Tina Maze Crowns Exceptional Season with G-Slalom Win
The first ever Slovenian overall World Cup winner, Maze also by far exceeded Austrian Hermann Maier's record of winning 2,000 points in a season by securing as many as 2,414 points, a record that will be hard to break, and broke another of Maier's records with 23 podium results in a season.
She moreover won 11 events this season, which puts her 3rd in the history of women's alpine skiing, coming only after Switzerland's Vreni Schneider (14 wins in the 1988/89 season) and Lindsey Vonn of the US (12 wins in the 2011/12 season).
"I'm thrilled. I've had an exceptional season, which I crowned with a victory, the credit for which goes also to my team," Maze told reporters after today's race.
The president of the International Skiing Association Gianfranco Kasper has hailed Maze as the definitive queen of this season. It is incredible what she has managed to do, he told the STA yesterday and added: "Slovenia can be proud to have such a successful athlete."
Maze, one of the best skiers of all times, was also rewarded by the Slovenian government with EUR 44,000, arguing that she has promoted Slovenia "above expectations", especially by enabling its presentation in tourism and economy.