Bronze for Wendy Holdener: a medal despite a lot of uncertainty
Wendy Holdener wins bronze in the slalom at the Olympic Games in Beijing. In a dramatic second run, the Switzer manages to make it onto the podium. And that despite a difficult preparation.
At the end she stands at the finish line and says to fourth-placed Lena Dürr: "I'm sorry". The German is in the lead after the 1st run of the women's slalom at the Olympic Games, but ultimately misses out on the medal against Wendy Holdener by seven hundredths. Tears of disappointment here, tears of joy there.
Confidence and uncertainty
Flashback: Summer 2021. I met Wendy Holdener at home in Unteriberg in the canton of Schwyz. After a difficult 2020/21 season with an injury shortly before the start and a corona infection at the end, the slalom specialist was in the middle of preparing for the Olympic winter. Here is a short excerpt of our conversation from back then:
Wendy Holdener, in February 2022, the Beijing Winter Olympics will take place. I assume you have marked this slalom in red in your calendar.
Of course. But it's also about starting the season well and building up confidence during the races in the months leading up to the Olympics. And finally, to travel to China with a good feeling.
How important is acclimatization in Asia? The snow is certainly different than in Europe. Can you benefit from the experiences of the last Winter Games in Korea?
I hope so. For example, the snow in Korea was very dry. Similar to the USA. In general, you can expect slopes in China that are prepared with a lot of artificial snow. In addition, there can be temperatures as low as minus 30 °C. It will probably be rather aggressive snow conditions. So the ski reacts extremely quickly, and it's even more important to ski as many turns as possible on draft.
Do you know the terrain? For example, do you know whether the slalom slope is in steep or flat terrain?
No, unfortunately not. Recently we received the video of the speed track. I'll have to study it at my leisure over the next few days. But I don't know the slalom slope yet. Of course, this is also connected with Corona. Normally, World Cup races are held on the slopes in the run-up to major events. This year, they are cancelled because of the pandemic. So we are entering new territory next year. However, I traveled to China for two weeks in 2019 to get an impression of the country and its people. So maybe one or two things won't surprise me during the Olympics and I can focus completely on my races.
And where are you in your preparations for the new season?
I have been in summer training for about four weeks now. The focus is on strength and endurance, hard training. I'm now working on the basics for the subsequent snow training, including in Zermatt. The timing couldn't be better. It's now a matter of fine-tuning the body and also in the mental area there are still one or two tasks to be solved before the new season starts.
The fourth Olympic medal
That was in the summer of 2021. At the beginning of October, the 28-year-old broke both wrists during fitness training. Another injury at the worst possible moment. Today, against all odds, Wendy Holdener stood on the podium with the bronze medal around her neck alongside Katharina Liensberger from Austria and Petra Vlhova from Slovakia. After gold, silver and bronze four years ago in South Korea, this is already the fourth medal at the Olympic Games for the Switzer.
Read the entire interview with Wendy Holdener here:
From radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.