Kenya's Wanjiku ends her Winter Olympics debut

Kenya's Sabrina Simader competes in the Women's Super-G at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang on February 17, 2018. PHOTO | FABRICE COFFRINI |

What you need to know:

  • Simader was competing on a technically testing hard-packed, artificial snow along the slopes of Pyeongchang.
  • The Kenyan finished 38th from a starting rank of 41.
  • Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka eventually won after clocking 1:21:11 in front of a 4,000 capacity crowd.

Kenyan Sabrina Wanjiku Simader put up a spirited fight on Saturday morning when she clocked 1:26.25 in the Super Giant Slalom (Super-G) category, missing out on the the gold by five seconds.

Competing on a technically testing hard-packed, artificial snow along the slopes of Pyeongchang, Simader finished 38th from a starting rank of 41 as Czech Republic’s Ester Ledecka eventually won after clocking 1:21:11 in front of a 4,000 capacity crowd.

Kenya's Sabrina Simader reacts after crossing the finish line of the Women's Super-G at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang on February 17, 2018. PHOTO | DIMITAR DILKOFF | AFP

Kenya's Sabrina Simader reacts next to a TV camera, after crossing the finish line of the Women's Super-G at the Jeongseon Alpine Center during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang on February 17, 2018. PHOTO | DIMITAR DILKOFF | AFP

Ledecka, who was a favourite in the Slalom earlier this week, coursed down the polished 2-kilomentee long Jeongseon course to edge defending champion Anna Veith of Austria by one-hundredth of a second. Liechtenstein's Tina Weirather, who finished 0.11sec off the pace, claimed bronze.

"All the other girls didn't risk a lot. There must be a lot of pressure on them. I was just trying to do my best run. I am so surprised about all of it. I'm really trying to win and do a good run every time, but I didn't really realise that this really can happen," a shocked Ledecka said.

Simader was Kenya’s lone participant in the Winter Olympics, and the 19-year-old put up a spirited fight on her debut at the Winter Games on Thursday where she finished 59th from a starting rank of 67 with a time of 1:23:27 in the Giant Slalom competition.

TERGAT CHEERS SABRINA ON

Simader was cheered on by National Olympic Committee of Kenya Ppresident Paul Tergat, Kenya’s Ambassador to Korea Mohamed Gello, and Rwanda's Ambassador to Korea Emma Isumbingabo among others.

“This was an impressive attempt for gold. The difference between Sabrina and the gold medal was only 5.20 seconds! Hongera Sabrina! Kenya is proud,” Noc-Kenya tweeted.

“SABRINA DOES IT AGAIN: Skier Sabrina Simader Wanjiku makes Kenya Proud yet again. Sabrina clinched position 38 from a previous Rank of 41 clocking 1:26.25 in the Ladies Super G this morning,” The Ministry of Sports said on Twitter.

Kenya's Sabrina Simader competes in the Women's Super-G at the Jeongseon Alpine Centre during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang on February 17, 2018. PHOTO | JAVIER SORIANO | AFP

The Super-G is a racing discipline of alpine skiing. It is regarded as a "speed" event, as opposed to the Giant Slalom and Slalom which are deemed more technical.

The Super-G debuted as an official World Cup event in 1983 and was added to the official schedule of the World Championships in 1987 and the Winter Olympics in 1988.

A Super-G course consists of widely set gates that racers must pass through. The course is set so that skiers must turn more as they go downhill, and the speeds are much higher than in Giant Slalom. Each athlete only has one run to clock the best time.