Gangwon 2024: Nash Huot-Marchand wins men's giant slalom for France with Pinturault-inspired performance
The 17-year-old trains in Courchevel, the same resort where Olympic medallist Alexis Pinturault grew up. Find out how he secured his country's first gold medal in alpine skiing at the 2024 Winter Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Gangwon.
Alpine Skiing
Nash Huot-Marchand delivered two consistently fast runs in the men's giant slalom on Wednesday (24 January) to claim the first French gold medal in alpine skiing at the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Games (YOG).
The 17-year-old trailed Liam Liljenborg of Sweden by 0.34 seconds in the first run and he took the lead when he skied down in the second.
Liljenborg, starting last, crashed out, handing over the win to Huot-Marchand: "I'm super happy, I was a bit frustrated with my previous performances (8th in the combined, 33th in the Super G) so now I feel relieved," the French teenager said immediately after his run in the Republic of Korea.
He then continued: "I raced at the limit, this win is for my family, my friends, my coach Johnny, who have been supporting me."
Huot-Marchand hails from Serre Chevalier but trains in Courchevel, the French Alps resort which is home to Olympic medallist Alexis Pinturault: "I know him, of course, he's a great skier and inspiration for me," he added.
"Giant slalom is the main skiing discipline, and in France, we are doing well in giant slalom because we train a lot in this discipline as well as Super G. I watched Pinturault a lot when I was training in Courchevel, and he's an idol because he's had an exemplary career and competes in the same disciplines as me."
Following his historic gold in the men's combined Zak Carrick-Smith continued his fairy tale Youth Olympics by taking his second medal at this Winter Youth Games, finishing in second (+0.93).
Bronze went to Austria's Florian Neumayer, who clocked the second-fastest second run to finish one second off the pace.
Gold medallist Nash Huot-Marchand (centre), silver medallist Zak Carrick-Smith (left) and bronze medallist Florian Neumayer (right) celebrate on the podium.
Huot-Marchand: 'I skied with desire and heart'
"I felt a bit tense at the start of the second run because I struggled to do my skiing at the beginning of these Games, But I knew that I could aim for a medal and I managed to ski stress-free," said the two-time French champion, who was named Nash after a TV series from the USA.
During the second run, the challenging course, set by the German coach, forced several racers to DNF, including Sweden's Elliot Westlund, who skied out just a few gates from the finish: "Even if it didn't work out for the Swedes, I decided to take as many risks as I could and it paid off. I didn't ski a lot with my head, I did it especially with desire and heart."
GB's Zak Carrick-Smith on winning his second medal: "It means even more than the first"
"This medal means just as much to me," said combined champion Zak Carrick-Smith after winning silver.
"Even if I’m not in top this time, it means even more, I came to this race ranked 15th (in the discipline), I just wanted to ski my best and I came out second, I just couldn’t be happier."
He then added: "I definitely skied smart, I was at the top and my mum just kept radioing through about certain gates at the bottom and the whole course was just really tough, but I knew how to get to the finish, I needed a clean run, I had to be really smart in sections, but really go in others, and that’s exactly what I did."
Gangwon 2024 - Alpine skiing: Men's giant slalom results
Wednesday, 24 January - Top 10
- Nash Huot-Marchand (FRA) 1:34.37
- Zak Carrick-Smith (GBR) +0.93
- Florian Neumayer (AUT) +1.00
- Leo Scherer (GER) +1.57
- Jonas Feichter (ITA) +1.74
- Andrej Barnas (SVK) +2.34
- Asaja Sturm (AUT) +2.55
- Jevin Palmquist (USA) +2.75
- Zacchaeus Poulsen (FRA) +2.88
- Stewart Bruce (USA) +2.75
Full results: here
How to watch alpine skiing at Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Games
Action from the Gangwon 2024 Winter Youth Olympics is available live, worldwide, and without subscription on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and the official Olympics app.
Full replays and highlights of all six competition days for alpine skiing will be available, and you can catch highlights, reaction interview clips, news articles, and full results from the Republic of Korea across the website and official Olympics social media accounts.