Raphael Haaser caused a surprise in the giant slalom at the World Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm and won gold in this discipline.

Ski World Championships: Haaser in GS Ahead of Tumler and Meillard

Haaser, previously already Vice World Champion in the Super-G, won on Friday ahead of the two Swiss skiers Thomas Tumler and Loic Meillard. After the first run, the Tyrolean, who has never won a World Cup race, was in fifth place. Defending champion Marco Odermatt finished fourth, Marco Schwarz came in fifth. It was the sixth medal for the Austrian Ski Federation (ÖSV) at the Ski World Championships. In front of 19,500 people in the spectator area, Haaser managed to climb to the top of the podium in the second run with the fourth-best time, while the favorites like Odermatt faltered one after the other. "It's unbelievable. I've never stood at the top in a World Cup race, and now here at the home World Championships. In giant slalom, I've often been a bit frustrated. I don't know what to say right now," commented the 27-year-old on his greatest success so far.

Haaser Had "Nothing to Lose"

Haaser made his comeback in Kitzbühel just a week before the start of the World Championships after a knee injury and immediately finished second in the Super-G behind Odermatt. His best result in giant slalom had been a seventh place. "I take it with the motto, if it works, it works. I hope it continues like this. I told myself I have nothing to lose," he said. The Norwegian Timon Haugan, who was leading after the first run, made a mistake in the final and fell back to seventh place. The second-placed Meillard also lost a lot but saved his second medal at these World Championships after gold in the team combination. Odermatt slipped from third to fourth place, Alexander Steen Olsen was eliminated shortly before the finish. "Of course, I would have liked to win another medal today," said Odermatt, but consoled himself with the Super-G title. "I was able to close the gap in the Super-G, it's still a great Super World Championships."

Ski World Championships: Schwarz's Frustration, Brennsteiner's Bad Luck with Binding

Schwarz was annoyed about his fifth place. "I tried to attack in the second run, unfortunately made stupid mistakes, you can't compete for medals like that. At every World Cup race, I'm happy to take fifth place, those are also incredibly important points for me, I have to admit. But when you become fifth at the home World Championships, it pisses me off more," said the Carinthian bluntly. "Raphi is a brilliant story, that he stays so cool. I sincerely wish it for him," he added.

For the other two Austrians, things went less well. Patrick Feurstein finished 16th, Stefan Brennsteiner dropped out of the ranking in the first run after a few gates. For the Salzburg native, the binding on his right ski came off after just a few seconds of skiing without a hitch or apparent cause. "In that turn, it seemed to me that I was actually standing well, and suddenly the ski was gone. Maybe I stood sloppily, no idea, I haven't looked at it yet," said the Pinzgauer from Niedernsill after the bitter exit.

Feurstein was not satisfied with his performance, especially since a mistake in the lower part of the second run prevented the hoped-for damage control. "Unfortunately, I didn't succeed, a crappy day. I didn't get it right - bad in the first and the gap was too big in the second," said the Vorarlberger. "There are no right words for it."

Swiss Now with Double-Digit Medal Count at Ski World Championships

The Swiss federation won its ninth and tenth medal at this World Championships. For Tumler, it was the second silver after the team event. "The hard hours you spend in the hospital or in physiotherapy or strength training, this day makes up for a lot," said the 35-year-old, who has had a lot of bad luck with injuries in his career. "We gladly leave the gold medal to you - as long as we stay ahead in the medal table." Meillard admitted that he was a bit disappointed at first. "More was possible. In the end, it's a fifth World Championship medal for me, that's certainly brilliant."

(APA/Red)

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