19-year-old Croatian skier Zrinka Ljutić takes first World Cup podium
- by croatiaweek
- in Sport
19-year-old Croatian skier Zrinka Ljutić has finished in third place in the women’s Alpine skiing World Cup slalom in Spindleruv Mlyn, Czech Republic on Sunday.
It is the first podium finish for Croatian women’s skiing in 16 years after Ana Jelušić’s performance. Another Croatian skier, Leona Popović, was excellent also, finishing in fifth place.
German Lena Duerr won with a time of 1:30:91. Second place went to Mikaela Shiffrin who was 0.06 slower, while Ljutić was third with a time 0.49 slower. Sweden’s Anna Swenn Larsson took fourth place 0.83 behind, while Popović had a time 0.84 slower than the winner.
Ljutić was third after the first run, 0.85 behind leader at the time Mikaela Shiffrin (44.66 seconds).
Historic day for Croatian skiing – podium for Zrinka Ljutić (3rd) and career best (5th) for Leona Popović. So proud of our girls – the Croatian Ski Association said.
Ljutić, who is a member of the Croatian ski club Žuti Mačak in Zagreb, won gold at the Junior World Championships in Canada last year.
It was the first gold medal won by a Croatian female at the FIS World Junior Championships.
