Aspen – Germany’s Martina Ertl-Renz made her 403rd World Cup start in Sunday’s slalom, breaking the women’s record formerly held by Austria’s Anita Wachter.
“I don’t know how much it means, but it is really something special, I think,” Ertl-Renz said.
Ertl-Renz, 32, made her World Cup debut 14 years ago in a giant slalom at Santa Caterina, Italy, finishing 10th. She won two medals at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, silver in GS and bronze in slalom. She has won six world championships medals (four gold) and 14 World Cup races.
“I still have fun and I am still not the oldest in the circuit,” Ertl-Renz said with a mischievous smile. “That’s important. I just have the most races.”
Switzerland’s Sonja Nef, 33, is the oldest on the tour. Austrians Alexandra Meissnitzer and Michaela Dorfmeister, both 32, are a few months older than Ertl-Renz.
“I have fun and I also have the goal to win a gold medal in the Olympics,” Ertl-Renz said. “It’s going to be my fifth Olympic Games. I hope I stay healthy, because we have so (much) bad luck in the German team.”
Germany lost Hilde Gerg in a training accident at Copper Mountain last month and Maria Riesch in a super-G crash here last Friday.
