In the first FIS Alpine World Ski Championships race of his life, Cameron Alexander had the performance of a lifetime, capturing a bronze medal for Canada on Feb. 12 in downhill. Sunday's bronze comes just over 11 months after Alexander finished first in a World Cup downhill in Kvitfjell, Norway.
On another blue bird day on the challenging l’Éclipse track in Courchevel, France, Alexander started 20th and delivered a solid—though not flawless—run. He appeared close to losing control at a few points during the race but dug deep and held on, much to the excitement of CBC commentators Scott Russell and Brian Stemmel.
Alexander crossed the line in one minute and 47.94 seconds to bump his Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) teammate Jack Crawford to fourth. He then watched nervously as the remainder of the field tried and failed to knock him off the podium.
In the end, Alexander stood at the award ceremony next to victor Marco Odermatt of Switzerland (1:47.05) and silver medallist Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway (1:47.53).
“This means everything,” said Alexander in a press release. “I’m very, very happy, it’s the greatest feeling in the world. The guys here are so fast, I knew that I had to bring my best skiing and to push all the way down. I was talking to myself towards the end, making sure that I kept pushing.”
“Jack’s gold in the super-G gave us all confidence,” added the 25-year-old. “Our group really pushes each other in training and his win showed us that our best skiing has a shot at the podium. We’ve all been working so hard for so long; I know that it’s just a matter of time for the rest of the guys. Going to celebrate this and looking forward to building on it.”
Results roundup
Odermatt earned some redemption after missing the super-G podium in Courchevel. The defending Olympic giant slalom king showed why he is one of the best alpine skiers on Earth with a blistering run to win his first career World Championships title. It is the 45th FIS medal of the Swiss athlete's career.
"It was the perfect run for me, maybe the best downhill I’ve ever skied,” said Odermatt, 25, in a release. “I felt it was a perfect run. When you look and you know some fast skiers had already been down, I knew it was good.”
Meanwhile, Kilde has missed out on what could be his last best chance to earn a World Championships gold medal at this year's event. The powerfully-built Norwegian is known as a speed demon, but had to settle for another silver after likewise placing second on Feb. 9's super-G contest. Technical disciplines like the upcoming slalom and giant slalom are not Kilde's strength, so he will have to lock in if he wants a victory in France.
Crawford, racing two days after his milestone gold medal performance in the super-G, finished fifth for his second top-five result of these World Championships. Jeffrey Read of Canmore, Alta. was 30th after placing 11th in super-G, and Brodie Seger. who was second in the final downhill training session, had to be flown to hospital after landing awkwardly on a jump. Broderick Thompson did not qualify for Sunday's downhill.
Championship racing continues on Feb. 14 with the team parallel and wraps up on Feb. 19 with the men’s slalom. Follow the excitement with streaming options on the CBC Sports website.
