Mauro Caviezel won the Super-G globe. And this trophy does not only salute his skills on skis, it sounds like a reward on several levels.
The Grison stands in the middle of the podium between his dolphins Vincent Kriechmayr and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde. In one of his hands, he holds his crystal globe. Well, not quite his. Beat Feuz had it for the downhill ceremony the day before and the Bernese man kindly lent it to his teammate for the occasion. But the funny thing is that this globe belongs to Henrik Kristoffersen. This is that of the slalom obtained by the Norwegian technician four years ago.
A globe on loan, a hastily improvised ceremony, or when the FIS has to adapt to the situation by doing DIY. But that didn’t stop the Grison from sporting a bright smile in the finish area. Of course he would have preferred a big party with emotions and more audience, but he will not sulk his pleasure. In these troubled times linked to the coronavirus and the canceled demonstrations, we take what comes.
Because for Caviezel, this globe represents the work of an athlete who has never given up despite injuries. A combined bronze medalist three years ago in St. Moritz, the 31-year-old Grison now has a new achievement in his career. A career that has been disrupted by health concerns. This globe is a way of telling everyone that you should never give up.
His first podium, Caviezel obtained it at the world cup finals in Aspen in 2017. “If I no longer believed in it, I would have stopped everything,” he said at the time of this third place in the Colorado. But I knew I could do more than I had shown before and between my injury breaks. “
Four years ago during a camp in Chile, Caviezel broke the fibula. Then in April of the following year, it was the ligaments that gave way in training to Sölden. And another four months later, an injury to the left hand required further surgery.
A model of resistance, the Grison never whined. These trials hardened him. He took them as a challenge. “Others suffered much more serious injuries, he relativized, thinking in particular of his model Silvano Beltrametti, now in a wheelchair. All my injuries are nothing compared to his.”
Sunday in Norway, Caviezel had to review the path traveled in his head. And in his hand, this reward for his persistence. And that this globe was loaned does not change anything.
–
