Adrian Smiseth Sejersted didn't know what was happening to him. © APA / BARBARA GINDL

"That guy is crazy": The Kitzbühel scene that baffled everyone

The Super-G in Kitzbühel on Friday was overshadowed by a scene that astonished everyone. "For me, he's a Superman," Felix Neureuther, for example, put it.

23 January 2026

From: det

Yes, Marco Odermatt celebrated his 53rd World Cup victory on Friday. Yes, Franjo von Allmen jokingly put a chokehold on the Swiss superstar after he finished second, just three hundredths of a second behind. Yes, Stefan Babinsky made the Austrian fans cheer with his third-place finish. But in the end, the number one topic of conversation in Kitzbühel was something else entirely. Adrian Smiseth Sejersted had averted a brutal crash in an unbelievable way.

Sejersted had been hurtling towards the Seidlalm jump at high speed, but stumbled just before it – and was thus catapulted over the jump. The Norwegian was sideways in the air, but somehow he managed to regain his balance, land on one ski, and continue his descent.

The icing on the cake: Sejersted finished the race in 5th place and couldn't believe it himself at the finish line. "I was a bit late, and in the air I thought: This is going to be a nasty crash, 100 percent. But somehow I managed to save myself. I was initially worried that I hadn't passed through a gate correctly, but in the end it was all right. It's a shame I missed out on my first chamois," said a truly cool Sejersted. Eurosport.

Shock and admiration in the ski world

The ski world, however, reacted to this near-crash of the year with a mixture of shock and admiration. "It was absolutely incredible that he stayed on his feet. When I saw the crash, I was sure his Olympic participation was over," said Sejersted's teammate Fredrik Møller. And former downhill star Kjetil Jansrud, who competed for NRK The commentator said: "How is that possible? He's still driving! That's the worst thing I've ever seen. For heaven's sake."

"He is my Superman of the day." Felix Neureuther

Winner Marco Odermatt was full of admiration. "That guy is crazy," he said. NRK. "He's so fast, and without that mistake he probably would have won the race. But it's impressive how he recovers from such a mistake, regains his focus and attacks again."

ARD expert Felix Neureuther was also impressed by Sejersted's feat. "What he did in the air is... I don't know... figure skating. He greets the people, does a so-called 'flying' maneuver, and lands on his feet. He's my Superman of the day," said the former German ski star. In short: Sejersted missed out on a Kitzbühel chamois on Friday, but he won the hearts of the ski world.