Crawford stuns Courchevel to grab super-G gold

Courchevel-Meribel 2023 is already looking like writing itself into the history books as the World Championships of surprises.

James Crawford (CAN) is a rapidly improving skier, especially on faster slopes. But few would have bet on the daring Canadian defeating all of the big beasts of the men’s super-G – Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR), Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT) and hot favourite Marco Odermatt (SUI) – to take his first major gold medal.

On the Wall of the Brave, though, Crawford was fast, fearless and aggressive where others were tentative. He pipped Kilde into silver by +0.01 seconds. Local hero Alexis Pinturault (FRA), who lifted the Alpine Combined title here on day one, continued a great week by taking bronze (+0.26).

“Honestly, I’m in disbelief,” said Crawford. “I skied my best today. I really just tried to have the same mindset from top to bottom.

“I didn’t feel like I fatigued or got out of the rhythm. At the bottom where it was a little more challenging and steep, I managed to bring the same intensity as to the top. It panned out.

"Winning a race in general has been a dream of mine since I was young. For it to come in a World Championships is amazing.

"I'm a little bit lucky, we could have raced again and he [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."

With favourites faltering in the women’s events, perhaps a below-par day for the top names should have been more anticipated.

Odermatt, who has won four of the six Audi FIS World Cup super-G races this term, and not missed a single podium, was cagey in the opening section of the piste, and lost his line a little.

He shook his head as Pinturault, skiing straight after him, took the lead. But straight out of the gate was Kilde, who delivered a run that wasn’t completely precise, but bristled with his trademark power.

The Fighting Vikings didn’t have much time to celebrate his green lights, however. The next bib was Crawford – who relished a straight, cold, fast course that had been set by a Swiss coach with Odermatt in mind.

Crawford has only been on three podiums in World Cup racing: all during the calendar year of 2022, with two in downhill and one in super-G. Solid and smooth, this was undoubtedly the performance of the 25-year-old’s career to date.

Kilde, securing his first ever World Championships medal, had mixed feelings.

“It’s a classic example of this being a brutal sport but amazing sport,” he said. “It’s small margins. You have a guy who has never won a race before, he comes in and delivers a gold. It’s brilliant.

“For me it’s a little bit of a pity, to miss by 27cms, that’s tough, but it’s my first medal. 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.”

Pinturault was delighted with his second podium of the week. He has struggled slightly this year on the World Cup tour, but has raised his game in his own backyard.

“I made a really strong run, and I saw I was ahead of Odermatt, who has been strong since the beginning of the winter, so I was thinking I would be on the podium,” he said.

“I can feel the atmosphere at the start and that a lot of people were cheering for me. I really want to enjoy this moment.

"When you start with a gold medal, it’s easier to handle the two weeks. After that it is a bonus, and it’s a bonus to have this World Championship at home.”

Odermatt will have two more rolls of the dice during this event, and will quest for his first World Championships podium in the giant slalom and downhill. “It wasn’t a bad run today but it wasn’t good enough for a medal,” he admitted.

He will tussle with Kilde, and possibly Crawford again, in the downhill – but today was the Canadian's to celebrate.