FIS Alpine Ski World Championships 2023 in Courchevel and Meribel: Preview and stars to watch
Mikaela Shiffrin and Marco Odermatt headline the 47th edition of the event which will take place in the French Alps from 6-19 February.
Alpine Skiing
The world’s elite Alpine skiers will be in action from 6 to 19 February 2023 in the Savoyard resorts of Courchevel and Meribel for the 47th FIS World Championships.
It’s the fourth time in history that the event will be held in the French Alps after 1937, 1962 (both in Chamonix) and 2009 (in Val d’Isere). The two neighbouring towns also hosted Alpine (Meribel) and ski jumping/Nordic combined (Courchevel) competitions during the Albertville 1992 Olympic Winter Games.
Olympic champions Mikaela Shiffrin and Marco Odermatt headline the event, at which around 600 athletes from 75 countries are expected to compete across six disciplines (Downhill, Super G, Giant Slalom, Slalom, Combined, Parallel Slalom) for a total of 13 sets of medals.
The next Alpine World Championships will take place in Saalbach, Austria, in 2025, while Crans-Montana, Switzerland, will host the 2027 edition.
Skiers to watch at FIS Alpine Ski World Championships 2023
Women to watch
Mikaela Shiffrin (USA): The American is the only skier to have won gold medals at five consecutive World Championships and she’s now tied in second place in the all-time women’s medal list (11, including six golds) along with France's Marielle Goitschel and Anja Parson of Sweden. The 27-year-old, who stepped on the podium in four events last time out at Cortina 2021, has a chance to equal or overtake the record of Germany’s Christl Cranz, who won 15 medals between 1934 and 1939.
Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI): The 31-year-old Swiss is the second-most-successful active skier in the competition behind Shiffrin with a total of eight medals. In France she will aim to defend her titles in Giant Slalom and Super G.
Petra Vlhova (SVK): The Slovak has won five individual medals at the Worlds and will be one to watch in the slalom and combined events, although her only title came from giant slalom in 2019.
Sofia Goggia (ITA): The Italian, who missed Cortina 2021 with injury, has won two medals at the World championships (a bronze in giant slalom and a silver in Super G), but never gold. She will look for her maiden world title in downhill, a discipline she’s been dominating in the last two seasons having bagged two World Cup globes and an Olympic silver medal.
Raghnild Mowinckel: The two-time Olympic medallist from PyeongChang 2018 recently re-discovered her best form following two serious knee injuries and now tops the Super G standings. Last season she was victorious on the Roc the Fer in one of the speed races at the World Cup finals.
Men to watch
Marco Odermatt: The Swiss, who comfortably tops the overall World Cup standings, came away empty-handed from Cortina 2021 and will look to win his first medal at the senior Worlds following six golds in the junior competition.
Aleksander Aamodt Kilde: At Beijing 2022 the Norwegian speedster claimed his first medals at a major competition. He came close to a medal in 2017 when he finished fourth in both Super G and combined.
Vincent Kriechmayr: The Austrian, who triumphed on the first Kitzbuhel downhill this season, is another one to watch in the speed events. The 31-year-old is the defending champion in Super G and downhill.
Henrik Kristoffersen: The Norwegian, who from this season has partnered with Marcel Hirscher’s ski company, won giant slalom gold in 2019 and slalom bronze in 2021. The technical specialist has collected seven podiums during this campaign, including two victories in slalom.
Lucas Braathen: The 22-year-old is one of the rising alpine stars and will be eager to win his first medal at a senior major event after missing the 2021 Worlds with injury. This season he's been the most consistent skier in slalom (5 podiums, 2 wins in World Cup) and has also claimed a victory in the giant slalom in Alta Badia.
Where are the 2023 World ski championships?
For the first time in the history of the World Championships, competitions will be shared by two separate venues.
The Roc de Fer piste in Meribel will host the women’s events and the parallel slalom medal races (team and invidual). The men will compete on L’Eclipse track in Courchevel.
Meribel staged the women’s alpine competitions during Albertville 1992 and featured World Cup events in 2013, 2015 and 2022.
Courchevel’s L’Eclipse made its official debut at last year’s World Cup Finals and is known for its demanding runs (3.2km in length, 30% average gradient).
The resorts of Meribel and Courchevel are connected by a 10-km-long road.