Marco Odermatt is the celebrated ski hero. © APA / EXPA / JOHANN GRODER
Under the noise of the Swiss cowbells and booming shouts of “Hop Schwiiz” ski racer Marco Odermatt lost all the pressure of the past few days. Even the competition bowed.
February 13, 2023
From: dpa/dl
With tears in his eyes, the new downhill world champion celebrated a boisterous gold party in the French mountains. “It was the best ride of my life,” enthused the alpine high-flyer after his triumph in Courchevel on Sunday.
Odermatt had never won a major title in the supreme discipline. Now, of all things, it worked at the high point of the season. “There couldn’t have been better timing,” said the Swiss. He was 0.48 seconds ahead of his longtime rival Aleksander Aamodt Kilde from Norway. “He was the favourite. I had to unpack everything,” said 25-year-old Odermatt.
At the age of 25, Odermatt has already won everything there is to win. © ANSA / JEAN-CHRISTOPHE BOTT
The all-rounder jumps from level to level like in a computer game. In 2018 he won five gold medals at the Junior World Championships, followed by his first World Cup title in 2019. At the age of 24 he won gold at the 2022 Winter Olympics, and now he has won the World Cup. This year, the Swiss Hermann Maiers (Austria) could break the legendary 2000-point mark in a World Cup season. And Odermatt is not finished yet. “In theory, I’ve won everything now. But once you win, you want to win again,” he announced.
competition bows
Odermatt showered the competition with praise after his World Cup triumph. Veteran Johan Clarey from France described the high-flyer as the “springer of skiing”, the German Romed Baumann called him “the best technician at the moment”. Kilde praised his rivals as “absolutely exceptional athletes”. Dominik Paris also bowed to Odermatt.
