Odermatt wins season-opening super-G at Copper Mountain as Kilde's return reduces Shiffrin to tears

The Colorado course is hosting men’s World Cup races for just the second time, after 1975-76, and it was the stage for another strong run by Odermatt, who still needed to make up time in the final section to overhaul Vincent Kriechmayr and win by 0.08 seconds.

It denied Austria a clean sweep, with Raphael Haaser a further 0.05 back in third and Stefan Babinsky in finishing fourth.

“I crossed the finish line and I was like, ‘That was not too bad.’ I hoped the feeling matched the time,” Odermatt said. “So I had a great run from the top to the bottom, I had a good plan in my mind ... and happy with my performance.”

Odermatt, the defending overall champion, has won the crystal globe for the season-long title in super-G for the past three years.

For much of that time, Kilde — the 2020 overall champion and winner of 21 World Cup races — has been on the sidelines because of the effects of injuries sustained in a horrifying downhill crash in January 2024.

Nearly 700 days later, Kilde was back racing — and it was all too much for Shiffrin, the U.S. skiing great, who was in the crowd and weeping as he crossed the line 1.25 seconds adrift of Odermatt.

The 33-year-old Kilde wound up tied for 24th place and was given a big hug by the emotional Shiffrin minutes after getting down the hill. She later took a photo of Kilde with Odermatt, who was congratulating the Norwegian on his return to competition.

Kilde underwent surgery for a severe cut and nerve damage in his right calf and two torn ligaments in his shoulder after the crash at the classic Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen. He has since said his leg will never be the same again and that there is limited in movement in his shoulder.

Given that backdrop, it was an encouraging display by Kilde on a course that is well known to most of the speed racers because it’s been frequented as a training site by all of the top teams in recent years.

“Because we are used to training here every year but never to race, it was kind of special to finally race here,” Odermatt said. “But I had a good plan in my mind and I could really (ski) through from the top to the bottom, and I think it’s a really super-G slope.”

It was the first of nine super-Gs in a season interrupted by the Olympics. Beaver Creek in the United States hosts the second race next month.

Odermatt's stats

It was a 47th World Cup victory for Odermatt, and his 16th in super-G.

According to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, it was Odermatt's 26th podium finish in super-G, tying him for third place with Norway's Kjetil Jansrud on the men’s all-time list behind Hermann Maier and Aksel Lund Svindal.

“I don’t know the numbers,” Odermatt said, “but it’s just great to back on top of the podium in super-G. First speed race of the season and great day for me.”

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics