Death Threats to Cortina 2021 Race Director After Course Setting
20th February 2021
Last modified on May 13th, 2021
The men’s race director, Markus Waldner, received death threats following the parallel giant slaloms at the Cortina Alpine skiing world championships.
The organising committee issued a statement expressing their support and solidarity after the Italian was sent the threats via email.
“For an event like ours, based on the values of sport and fair play, it is unacceptable that an esteemed professional like Markus receives such grave messages, which go beyond normal debate and confrontation,” said the statement.
The parallel skiing events sees athletes racing against each other down courses that are side by side.
Some criticised the courses with the racers having their second runs on the less rutted red layout being favoured.
Critics claimed that the conditions on the blue course deteriorated more than those on the red course.
In the women’s quarter-finals, all four skiers who went last on the blue run were eliminated, including Italy’s Federica Brignone and Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener — both big medal hopes.
“I have never seen such an unfair race,” said Italy’s Federica Brignone after she was eliminated.
“Whoever started on blue first had practically already won.”
She had been a medal hope.
“I am really happy to win my first individual medal, but there is much that needs to be discussed after today,” said men’s winner Mathieu Faivre of France.
“All the staff of Fondazione Cortina 2021 express their support and solidarity for Markus Waldner, FIS chief race director for the men’s World Cup and World Championship races, who received death threats via email after the controversy over the execution of the parallel giant in Cortina which fell under its jurisdiction,” the Cortina 2021 statement added.
Investigations are now underway into the death threats.
