Fatton reacted joyfully when she learned she was officially the first Olympic champion in the history of her sport.
Keystone / Michael Buholzer
Fatton, 30, who lives in western Switzerland, claimed the top spot in the first-ever Olympic ski mountaineering event, in Bormio on Thursday.
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The reigning world champion made the difference with her transitions, which she had worked on extensively during training. These were two key moments, especially when removing her skins, where she was able to overtake the favourite Emily Harrop. The Frenchwoman had to settle for silver. Bronze went to Spain’s Ana Alonso Rodriguez.
Fatton won in 2:59.77, the best time of the day.
The Gruyère native collapsed in a bank of snow and reacted joyfully when she learned she was officially the first Olympic champion in the history of her sport.
The other Swiss sprinter competing, 23-year-old Caroline Ulrich from canton Vaud, failed to qualify for the final.
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The Swiss men were less fortunate. Arno Lietha finished fourth and Jon Kistler sixth. Victory went to Spain’s Oriol Cardona Coll, ahead of Russia’s Nikita Filippov and France’s Thibault Anselmet. The two German-speaking Swiss athletes had each won their semi-finals but lost too much time on the transitions.
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