In a cheerful and relaxed atmosphere, where having good fun was again more important than the competition itself, one of the most gifted all-rounder of the Alpine Ski modern era, Marc Girardelli, has taken a win on the Zagreb/Sljeme's Hypo Zagreb Ski Legends charity race.
After elimination rounds, in the "big final" consisting of one short parallel GS run Marc has topped Kristian Ghedina. While Janica Kostelic and Hans Enn were participants in the "small final".
The race has again totally fullfilled it's mission. And that was donating 150 000 HRK to the Special hospital for chronical diseases in children's age, located in Zagreb's nearby Gornja Bistra municipality.
Among the participants of this event were Alberto Tomba as forerunner with helmet camera, Atle Skaardal, Marc Girardelli, Christian Mayer, Peter Mueller, Matjaz Vrhovnik, Kristian Ghedina, Bojan Krizaj, Janica Kostelic, Jure Kosir, Hilde Gerg, Hans Enn and Spela Pretnar.
Girardelli, the former Austrian, who has raced all his life for the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, announced his retirement from active skiing in the middle of the 1997 season after 46 WC victories (4th place in the all-time winners list), 11 World medals (four golds). His career lasted a 17-year span with at least 430 WC starts.
