PINTURAULT, LEDECKÁ AND MCDONOUGH

“Gran Risa – I finally got you !” Alexis Pinturault breathed a huge sigh of Alpine relief after a sublime slalom down the slopes of the Dolomites, clinching his 31st Alpine Ski World Cup triumph on Sunday. To say that time was of the essence is somewhat of an understatement, the French ski legend edging past the finishing line by a mere 700hds of a second.

Alexis reclaims overall lead in the Men’s World Cup alpine skiing table. “It was a huge fight. I think the light was slowly going down because it started to be a little bit late and it makes such a difference on the course. But I tried my best. I pushed really hard and it paid off.”

Alexis’ peak performance wasn’t the only one on the pistes this Sunday. Ester Ledecká was busy notching up a career first Super G World Cup win by taking top spot in Val d’Isère, admittedly by a slightly bigger margin - 300hds of a second ! Easily enough to help the Czech skier and snowboarder reclaim a much-deserved podium nearly three years after winning Olympic gold in the same discipline.



“Absolutely motoring” tweeted Ester “It’s an amazing feeling. I’m very happy to give myself this gift for Christmas.”

Away from the snow but in an unseasonably windy Buenos Aires, records were also being smashed on grass. The weekend’s Argentinian Polo Championship in Palermo heralded yet another triumph for Pablo McDonough. Two minutes from the end, in a truly breath-taking final chukka, Pablo converted a 30 yard penalty to catapult his La Dolfina team back into its rightful place – in the lead, proudly claiming a record-breaking 8th consecutive year as Champions.