again before halftime.
The Wildcats started slow,
got into a flow and rallied to tie
it at 34-all by halftime.
“We were down 11-2 at
home because they were more
physical, they got second
shots,” Miller said.
The teams traded shots to
start the second half, then
traded clanks as the game
grinded to a near halt.
The offensive struggles con-
tinued until Duarte squared
up and drained the winning 3
after struggling with his shot
most of the night.
“We had two options: Will in
the lane and me in the corner
and that’s what happened,” said
Duarte, who had 10 points on
4-of-14 shooting. “He didn’t
have anything, was an unself-
ish player, kicked it out and I
hit a 3.”
Big picture
Oregon is rounding into
form at just the right time. The
Ducks could join the AP Top
25 next week after sweeping
the Arizona schools and will
likely be a contender in the reg-
ular-season conference race.
Ford
Continued from B1
He initially lay still with
his face against the snow
though was soon conscious
and talking with medical staff,
which he does not remember.
A helicopter landed by the
course 20 minutes later to air-
lift Ford to Bern.
Ford’s longtime girlfriend,
Laurenne Ross, also a World
Cup skier and two-time Olym-
pian from Bend, was watching
Ford race on television as she
was preparing to race in her
first World Cup in two years
after overcoming multiple
knee injuries.
“It really threw me for a
loop,” Ross wrote via email
last week from Cortina d’Am-
pezzo, where she finished
26th on Saturday in the world
championships downhill. “Ob-
viously I was incredibly con-
cerned about his head injury,
as it was clear he was knocked
unconscious. I am usually
pretty comfortable watching
Tommy ski — he is such a
solid and smooth skier — but
he was definitely pushing the
line, and pushing his skiing
… and sometimes you crash
when you’re skiing on edge.
Needless to say, I was heart-
broken for him.”
After a few days in Bern fol-
lowing his crash, Ford traveled
to Vail, Colorado, where doc-
tors at the Steadman Philippon
Research Institute repaired
torn ligaments in his knee and
wrist. He is scheduled to return
to Vail later this month for ad-
ditional surgery on his knee.
Ford said he tore two ligaments
in his right knee and also broke
his tibial plateau and meniscus.
He is also continuing to re-
cover from the concussion he
sustained.
“I don’t get headaches or
anything, but I’ve had limited
capacity for stimulation,” he
said.
Ford said it is nice to be at
his parent’s house in Bend,
Josh Galemore/Arizona Daily Star via AP
Oregon’s Chris Duarte (5) tries to pass the ball against Arizona on Satur-
day in Tucson, Arizona. Duarte later hit a late 3-pointer to lift the Ducks
to a 63-61 victory.
Tennis
Continued from B1
Gabriele Facciotti/AP file
Tommy Ford, of Bend, speeds down the course during a World Cup giant slalom in Adelboden, Switzer-
land, on Jan. 9. Ford was airlifted to a hospital after crashing three gates from the finish.
where he is getting plenty of
sleep and rest, and “starting to
recover.” He wears a removable
splint on his left wrist and his
right knee is in a brace, which
he can remove every so often.
He added that it is far too
soon to discuss a timeframe
for a possible return to ski rac-
ing or for making a bid for his
third U.S. Olympic Team. The
2022 Winter Olympics in Bei-
jing are one year away.
“There’s not too detailed of
a timeframe right now because
I have to get surgery again,”
Ford said. “I should be more
weight-bearing by March.
That’s about all I really know.
It’s still pretty early. I haven’t
gotten too far with the emo-
tional side of things and all
that.”
Even though Ross has con-
tinued racing in Europe and
Ford has been home in Bend,
the two have been able to dis-
cuss Ford’s injuries and his ap-
proach to rehabilitation. Ross,
32, has endured 10 surgeries
over her ski career, three of
them major knee surgeries.
“Laurenne has unfortunately
“There’s not too detailed
of a timeframe right now
because I have to get surgery
again. I should be more
weight-bearing by March.
That’s about all I really
know. It’s still pretty early. I
haven’t gotten too far with
the emotional side of things
and all that.”
— Tommy Ford
had lots of experience with
knee injuries, and she’s been
helpful with some advice,”
Ford said. “I just don’t want to
overwhelm her because she’s
also trying to perform at a high
level and you don’t want to talk
about injuries all the time. But
she’s been really helpful. She’s
been really comforting.”
Ross said she believes Ford
will take his time and return to
snow when he is “truly ready.”
“Hopefully it will be in time
to race next season, but we’ll
just have to wait and see,” Ross
said. “I am here for him, every
step of the way, regardless. I
do have some insight that I’ve
been sharing, but everybody
is so different when it comes
to healing and processing. So
I am just trying to support
Tommy in whatever way he
needs me to be there, in what-
ever way he wants to approach
his recovery. It’s his journey,
and although I can offer ad-
vice, I know we are very dif-
ferent people, very different
skiers, and often have different
perspectives on injury and re-
covery.”
Ross added that the most
important things for Ford to
focus on right now are “rest,
recovery, and reflection.”
“It’s important to consider
if you’re willing to go through
another injury (such as the one
he’s recovering from now), be-
cause that is always the chance
you take when you push out of
the starting gate in ski racing,”
Ross said. “But first, he needs
to focus on healing.”
e e
Reporter: 541-383-0318,
mmorical@bendbulletin.com
In the end, to no one’s sur-
prise, it was Nadal who showed
what HE’S got, winning 7-5,
6-2, 7-5 to move a step closer
to his men’s-record 21st Grand
Slam title while preventing
Norrie from getting anywhere
near his first.
“Always going to be nice,”
Norrie said afterward, “to play
a big dog like Rafa.”
The scoreline was slightly
tighter than Nadal’s previous
win: 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 against Mi-
chael Mmoh, a 23-year-old
from Florida ranked 177th.
Mmoh called Nadal “some-
body I’ve been watching for
years and years — since I was,
like, a little baby, almost.”
That type of match is “defi-
nitely what we dream of,”
Mmoh said. “I couldn’t be hap-
pier.”
Casper Ruud, a 22-year-old
from Norway who reached the
round of 16 at a major for the
first time Saturday, recalled
making his third-round debut
against Roger Federer at the
2019 French Open.
“That’s a tough third-round
opponent, the greatest of them
all,” Ruud said. “So then you
kind of think more about just
the experience — being in the
third round — than maybe
thinking about actually win-
ning the match.”
Players say each such out-
ing against that caliber of foe
makes the next one less daunt-
ing. There is a difference be-
tween going into a match
figuring there’s zero shot at a
victory and having some sem-
blance of self-belief.
Anastasia Potapova, a Rus-
sian teenager who won a Wim-
Arizona has yet to find a
go-to identity and has lost
three of four to put itself on the
NCAA Tournament bubble.
Kriisa’s lift
Kriisa missed Arizona’s first
17 games while dealing with
eligibility issues after playing
in his native Estonia and a bro-
ken nose.
The 6-foot-3 freshman
guard made his debut against
Utah on Feb. 4 and scored 11
points through his first three
games.
Kriisa started against Ore-
gon and got into the flow early,
hitting three 3-pointers in the
first half. He finished with 12
points on 4-of-9 shooting from
3 and had five assists.
“Now it’s already better be-
cause I know I have a chance to
play,” Kriisa said. “Before it was
mentally tough, because you
practice, you work hard every
day, you’re just like everyone
else and game day comes, you
just have to hype everybody
up. I really don’t look back on it
because the time has come for
me to play.”
Rebounding edge
Arizona is the Pac-12 lead-
ing rebounding team, averag-
ing nearly nine more per game.
Oregon turned the rebounding
tables on the Wildcats, out-
rebounding them 38-30 and
grabbing 12 offensive boards
that led to 16 second-chance
points.
“When you have a strength
as a team, you have to be able
to bring that strength to the
biggest games at key mo-
ments,” Miller said.
Up next
Oregon hosts Colorado on
Thursday.
Arizona is at UCLA Thurs-
day.
bledon junior title in 2016, lost
to Williams 6-0, 6-3 a year ago
in the Australian Open’s first
round. The rematch came Fri-
day in the third round, and
Potapova made things far more
interesting, even twice com-
ing within a point of taking the
first set in what became a 7-6
(5), 6-2 defeat.
“I didn’t feel like, ‘Oh, my
God, I’m playing Serena.’ No, I
had been there already,” Pota-
pova said. “I felt more, I would
say, relaxed in my head.”
When the draws come out
at a major, some players study
them. Most, it seems, try to
avoid knowing any more than
the name of their next foe.
Blame superstition, perhaps.
Or a desire to, as the cliché has
it, focus on one match at a time.
Inevitably, though, if an early
meeting with a superstar is in
the offing, it’s hard to ignore.
Nina Stojanovic, a 24-year-
old from Serbia ranked 99th,
arrived in Melbourne never
having won a Slam match. So
there was no way she was going
to look past the first round.
“Then my coach asked me:
‘If you win, you know who
you’re playing in the second
round?’ And I said, ‘Who?’
And he said, ‘Serena.’ And I
was like, ‘What?! Really?! Ac-
tually?!’” Stojanovic said in a
video interview with The Asso-
ciated Press. “For me, all these
years practicing tennis, it was
my wish to play against Serena.
I love her game. I admire her
game.”
So what if the final score
wound up 6-3, 6-0 in favor
of the 23-time Grand Slam
champ?
“I really enjoyed it,” Sto-
janovic said, smiling about her
afternoon. “Even if I lost.”