KVITFJELL, Norway (AP) — Dominik Paris prevented a Swiss sweep of the podium by winning a men’s World Cup downhill race on Friday, but the Italian veteran couldn't stop Marco Odermatt from closing in on another overall title.
Paris claimed his record-extending fourth World Cup win in Kvitfjell after speeding down the 1994 Olympics slope in 1 minute, 44.67 seconds, beating Odermatt by 0.32 seconds and Stefan Rogentin by 0.63.
Odermatt's second-place finish all but seals another overall title for the 27-year-old Swiss star. The three-time defending champion's 80 race points put him 440 ahead of Henrik Kristoffersen, who does not race downhill or super-G, and 655 clear of Swiss teammate Loïc Meillard.
Swiss skiers Franjo von Allmen and Alexis Monney were fourth and fifth, respectively. Their countrymen have dominated downhill races this season with 14 of 21 podium spots so far taken by Swiss skiers.
“It’s nice to be captain of such a great team,” Odermatt said. “The young guns, they are coming, they are pushing me a lot. I try to stay on the top."
Odermatt can win a second straight Crystal Globe in downhill if he wins Saturday's race. It would be his first win in Kvitfjell.
“I tried several times before in the downhill and never came better than seventh place. A great step," said Odermatt, referring to his best finish in Kvitfjell.
Swiss skiers’ dominating run started in the Norwegian resort last year with a win by Niels Hintermann. The 29-year-old Hintermann said last month he was declared free of lymph node cancer.
The 35-year-old Paris won World Cup downhill races in Kvitfjell in 2016, 2019 and 2022, and Friday’s victory took his tally altogether to 19, joint-second on the all-time downhill winners list with Peter Müller of Switzerland. Only Austrian skier Franz Klammer won more (25).
“It’s a good hill for me,” Paris said after his first win for 14 months. The Italian had only two top-10 finishes this season.
Friday’s race was initially scheduled to take place in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany on Feb. 2, but that was called off when fog prevented both training runs.
After Saturday's downhill, a super-G is scheduled for Sunday.
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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing
The Associated Press
