Swiss skier Odermatt wins giant slalom, 2nd gold at worlds

COURCHEVEL, France — Marco Odermatt won the men’s giant slalom Friday to become the first Swiss skier in 36 years to earn two gold medals at the same world championships.

Odermatt’s victory came five days after he was the surprise winner of the downhill.

He matched Pirmin Zurbriggen, who won the super-G and downhill at his home world championships in Crans-Montana in 1987.

“Another perfect day for me,” said Odermatt, who had not won a medal in his eight previous world championship races, after winning five junior word titles in 2018.

He called winning the GS “very different” from his downhill victory.

“The emotions in the downhill were way bigger. That was a surprise for me, for everybody,” he said. “Now I had a gold medal in my room, that made it easier today.”

Odermatt, who is the Olympic giant slalom champion, was second after the opening run but beat Swiss teammate Loic Meillard by 0.32 seconds.

“The double victory made it even more special,” Odermatt said.

First-run leader Marco Schwarz of Austria finished 0.40 seconds behind to take the bronze medal.

“I actually didn’t expect to win,” Odermatt said. “Marco skied so well in the first run. He did some mistakes in the second, that helped me for gold.”

Many fans were waving Swiss flags in the stands and chanted “Odi, Odi” when Odermatt won.

“It’s amazing. So many great Swiss fans here, family, friends,” Odermatt said. “For me as a Swiss it’s nearly a home race.”

Odermatt has been dominating the giant slalom on the World Cup circuit, winning four of the five events he competed in this season. The Swiss skier is on his way to successfully defending the overall World Cup title he won last year.