Switzerland is the number 1 ski nation

Marco Odermatt actually started as the big favorite in the Super-G in Courchevel. However, the first of three competitions was disappointing for the big star of Swiss ski racing. He missed bronze by 0,04 seconds. A short time later, the Nidwalden native demonstrated his outstanding talent and, above all, his mental strength in the very discipline in which he had previously been unable to win in the World Cup.

Odermatt saved his first downhill victory for the most important race of the winter. On the newly planned, demanding route “L'Éclipse” he showed a performance that amazed the audience and the experts. Undoubtedly, it was a run characterized by perfection, the likes of which have hardly ever been shown in a downhill run. Comparisons were made, for example, with Stephan Eberharter's (2004) and Didier Cuche's (2011) victorious rides on the Streif. “When someone shows a run like he did here, you can only take your hat off,” explained his biggest competitor, the Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, later in the TV studio.

Flury surprised Marco Odermatt's two gold medals were also largely responsible for Switzerland being able to win the medal standings. Downhill world champion Jasmine Flury surprisingly also contributed to this. For the first time since Crans Montana in 1987, Switzerland was able to secure both downhill world championship titles. For the ÖSV, however, there were less positive memories of the World Cup 36 years ago.

At that time, as in the past two weeks, Austria remained without a gold medal. In the medal table at Courchevel-Méribel this meant the penultimate eighth place ahead of Greece. Switzerland is currently clearly ahead in the Nations Cup, which Austria won continuously from 1990 to 2019. In the duel between the two skiing nations that has been announced for decades, there is currently a lot going for Switzerland.

Rivalry or friendship? “The pendulum has probably swung in our direction,” says Bernhard Russi, one of Marco Odermatt’s predecessors as the downhill world champion in Val Gardena in 1970. His achievements contribute massively to this assessment. Although the national sporting rivalry is not seen that way among athletes after Russi. “The best friendships are often formed there,” he explained at an exhibition marking the 40th anniversary of his Olympic victory in Sapporo in 1972.

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Switzerland is the number 1 ski nation

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