Perseverance and determination paid off for Dave Ryding, Britain’s greatest male alpine skier.
For the first time in Alpine Skiing World Cup history, a British skier won a gold medal.
Dave Ryding won the slalom race in Kitzbühel, beating his personal best of silver back in 2017. The 35-year-old moved from sixth place after his first run to first and stayed there with five racers to go.
“You know, I’m 35 now, but I never stopped believing, I never stopped trying, and to bring the first victory for Great Britain in a World Cup, in Kitzbuhel, I mean, I don’t know if dreams are made better.”
Dave Ryding
We’ll be keeping an eye out for him at the Winter Olympics in a few weeks.
(via Eurosport)
Update: Dave Ryding unfortunately finished 13th in the slalom event at Beijing 2022, “falling short of his own expectations after a historic season“.