Marco Odermatt adds men's giant slalom world title to downhill, wins second gold in Courchevel – Results
The Olympic champion in giant slalom adds the world title to his collection, less than a week after clinching the downhill in Courchevel.
Alpine Skiing
Marco Odermatt is a double world champion after taking gold in the men's giant slalom at the 2023 Alpine World Ski Championships in Courchevel, France, on Friday (17 February).
The Beijing 2022 Olympic champion in the giant slalom laid down another strong reminder of his all-round abilities, with Friday's win in a technical race coming after he previously claimed the downhill title last Sunday.
Odermatt had been the first to ski in the morning's opening run down the 'L'Eclipse' track, but found himself in second place heading into the afternoon after Austria's Marco Schwarz took more than half a second out of Odermatt's time.
It was Odermatt's Swiss teammate Loïc Meillard who led the way in the second run, his fast-finishing final sector putting himself in the lead with just three to go. After Slovenia's Zan Kranjec struggled with the compact snow, with slick and icy conditions in parts, attention turned to the two Marcos.
Odermatt, skiing first, did not have to be perfect. With a lead of 0.55 seconds over his teammate heading into the second run, all Odermatt needed to do was stay in control of his own race. And he did just that, crossing the finish line in a total time of 2:34.08.
Schwarz, the Combined silver medallist in Courchevel last week, began his own run well, adding to his lead in the first sector. A small error right before reaching the steep seemed to perhaps throw the Austrian off slightly, as he committed further mistakes in the third and final sectors of the track.
That was enough to see Schwarz lose time not just to Odermatt, but also Meillard, and finish third – albeit still enough to win his second medal of the Championships.
"Two medals today for us… I actually didn't expect to win," Odermatt reflected to FIS TV immediately after the race.
"Marco skied so well in the first run but he made some mistakes in the second and that helped me for gold."
Results – 2023 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships men's giant slalom (top 8)
- Marco Odermatt (SUI) 2:34.08
- Loïc Meillard (SUI) +0.32
- Marco Schwarz (AUT) +0.40
- Stefan Brennsteiner (AUT) +0.76
- Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR) +0.96
- Zan Kranjec (SLO) +1.34
- Alexis Pinturault (FRA) +1.68
- Filip Zubcic (CRO) +2.20