Austria’s Marcel Hirscher had won two golds in each of the prior three Alpine World Championships, but that was not going to happen in Are (SWE) in 2019. In fact, he hadn’t won anything heading into Sunday’s finale, the men’s Slalom.
But after his first run, he left no doubt: he would not be shut out in Sweden.
Hirscher, the third man down the hill on the first run, put down a dominating exhibition of Slalom skiing, finishing in 1:00.60, a staggering 0.56 seconds ahead of second-place Alexis Pinturault (FRA) and just about ending the competition before the second run even began.
In races decided by 100ths of a second, Hirscher’s margin was going to be the winner and he sashayed through the second run in 25th place and still had an overall winning margin of 0.65 seconds.
The excitement in the second run was the ascension of his Austrian teammates. Michael Matt jumped from fourth after the first run to second overall and Marco Schwarz held on to third for an Austrian sweep. How rare is that? The last we found was back in 2001 when Austrians Michaela Dorfmeister, Renate Gotschl and Selina Heregger swept the women’s Downhill!
For Hirscher, it was his fifth individual world title and his third in Slalom. He now owns 11 World Championships medals and, including two wins in the Team event, has seven golds.
For the 2019 Worlds as a whole, Austria led with eight medals overall (1-4-3), followed by Norway (2-1-1), Switzerland (2-1-1) and the U.S. (2-0-2) with four each. Summaries:
FIS Alpine World Championships
Are (SWE) ~ 5-17 February 2019
(Full results here)
Men
Downhill: 1. Kjetil Jansrud (NOR), 1:19.98; 2. Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR), 1:20.00; 3. Vincent Kriechmayr (AUT), 1:20.31; 4. Beat Feuz (SUI), 1:20.42; 5. Matthias Mayer (AUT), 1:20.63; 6. Dominik Paris (ITA), 1:20.72; 7. Benjamin Thomsen (CAN), 1:20.73; 8. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (NOR), 1:20.80. Also: 9 (tie). Bryce Bennett (USA), 1:20.81; … 12. Ryan Cochran-Siegle (USA), 1:21.00; … 23. Steven Nyman (USA), 1:21.55; … 26. Travis Ganong (USA), 1:21.63.
Super-G: 1. Paris (ITA), 1:24.20; 2. tie, Johan Clarey (FRA) and Kriechmayr (AUT), 1:24.29; 4. Christof Innerhofer (ITA), 1:24.55; 5. Adrien Theaux (FRA), 1:24.57; 6. Josef Ferstl (GER), 1:24.59; 7. Brice Roger (FRA), 1:24.61; 8. tie, Mattia Casse (ITA), Nyman (USA) and Adrian Sejersted (NOR), 1:24.70. Also in the top 25: 11. Cochran-Siegle (USA), 1:24.73; … 23. Bennett (USA), 1:25.82.
Giant Slalom: 1. Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR), 2:20.24; 2. Marcel Hirscher (AUT), 2:20.44; 3. Alexis Pinturault (FRA), 2:20.66; 4. Loic Meillard (FRA), 2:21.16; 5. tie, Marco Schwarz (SUI) and Zan Kranjec (SLO), 2:21.28; 7. Leif Kristian Nestvold-Haugen (NOR), 2:21.32; 8. Alexander Schmid (GER), 2:21.43. Also: 11. Ted Ligety (USA), 2:21.78; 12. Tommy Ford (USA), 2:21.80; … 21. Cochran-Siegle (USA), 2:23.88.
Slalom: 1. Hirscher (AUT), 2:05.86; 2. Michael Matt (AUT), 2:06.51; 3. Schwarz (AUT), 2:06.62; 4. Pinturault (FRA), 2:06.72; 5. Ramon Zenhaeusern (SUI), 2:06.82; 6. Manuel Feller (AUT), 2:06.90; 7. Clement Noel (FRA), 2:06.95; 8. Kristoffersen (NOR), 2:06.98.
Combined: 1. Pinturault (FRA), 1:47.71 (24th in Downhill + 2nd in Slalom); 2. Stefan Hadalin (SLO), 1:47.95 (30+1); 3. Schwarz (AUT), 1:48.17 (21+4); 4. Riccardo Tonetti (ITA), 1:48.38 (16+6); 5. Linus Strasser (GER), 1:48.51 (29+3); 6. Victor Muffat-Jeandet (FRA), 1:48.52 (23+5); 7. Mauro Caviezel (SUI), 1:48.57 (8+8); 8. Luca Aerni (SUI), 1:48.73 (20+7). Also: 11. Bennett (USA), 1:49.59 (18+13);’ … 18. Cochran-Siegle (USA), 1:49.84 (2+36).
Women
Downhill: 1. Ilka Stuhec (SLO), 1:01.74; 2. Corinne Suter (SUI), 1:01.97; 3. Lindsey Vonn (USA), 1:02.23; 4. Stephanie Venier (AUT), 1:02.27; 5. Ragnhild Mowinckel (NOR), 1:02.33; 6. Nicol Delago (ITA), 1:02.36; 7. Ramona Siebenhofer (AUT), 1:02.38; 8. Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI), 1:02.52. Also: 22. Alice Merryweather (USA), 1:03.26.
Super-G: 1. Mikaela Shiffrin (USA), 1:04.89; 2. Sofia Goggia (ITA), 1:04.91; 3. Corinne Suter (SUI), 1:04.94; 4. Viktor Rebensburg (GER), 1:04.96; 5. Nadia Fanchini (ITA), 1:05.03; 6. Ragnhild Mowinckel (NOR), 1:05.05; 7. Francesca Marsaglia (ITA), 1:05.13; 8. Stuhec (SLO), 1:05.15; 9. Lara Gut-Behrami (SUI), 1:05.37; 10. Federica Brignone (ITA), 1:05.43. Also in the top 25: 22. Merryweather (USA), 1:07.22.
Giant Slalom: 1. Petra Vlhova (SVK), 2:01.97; 2. Rebensburg (GER), 2:02.11; 3. Shiffrin (USA), 2:02.35; 4. Mowinckel (NOR), 2:02.47; 5. Brignone (ITA), 2:02.84; 6. Tessa Worley (FRA), 2:03.06; 7. Sara Hector (SWE), 2:03.91; 8. Clara Direz (FRA), 2:04.18.
Slalom: 1. Shiffrin (USA), 1:57.05; 2. Anna Swenn Larson (SWE), 1:57.63; 3. Vlhova (SVK), 1:58.08; 4. Katharina Liensberger (AUT), 1:58.48; 5. Frida Hansdotter (SWE), 1:59.44; 6. Laurence St-Germain (CAN), 1:59.65; 7. Katharina Huber (AUT), 1:59.75; 8. Katharina Truppe (AUT), 1:59.98. Also: 18. Paula Moltzan (USA), 2:02.51.
Combined: 1. Wendy Holdener (SUI), 2:02:13 (5th in Downhill + 3rd in Slalom); 2. Vlhova (SVK), 2:02.16 (8+2); 3. Mowinckel (NOR), 2:02.58 (3+6); 4. Ramona Siebenhofer (AUT), 2:02.62 (1+8); 5. Roni Remme (CAN), 2:02.26 (28+1); 6. Brignone (ITA), 2:03.52 (6+10); 7. Kasja Vickhoff Lie (NOR), 2:03.64 (15+5); 8. Franziska Gritsch (AUT), 2:03.82 (29+4). Also: 18. Merryweather (USA), 2:06.63 (10+21).
Mixed
Team Event/ Big Final: 1. Switzerland (Holdener, Matt, Truppe, Zenhaeusern); 2. Austria (Linsberger, Yule, Danioth, Schwarz). Small Final: 3. Italy (Curtoni, Della Mea, Maurberger, Vinatzer); 4. Germany (Duerr, Geiger, Strasser, Tremmel). Semis: Austria d. Italy, 2-2 (49.23-49.52); Switzerland d. Germany, 2-2 (48.75-48.95). Third: Italy d. Germany, 3-1. Final: Switzerland d. Austria, 2-2 (48.13-48.90).
