Ski World Championships: Haaser Races to Silver in Super-G

Raphael Haaser secured the second Austrian medal at the Ski World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm. During the spectacular victory of the Swiss Marco Odermatt in the Super-G, the Tyrolean won silver on Friday, while the Norwegian Adrian Smiseth Sejersted (+1.15) took bronze. Odermatt was exactly one second ahead of Haaser. Vincent Kriechmayr (+1.20) finished in fourth place, Stefan Babinsky (+1.30) was sixth. Lukas Feurstein (+2.02) came in eleventh place in his World Championship debut.

Only Odermatt Ahead of Haaser

None of the four Austrians managed a flawless run on the course set by ÖSV speed coach Sepp Brunner - unlike Odermatt. Haaser could only keep up with the Swiss in the upper part. "After the middle station, I might have skied around the slope a bit too much, then before the Xandl jump, I was a bit too early on the inside ski, which caused my skis to split apart," he said. Nevertheless, he was "thrilled that I was able to deliver my performance."

Odermatt thus won a World Championship gold medal in his third discipline after his victories in downhill and giant slalom in 2023. The 27-year-old is the first Swiss Super-G world champion since Didier Cuche in 2009 in Val d'Isere. He succeeds the Canadian James Crawford, who had nothing to do with the decision this time and finished 27th with a 3.41-second deficit.

Odermatt said he was "very, very close" to perfection. "There aren't many such perfect days, perfect runs. I was able to experience it two years ago in the downhill in Courchevel, where you reach the finish and think, it probably can't get any better. It was exactly the same today," the Nidwalden native recounted. "It's extremely nice to be world champion in the Super-G as well. It's incredible to be world champion in all three disciplines." Sejersted commented: "The snow was perfect. Odermatt is in a different class, but it was possible to ski a bit faster. You need everything here - turns, technique, and good gliding."

For Haaser, it was the second World Championship medal after bronze in the combined event in 2023. The 27-year-old experienced a rollercoaster of emotions in Saalbach: The day before, his older sister Ricarda had severely injured her knee in the women's Super-G. Her cruciate ligament tear has since been surgically treated in Hochrum, ending her season prematurely. "When I found out in the afternoon what was going on, it really affected me. She sent me a WhatsApp message last night, telling me to do it like in Kitzbühel." There, Haaser had already finished second behind Odermatt. It was his comeback after a knee injury he suffered in December in Val d'Isere.

Kriechmayr Comeback at Ski World Championship

Kriechmayr missed the bronze medal by just five hundredths of a second. The Upper Austrian competed in his first race since his fall in Wengen, where he suffered a medial collateral ligament strain in his right knee. "I must admit, the fourth place hurts me less than my run. It was too flawed, too straight from the top, then missed a gate, too round at the bottom. Overall, it was not a good run," he concluded. He was happy for his teammate Haaser for winning silver, and sent a "big compliment" to Odermatt. "The best athlete of the present has prevailed. He must have skied incredibly."

"Odi is Amazing"

Babinsky said he couldn't blame himself. "I set out to attack relentlessly, you have to be willing to take risks, even if mistakes happen. It was quite a cool run," said the Styrian. "Odi is amazing, utmost respect." Feurstein, on the other hand, was not satisfied. "I didn't get it right today. The last will, the last conviction was simply missing today. I saw Marco's run at the start. He showed incredible determination today. You could see, he really wanted the gold."

Norwegian Fredrik Möller finished in fifth place (+1.22), while South Tyrolean Dominik Paris was tied with American Ryan Cochran-Siegle (+1.31) for seventh. Among the other Swiss, Stefan Rogentin (+1.68) was the best, finishing ninth. The race passed by Franjo von Allmen (12th/+2.05), and Alexis Monney was eliminated with a good intermediate time. Canadian Cameron Alexander did not start, as he has been struggling with knee pain since his fall in the second downhill training on Thursday.

(APA/Red)

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