Canada's Mélanie Turgeon ended a six-year victory drought for the Canadian Alpine Ski Team in Innsbruck, Austria in February 2000 with a stunning victory at the heart of the "Austrian Headquarters" and revived her still-young career. In the first Super-G raced there she beat all the top-favourites including the World Cup leader Renate Goetschl after an impressive run down the legendary Patscherkofel course, where the famous 1976 men's Olympic downhill took place. The next day she finished 2nd to Renate in another Super-G.

Turgeon was the most successful Canadian on the World Cup tour in 1999/00 with these top achievements and a total of 13 top-15 results in other races. She finally finished second in the Super-G standings, the best performance of a Canadian racer in that event.

She has been waiting and fighting for a long time for this kind of satisfaction - after having spent 8 years on the World Cup tour! She also overcame health problems in the past.

The incredibly talented 23-year old from Beauport, QC and the Mont Ste. Anne Ski Club previewed her spectacular season with a 3rd place performance at the World Cup Finals in Sierra Nevada, Spain at the end of the 1998/99 season. Slowed in the past by a chronic bad back, Turgeon is now as healthy as ever.

The determined Canadian has turned the ski-racing world on its ear already in her career. She won an unprecedented five medals at the World Junior Alpine Ski Championships in Lake Placid, US in the 1993-94 season; laid claim to the Europa Cup overall championship that year as well as the U.S. overall championship; and added a fifth in a World Cup downhill competition to qualify for Canada's Olympic team of 1994.

Turgeon proved she's capable of rising to the top when the chips are down and now more mature and focussed on the job at hand, she is definitely one to keep an eye on in the coming season, her ninth with the Canadian.

At St Anton, this very outgoing and aggressive champion will aim for the first Gold Medal for her team since the early 1980's, when Laurie Graham won the World Downhill at Haus/Schladming in 1982.