Thomas Tumler celebrated his first World Cup victory in Beaver Creek. © APA / SEAN M. HAFFEY

Swiss dominance at all levels

The Swiss men's ski team is well positioned in the Alpine World Championship season. Even the third consecutive failure of Super-G winner Marco Odermatt in a World Cup giant slalom did not deprive them of victory, and Thomas Tumler was there on Sunday in Beaver Creek with his first success.

09 December 2024

From: apa/sn

Justin Murisier had a similarly surprising performance in the downhill race on Friday. The Austrians, on the other hand, only managed to secure their first podium finish of the season in Colorado. For Azzurri, however, there was only Giovanni Franzoni as a ray of hope. Dominik Paris & Co. disappointed.

The 32-year-old Murisier and the 35-year-old Tumler have not yet won a World Cup. Both can now say that it pays to stick with it. Four years ago, Tumler was close to retiring after suffering a slipped disc. "It was a difficult time and it took a lot of energy to come back," explained the veteran. He had to regain confidence in his abilities. "I am proud that I never gave up."

Marco Odermatt and Justin Murisier celebrated in the downhill. © APA/afp / JASON CONNOLLY

The young husband, who was clearly ahead after the first run, managed to finish 0,12 seconds ahead of Lucas Pinheiro Braathen and spoke afterwards of an "incredibly beautiful story". He probably had a kind of premonition when the 2024/25 World Cup calendar came out. "I said to my wife, cool, I'm going to win Beaver Creek." The motivation and belief for this came from third place in 2018, his first career podium. "Unbelievable, it's like a dream. I'm super proud that I managed to bring down the interim lead."

Odermatt: "Special weekend"

Odermatt was happy for Tumler, as he had been two days earlier for Murisier, who had been successful after a long injury history, and was at least able to get over his third giant slalom failure in a row this season a little easier. "This is a special weekend with three Swiss victories." The 27-year-old could not quite explain his own slip-up. "I changed the set-up and was somehow surprised. It happened quickly." But he is not worried, because it works really well in training.

“The cool thing is that there are three different winners, that’s so powerful.” Tom Stauffer, head coach of Switzerland

The Swiss men's head coach Tom Stauffer had nothing to complain about given the outstanding results: "The cool thing is that there are three different winners, that's so strong." There are a few other promising people in the speed disciplines, such as Franjo von Allmen and Arnau Boisset. "They will come, they just need time. It will probably take one or two seasons until they are there." One must also consider that Murisier, for example, is not yet 30 after years of active racing because of his injury breaks and is therefore at the best age for the speed disciplines.