The alpine Super-G of the ladies at the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang on Saturday brought an absolute sensation. Snowboard world champion Ester Ledecka went to victory with number 26, as many Anna Veith had already congratulated for winning gold again. The woman from Salzburg was distanced from the Czech by 1/100, another 1/10 behind her was Tina Weirather from Liechtenstein who took bronze.
Question: What does silver feel like after you missed gold by a hundredth?
Veith:”It is incredible that I can experience this and win a medal. This is the dream I’ve been dreaming about for two years and why I’ve been stuck with it. Even though it looked like gold at first glance, I am incredibly happy about silver. It still gives me the creeps.”
Question: How was the moment and the feelings after the race and during the 26 minutes in which they were Olympic champion?
Veith:”I made a mistake in the upper part, was too far away from a goal. But I knew it was a hundredths of a second today. I wouldn’t have believed that I was so excited downstairs and that it would end in record time. That’s why the emotions at the finish were great. I have always wished to be on target and to see green again. To experience that then went deep inside. That’s enough reward for what I’ve been taking on for the last two years.”
Question: And what was it like when Ester Ledecka lost the victory after all?
Veith:”At first I didn’t realize she was on her way because I was changing. In the last meantime, I’ve seen ups she’s in front. That’s what happened a little bit, was such an ups moment, aha, it’s like nothing to do with the Olympic victory. But I want to congratulate her. To win, you need something special. The hundredth was on their side today, not mine. I’m still happy to be doing so well. I can appreciate that silver shines like gold to me.”
Question: And what thoughts went through your head altogether?
Veith:”You remember so many things. How hard the moments were after my injury. I’m still close to that now (tears). Everything was so extreme, first the highs of 2014/15 and then the extreme lows. My life keeps turning over and over again.”
Question: They thanked Peter Schröcksnadel for their comeback victory in the World Cup and today as the first ÖSV president. At the time, they had so many arguments and discussions with each other. What has changed?
Veith:”That’s right, it was like that at the time. But now I’ll go to him if I need anything. If you win the overall World Cup, thousands of shoulder-knockers are there and everyone wants to have a say. If you hurt yourself so badly, there’s no one left. Peter was there, he set up the team, financed it and he always stood behind me and said,”I believe in you and I’ll be fine. That’s why I said again today, thank you for that. He said he knew what he was investing in.”
Question: You are married to a former snowboarder. How do they deal with the fact that a snowboarder has snatched gold from them in the Olympic Super-G?
Veith (laughs):”Manuel was on target and when I hugged him, I said that snowboarders somehow influence my life all the time. That’s really funny. I have great respect for Ester’s performance. I can’t imagine how it could work to go snowboarding now.”
Question: Bode Miller’s commentary on TV recently turned out to be a big offence against you and your husband. Your opinion?
Veith:”You don’t have to comment everything. Manuel can support me so well because he was an athlete himself. I’m really grateful for that. Maybe this is a bit of a snowboarder’s return journey now.”