SAALBACH, Austria (Reuters) – Swiss favourite Marco Odermatt lived up to his billing with a dominant run to men’s super-G gold at the Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach on Friday.
Odermatt was a full second faster than Austrian silver medallist Raphael Haaser, with Norway’s Adrian Smiseth Sejersted taking the bronze on another bright and clear morning in the Austrian resort.
“It was really a perfect run, I couldn’t do it any better,” said the 27-year-old. “I had the best feeling from the third gate, I felt my skis worked perfectly, I did exactly what I wanted.”
The three times overall World Cup champion, who won gold in downhill and giant slalom at the 2023 world championships in Courchevel, arrived in Saalbach as leader of the World Cup super-G, downhill, giant slalom and overall standings.
The gold was Odermatt’s first medal in super-G at a major event.
“It means a lot,” he told Eurosport television. “It’s unbelievable to be a world champion in three different disciplines… I’m just happy to be here, healthy and in good shape.”
Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr, his closest rival, finished fourth, missing out on a medal by 0.05.
“My run was not good enough,” said the Austrian. “It’s good for our team to have Raphael Haaser in second place but incredible what Odermatt shows today.”
Canada’s defending world super-G champion James Crawford was way off the pace, 3.41 seconds slower than Odermatt and out of the top 20.
Odermatt’s gold was Switzerland’s first of the 13-day championships.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin in London, editing by Toby Davis)
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