Austrian fans, electric skiing and Swiss success lights up Saalbach 2025

The Saalbach 2025 Alpine World Ski Championships were packed full of sunshine, wildly passionate fans and a whole heap of Swiss success.

Loic Meillard (SUI/Rossignol) brought down the curtain on Switzerland's impressive collective performance at Saalbach 2025 by winning the men’s Slalom on the final day of competition on Sunday.

The Swiss won five of the 11 gold medals available at these Championships, as well as claiming 13 of the 33 total medals on offer. It is the most medals by any nation at the World Championships this century.

"I'm just happy, it's hard to put it into words, it's been a crazy week," a breathless Meillard said after his win.

‘A big party tonight’

The Championships had started with a bang. On a night of musical interludes from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart among others, as organizers interspersed an opening ceremony with the opening event in the form of the Team Parallel, there was plenty to keep the eager Austrian crowd entertained.

In a foreshadowing of what was to come, Switzerland made it to the big final on that opening night but were on the wrong end of an upset at the hands of Italy in the last race.

However, things would get better from there for the team in red, particularly in the case of the men, who were ably spearheaded by a blistering fortnight from youngster Franjo von Allmen (SUI/Head), showing that there was room for another true superstar in the Swiss team alongside Marco Odermatt (SUI/Stöckli).

Odermatt had started his own World Championships with gold in the Super G, meaning he has now won World Championships in all three of his favoured disciplines after winning previous world titles in the Downhill and Giant Slalom.

“It's the one gold medal that was missing and now to have this one also in my pocket is another dream come true," Odermatt said after his victory.

But it was Von Allmen who would pioneer the Swiss charge across the two weeks of competition in which he skied fearlessly to show his more experienced opponents how it's done.

The 23-year-old won the Downhill title, then won gold three days later alongside Meillard in the Team Combined to cap off an incredible World Championships debut. On top of the impressive individual achievement was the fact the Swiss had swept the Team Combined podium as Tanguy Nef (SUI/Atomic) and Alexis Monney (SUI/Stöckli) claimed silver and Stefan Rogentin (SUI/Fischer) and Marc Rochat (SUI/Nordica) took bronze.

“One day it’s Odermatt, one day it’s another athlete and with Monney on the podium today it’s pretty amazing and I think it’s going to be a big party tonight,” von Allmen said after his Downhill victory.

The Swiss women played their part, too. Wendy Holdener (SUI/Head) and Delphine Darbellay (SUI/Stöckli) were part of that Swiss foursome that made it to the big final on the opening night, while Camille Rast (SUI/Head) ruled the women’s Slalom on the penultimate day with gold ahead of Holdener's silver.

Holdener claimed a third silver medal in the Team Combined as well, putting down a blistering Slalom run to win silver alongside team-mate Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI/Head).

“I’m happy with my second place, I wanted to end these two weeks on a high because last world champ Slaloms weren't always good,” Holdener said after her Slalom silver. “I knew I'm in good shape, but I had troubles. At the beginning of this season. I couldn't sleep before the races and stuff like this, so it was a tough start.

“It's amazing how this season turned out, or these World Champs actually, with three medals.”

Austria start with intent

For Austria and their expectant home crowd, things got off to a cracking start. Stephanie Venier (AUT/Head) had won the women's Super G a day before Raphael Haaser (AUT/Fischer) finished with silver in the men's race.

There were Downhill silvers for Mirjam Puchner (AUT/Atomic) and Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT/Head) and then a bronze in the women's Team Combined.

However, the major shining light for the hosts was Haaser, who followed up his silver in the Super G with gold in the Giant Slalom in what would be his nation's second and final title on home snow this time around.

"I don’t know what to say, it’s just such an unbelievable day," Haaser said. "I think I was capable to ski in the top-10 permanently but stepping on top of the podium, yeah, I didn’t expect that."

Haaser's sister Ricarda Haaser (AUT/Fischer) had suffered a season-ending knee injury after crashing in the race won by compatriot Venier earlier in the Championships, and her sibling dedicated his medal to her.

"I hope I could make it a little bit better today," he told CBC.

It wasn't just that women's section where Austrian skiers were on either side of pain and glory. Raphael Haaser's win came in the same event in which Stefan Brennsteiner (AUT/Fischer) saw his ski pop its binding early on to end his day before it had even really begun.

"My hometown is 30 minutes away from here, and I was looking forward to this event for five years or something, and then I skied 10 seconds,” a disappointed Brennsteiner said.

It showed the difficulty of Austria's Championships, as the pressure and prestige of competing in front of their hopeful compatriots added an extra layer of emotion to the good as well as the bad.

'A huge step forwards'

There was also joy and pain for Mikaela Shiffrin (USA/Atomic), who was emotional after winning gold alongside Breezy Johnson (USA/Atomic) in the women's Team Combined, putting Shiffrin on 15 total World Championship medals, which tied her with Christl Cranz’s (GER) for the most in history.

Medal No.16 looked on the cards after run one of Saturday's Slalom, but some fine skiing from rivals old and new relegated the USA megastar to fifth. However, while others may have touted her for a medal, the women herself was far from disappointed, saying instead it was in line with her "expectations" as she continues her emotional and physical recovery from a deep puncture wound to her core, suffered at the end of last year.

"What I would say is it's a strange place to be returning from an injury, from surgery eight weeks ago," she said.

"From laying in bed with a drainage tube six weeks ago. To return mid-season, kind of in the middle of World Championships, where everybody is talking about the medals, and all the other athletes are fighting and on their top form, and I'm trying to figure out where I even stand in the sport.

"That's been maybe one of the biggest learning experiences of my career, and I think it will continue through the end of the season. But for now, this was a huge step forwards."

Brignone shines where Noel falls short

One skier who showed that her form is showing no signs of slowing down was Federica Brignone (ITA/Rossignol), who won silver in the women's Super G before lighting things up with gold in the Giant Slalom - a race in which her opponents could barely get near her.

“Today, it was really my conditions, and I was able to keep my energy just for the race and be really aware and focused,” Brignone said after winning gold.

“And this was really good because I was stressed, but for some reason I was able to keep it away. To be with a good stress, with adrenaline. I was able to focus on the right thing, and I was really there with my mind.”

That pushed Italy up to two gold medals and a silver. A total the French left Saalbach dreaming of.

Missing injured stars Alexis Pinturault (FRA/Head) and Cyprien Sarrazin (FRA/Rossignol), the French came to the lastn day of competition with all hopes riding on Slalom star Clement Noël (FRA/Dynastar).

The reigning Olympic champion looked like he had it all under control, after he topped the times in the first run.

However, with a boisterous crowd and his opponents waiting for him at the bottom of his second, Noël skied out to leave Meillard, and the Swiss on top of the world once more.

"So far, the world championships have never really worked out for me,” said Noël.

"It's a shame because it's a great event and I'm desperate to shine there.”

While Noël was left to deal with the disappointment of defeat, it once again showed the full spectrum of despair and elation.

As the Frenchman trudged off, the Swiss and the thousands of happy fans reignited the celebrations which had colored most evenings at Saalbach 2025.

Bring on the 2027 World Championships in Crans Montana.