In the Men's Super-G, gold surprisingly went to 25-year-old Canadian James Crawford, who left the Norwegian co-favorite Aleksander Aamodt Kilde behind by just a hundredth of a second. Bronze went to local hero Alexis Pinturault (+0.26).
Crawford claimed his first-ever World Championship medal, -he finished 4th in the Alpine Combined in Cortina 2021-, but also the first race of his career in a major event. He is the second Canadian to win a World Championship gold in this discipline after Erik Guay in St. Moritz in 2017.
Crawford won bronze at the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing in the Alpine Combined and now celebrates he is the new World Champion.
"It feels fantastic. I wasn't expecting anything before the World Championships, I just wanted to do my best today. But in the morning during the inspection, I felt really good. I was very focused and had a good rhythm from top to bottom. I couldn't believe it when I saw it flash green at the finish line. It was amazing. A shock and many emotions", Crawford said.
"Winning a race in general has been a dream of mine since I was young. I'm a little bit lucky, we could have raced again and Kilde could have won. He's one of the best in the world. I have a huge amount of respect for him. I feel bad for beating him, but it's unbelievable", he added.
Kilde, who with two wins this season in this discipline was the main favorite alongside Odermatt, won his first World Championships medal.
"That's how it is in sport, a hundredth is a shame. Maybe the hundredth will be on my side next time. But it was a cool ride. I've got to look on it in a positive way and focus on Sunday, and enjoyed today. I won my first worlds medal and that’s amazing. It’s a gold medal I want, but this is a very good start", said Kilde.
Pinturault confirmed took bronze, his second World Championships medal in his home town.
"That was a great run from me, I gave everything. The Super-G wasn't easy, we were five percent faster than in the Combined that makes a difference. I thought I'd be in first place longer, but it was very close. Crawford has been consistently fast this season", said Pinturault.
The Frenchman had already won bronze in the Super-G at the World Championships in Cortina 2021.
Top favorite in the Super-G Marco Odermatt - hehas won four of the six men's Super-G events in the World Cup this season, including the last two held in Cortina d'Ampezzo on 28 and 29 January-, finished fourth 0.37 seconds behind Crawford. He was 11 hundredths short of his first medal at the World Championships.
It is the first time since the beginning of 2021 that a Super-G race has not been won by Odermatt (7), Kilde (6) or Kriechmayr (3).
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