As the World Cup race in Jasná were successful from every point of view, the organizers are very sorry about Mikaela Shiffrin’s statement after the giant slalom on Sunday. The American did not like, according to her, unreasonable time it took to repair a broken gate (5 – 8 minutes). The organizers rule that out. She even accused the organizers of intentions to throw her ot of balance. In various interviews she mentioned five to eight minutes delay, which did not correspond with reality at all.
“In any case we do not admit something would happen on purpose. It is a common port of our sport. There were Croation technician at this part of the track and an international Polish delegate was in charge for the whole section of the track. Just as Mikaela Shiffrin had a start-stop, so did Petra Vlhová before her. Both for two and half minutes. We were trying to react as quickly as possible in both cases,” said the Chief of Race Jana Palovičová. And she adds: “Technician and all organizing committee are focused on the smooth course of the races until the last raceer.” The organizers in Jasná are extremely sorry for this situation, but they take Mikaela Shiffrin’s apology into account. “We all did our best when preparing the event, so that all racers would feel as good as possible. Her words hit us because we were working 100 % in every way,” added Palovičová.
Statement of FIS technical delegate in Jasná on the start of Mikaela Shiffrin in giant slalom
The broken pole close to the finish line, which Petra Vlhová passed, was repaired before the start of Mikaela Shiffrin by stretching the target on the original broken pole, which was performed by a Croatian technician. However, the Polish technical delegate in charge of the section decided to replace the pole as well, which was confirmed by the radio by the Italian director of FIS WC. The starter (SVK) was informed by the Italian director that, for safety reasons, the race would be interrupted due to the replacement of the broken pole.
At this point, Mikaela Shiffrin had to wait for the start before getting the start command, which is always annoying for a concentrated racer, but it is not uncommon. Therefore, the racer is given time to re-prepare and re-concentrate.
Reasons why it is not possible to influence the results of the race:
- The FIS International Ski Race takes place in such a way that, due to impartiality, the Chief Judge of Technical Delegates is always from a country other than the host country and oversees compliance with the rules together with other members of the Jury, the Race Director and the Referee.
- On Sunday, the situation was ideal for organizing the race due to the weather and the condition of the track.
- An interval of about 2 minutes when the race is interrupted is common.
- The racer’s team did not file a protest.
- There were enough referees and technicians and on international level.
- The health of the racers is a top priority. Unfortunately, there have been cases where broken poles have injured the eyes, abdomen and even caused deaths, so safety comes first.
- I rule out the conspiracy theory of the race in Slovakia, when the starting interval of Mikaela Shiffrin should be extended to favour Petra Vlhová.
The organizing committee provided a perfectly prepared and organized World Cup in Jasná.
