Press release -
14 World Championship medals for the HEAD Worldcup Rebels
The HEAD Worldcup Rebels finish a fantastic World Championships with 14 medals, including four Golds. HEAD is yet again the number one ski brand in the world with three individual Gold medals at the Alpine World Ski Championships 2025. Stephanie Venier, Camille Rast, and Franjo von Allmen are stoked about winning their titles as World Champions in Saalbach. Franjo von Allmen leaves his mark on the World Championships as double World Champion, and Wendy Holdener leaves Saalbach with three Silver medals. HEAD celebrates magnificent double victories in the men's Downhill and women's Slalom events. Atle Lie McGrath rounds off the HEAD medals tally winning Silver in the Slalom on Sunday.
"The Slalom was very close, and Atle Lie McGrath finishing with Silver is a superb result. This is his first medal at a major event. It could have been even better following our good Slalom season, but this medal and Dave Ryding's excellent second run made for a very sound final race at the World Championships," said HEAD Racing Director Rainer Salzgeber. "Overall, the World Championship results are very positive. The extent to which Team event medals are weighted can always be debated, but we were up there with the leaders in all disciplines. Unfortunately, we missed out by a narrow margin in the men's Super-G, the women's Downhill and the women's Giant Slalom; so not everything worked out perfectly. That being said, we've also enjoyed some really exciting finishes, such as double victories in the men's Downhill and the women's Slalom. All-in-all, we have experienced loads of highlights and are returning home from Saalbach as a very satisfied team!"
Franjo von Allmen rules as double World Champion
Franjo von Allmen topped a fantastic season with two Gold medals in Saalbach. First the Swiss athlete won the ultimate discipline of the Downhill in front of his HEAD team-mate Vincent Kriechmayr. Then the 23-year-old went on to win Gold in the Team Combined. "Being World Champion two times over is incredibly cool. I could never have dared to dream of that at the beginning of the season. I'm actually satisfied with top ten results, which are still good for me in my second season in the World Cup. I can't put into words how great this makes me feel," said a delighted Franjo von Allmen on his victorious World Championship debut. After he won the Downhill event, the Swiss athlete said: "I'm going to cherish this moment right now. After the Super-G I reckoned I had nothing to lose, so I decided to ski flat out and take all the risks. I tried to make my own plan, to have fun skiing, and that didn't turn out too badly."
Stephanie Venier wins two World Championship medals
For Stephanie Venier, this was a home World Championships worth celebrating. The Austrian athlete won Gold in the Super-G and Bronze in the Team Combined event. Following her Silver medal in the Downhill in St. Moritz in 2017, winning the Super-G is the 31-year-old's first Gold medal. "That was the best run I've ever skied in my career. Everything worked right from the start today. The skis were mega, the skis ran so well," said Stephanie Venier. "I slept so badly last night. I was so nervous. As soon as I started skiing I thought that today could be the day. I wished for the one to appear as I crossed the finish line, and it really did. I was a different Stephi in 2017, because I still had that youthful recklessness. Now I feel like I've grown up and matured, but I'm much more nervous than I used to be. It has to be 100 per cent right on the day, and today it all worked out."
Camille Rast confidently wins Gold in the Slalom
Like Franjo von Allmen, Camille Rast also put a stamp on her successful season so far by winning World Championship Gold in Saalbach. As the current leader in the Slalom World Cup she has won two World Cup races so far - Killington in December 2024 and Flachau in January 2025. Now the 25-year-old Swiss athlete can also celebrate her first World Championship medal - and it's even a Gold. "Everything had to go right for a medal today and it did. I am mega satisfied with that. I felt mentally prepared for the day. We have a great team spirit, which is very important when you are competing. It gives us all a positive boost. Being on the podium with Wendy is really cool," said the new World Champion. Camille Rast laid the foundation for World Championship Gold with a sensational first run in which she beat second-placed Katharina Liensberger by 58 hundredths of a second. With the fourth-fastest time on the second run, Camille Rast ultimately won a commanding victory in front of her HEAD team-mate Wendy Holdener.
Fifth World Championship medal for Vincent Kriechmayr
In the Downhill, Vincent Kriechmayr crossed the finish line 24 hundredths of a second behind Franjo von Allmen to take the Silver medal. This is the fifth World Championship medal for the 33-year-old Austrian athlete. Previously, Vincent Kriechmayr won two Gold medals in the Downhill and Super-G at the 2021 World Championships in Cortina d'Ampezzo, and Silver in the Super-G as well as Bronze in the Downhill in Aare in 2019. "It's an indescribable feeling when you see the No. 1 displayed as you cross the finish line. The atmosphere here is absolutely amazing, it is on a level I have not experienced that often. Thank you to all the fans! Skiing is such a beautiful sport, and the support from the fans makes it twice as great. I have a superb team, superb equipment, and a superb service man - that's what you need to compete on top of the world for so long. It was a very good run," said Vincent Kriechmayr.
Wendy Holdener wins three Silver medals
Wendy Holdener is taking home three medals after winning Silver in the Slalom, the Team Parallel, and the Team Combined. For Wendy Holdener these are World Championship medals seven, eight, and nine. In the Slalom, the 31-year-old Swiss athlete moved up from fourth place after run one to second place behind Camille Rast having clocked the fastest time on run two. "I was fourth and knew I had to ski flat out, because the first run I did kind of medium. I am mega happy today. Camille skied a top performance, and it is a great day for us both. I'm very happy with my performance too," said Wendy Holdener.
First World Championship medal for Atle Lie McGrath
Atle Lie McGrath won his first World Championship medal. The 24-year-old Norwegian athlete was in third place after the first run in the Slalom and moved up another place on the second run to win the Silver medal in his first World Championship Slalom event. "I missed the Slalom at the last World Championships sitting at home with a torn cruciate ligament. It's really frustrating to have to watch from the sofa. Taking Silver home now is really cool. We Norwegians have had a good season. When you come to Austria for a World Championship, there is a lot of pressure, which is why it's good I was able to win this for Norway today," said Atle Lie McGrath, happy about his medal.
Second Super-G Bronze for Kajsa Vickhoff Lie
Kajsa Vickhoff Lie also contributed to the HEAD World Cup Rebels' medal tally winning Bronze in the Super-G. The 26-year-old Norwegian athlete repeated her success from 2023 at the World Championships in Méribel, where she also finished third in the Super-G. "I am really satisfied with my run. The middle section didn't go so well, but I really skied full throttle at the bottom. We only get this one chance and I tried everything today. Things didn't go so well at the start of the season. We have taken many positive steps this year. Now we have 100 per cent confidence, which is so important at a World Championship. I feel really good now," said Kajsa Vickhoff Lie.
Medals also won by Lara Gut-Behrami, Sara Hector and Estelle Alphand
Lara Gut-Behrami, Sara Hector and Estelle Alphand also leave the World Championships in Saalbach with medals on board. Lara Gut-Behrami from Switzerland won Silver in the Team Combined, while the two Swedish athletes Sara Hector and Estelle Alphand won Bronze in the Team Parallel event. Just missing out on medals, there was Vincent Kriechmayr in fourth place in the Super-G, Cornelia Hütter from Austria in fourth place in the Downhill, Team USA 1 with Benjamin Ritchie and Ryan Cochran-Siegle in fourth place in the Team Combined, and Lara Gut-Behrami in fifth place in the Giant Slalom.
The HEAD Worldcup Rebels' medals:
Gold:
- Franjo von Allmen (SUI) – Downhill and Team Combined
- Stephanie Venier (AUT) – Super-G
- Camille Rast (SUI) – Slalom
Silver:
- Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT) – Downhill
- Atle Lie McGrath (NOR) – Slalom
- Wendy Holdener (SUI) – Team Parallel, Team Combined and Slalom
- Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI) – Team Combined
Bronze:
- Kajsa Vickhoff Lie (NOR) – Super-G
- Sara Hector (SWE) – Team Parallel
- Estelle Alphand (SWE) – Team Parallel
- Stephanie Venier (AUT) – Team Combined
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