World champion Marco Odermatt asserted his position as the leading contender for the Olympic super-G title on Friday by clinching victory in the first event of the renowned Hahnenkamm weekend, marking the final super-G prior to the Milan Cortina Games.
Under clear, sunny skies, Odermatt secured the win at Kitzbuhel, Austria, narrowly beating his teammate Franjo von Allmen by a mere 0.03 seconds. This achievement made Odermatt the sole skier with more than one super-G triumph this season, after five previous events had seen five different winners.
Reflecting on his performance, Odermatt shared, “It was a tight race, so I am content. I felt strong in the upper section, but I deviated from the ideal line in the middle, which surprised me that I still finished in first place.”
In a gesture of sportsmanship, Odermatt signified the closeness of the competition with a hand signal and directed his attention to von Allmen in the lead position. The Swiss duo outpaced Austrian skiers Stefan Babinsky and Raphael Haaser, who secured third and fourth place, respectively, trailing by 0.25 and 0.33 seconds.
Former world champion Vincent Kriechmayr, the closest contender to Odermatt in the super-G rankings, settled for seventh place. Odermatt now leads the Austrian competitor by 158 points with three races left after the Olympic Games.
Canadian skier Cam Alexander achieved the top Canadian finish, coming in 11th, while his teammate Jack Crawford finished in 21st place.
Odermatt’s triumph brought him one step closer to Hermann Maier, who sits in third place on the all-time men’s World Cup race winners list. Maier retired with 54 career wins, while Marcel Hirscher from Austria boasts 67 victories and Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden leads with 86 wins.
Swiss racer Arnaud Boisset had a frightening fall at the Seidlalm jump but fortunately emerged uninjured. Meanwhile, Norwegian skier Adrian Smiseth Sejersted narrowly avoided a fall after hitting a gate at the same jump, displaying impressive agility to finish fifth in the race.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway opted to sit out the race due to back pain and also decided to skip the following day’s downhill competition. Kilde, a two-time winner of the Kitzbuhel downhill, emphasized the importance of being fully prepared before competing, especially on challenging courses like the Streif.
Kilde, who has been recovering from leg and shoulder injuries sustained in a crash in Wengen in January 2024, aims to make a comeback at the Crans-Montana downhill event, the final World Cup race preceding the Olympics.
