Marco Odermatt secured the Men’s Downhill Crystal Globe after the season's final race in Sun Valley was canceled due to adverse weather. This is Odermatt's second Downhill Crystal Globe, following his first one from last season.
"The globe is very, very important. Winning the downhill globe is one of the greatest things you can achieve in skiing. Even if it's a bit strange with the last race being canceled, you win the globe over the entire season and not in a single race," Odermatt said.
The last Swiss skier to win the Downhill Crystal Globe before Odermatt was Beat Feuz, who won four between 2017-2018 and 2020-2021.
Odermatt added the Downhill World Cup title to his Overall, Super-G, and Giant Slalom Globes. He has won four Crystal Globes for the second consecutive season. The last man to win at least four World Cup Crystal Globes in a single season was Hermann Maier in 1999-2000 and 2001-2001 (Overall, Downhill, Giant Slalom, and Super-G in both seasons).
The only Swiss man other than Odermatt to win at least four World Cup classifications in a single season was Pirmin Zurbriggen in 1986-1987. He won the Overall, Combination, Super-G, Downhill, and Giant Slalom titles.
With 13 Globes, Marco Odermatt has become the fourth most successful men's skier of all time. Marcel Hirscher with 20, leads the way, Ingemar Stenmark is second with 18, and Hermann Maier is fourth with 14.
During this season, the 27-year-old Swiss ski champion secured a podium finish in Downhill six times out of eight races, achieving victories in Val Gardena and Wengen.
The 2023 World Cup Finals in Soldeu was the last time Odermatt finished outside the top 14 in a World Cup race (he came 15th that day). In the 16 World Cup Downhills since then, Odermatt has won four times and claimed an additional eight podium finishes.
Marco Odermatt won the Downhill title with a total of 605 points. Teammates Franjo Von Allmen (522) and Alexis Monney (327) finished in second and third place in the Downhill standings.
Switzerland has dominated the Men's Downhill, securing 17 of the 24 available podium places. Odermatt and his teammates won six of the eight Downhill races this season. In the first four races, Swiss skiers claimed the top two positions. In Crans-Montana and at the second Downhill event held in Kvitfjell, they achieved a clean sweep of the podium.
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