Canadian Cameron Alexander gave his country a second medal since the start of the Alpine Skiing World Championships with his third place finish in the men’s downhill on Sunday in Courchevel Méribel, France.
Alexander, a 25-year-old British Columbian, crossed the finish line in one minute 47.94 seconds, 89 hundredths of a second behind the winner, the Swiss Marco Odermatt, who earned his first career medal at the Championships of the world.
Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (1:47.53) finished second.
For Alexander, this is a first career podium at the World Championships. He adds to his first place, tied with Switzerland’s Niels Hintermann, in a World Cup downhill in Kvitfjell, Norway, on March 4, 2022.
In addition, Alexander’s medal comes three days after his compatriot James Crawford won the super-G event of these World Championships.
For a while on Sunday, Crawford sat in third place in the standings until Alexander knocked him out. Crawford finished the day in fifth place with a time of 1:48.06.
Two other Canadians participated in the event. Jeffrey Read (1; 49.50) finished in 30e position while Brodie Seger, who had set the second fastest time in the last training run on Saturday, was unable to complete his race.
After setting the fastest time on Sunday, Odermatt couldn’t help but let out a few cheers. The 25-year-old Swiss had never reached a podium in eight starts at the Senior World Championships, having won five gold medals at the Junior Worlds in 2018.
“It’s something I’ve never felt before, that scream at the finish line,” admitted Odermatt.
“Also, those two minutes during Alek’s descent [Kilde], my whole body was shaking like never before. »
Odermatt is the reigning world champion in the cumulative World Cup standings and is dominating the circuit again this season, but he had never won a downhill before.
His gold medal on Sunday comes three days after his fourth place in the super-G, an event in which he was the big favorite after winning four of the six races presented this season as part of the World Cup.
“Fourth place three days ago makes this gold medal even better,” said Odermatt.