It has been 18 years since Kalle Palander’s second place in Wengen. The people of the sports studio decided to remember the former alpine skiing star in a funny way.
In Wengen, Switzerland, the alpine skiing world cup competitions are held this week. Finnish alpine skiing legend Kalle Palander came second in the slalom race 18 years ago in the scenery of Wengen.
Palander’s landmark was remembered in the Sports Studio.
– It is a place of celebration. It will be 18 years since you won the prize in Wengen. It’s coming of age, the presenter of Urheilustudio Sami Laine congratulated Palander.
For the moment of celebration, balloons had been brought to the studio to form the number 18. As a reward, Palander received a driver’s license engraved with the exact birthday of the respective award place, January 15, 2006.
At that time, Palander was competing closely with an Italian for the slalom cup by Giorgio Rocca with. He ultimately lost to Rocca in the overall race with 52 points.
Rocca was also more prominent in Wengen. In Wengen, Palander never reached the highest podium.
– It’s a shame, because it’s one of the most memorable games. I really liked the slope. Tactical and technical slope. Had to dig a bit. The second one was just better.
Criticism of hotel conditions
The Finn won two slalom races in that season. He won a total of 14 World Cup competitions during his career. He visited the podium a total of 30 times.
Palander won the overall slalom cup in the 2002–2003 season. In the overall competition, he reached the top three four times, including the giant slalom.
– Giorgio was in great shape then. He probably won 3–4 races in a row. He was unbeatable at that time.
Wengen is a car-free village. There are only small electric cars.
– We go down on the train and grind all the stuff. It’s a car-free village. When I was there 20 years ago, the hotels weren’t terribly fancy. Good thing there was a TV.
Updated 15.49: Edited the title