Odermatt clinches fifth straight Alpine World Cup title

Marco Odermatt made it five in a row on Friday, clinching the overall Alpine skiing World Cup crystal globe after finishing third in a downhill race in Courchevel, France, and cementing his place among the sport's all-time greats.apnews+1

The 28-year-old Swiss star now holds an insurmountable 632-point lead over Norwegian-born Brazilian Lucas Pinheiro Braathen with six races remaining, making the title mathematically certain. Odermatt also secured his third consecutive downhill globe after his sole remaining rival, compatriot and triple Olympic gold medalist Franjo von Allmen, skied out earlier in the race.straitstimes+2

Joining Elite Company

The fifth consecutive overall title places Odermatt level with Marc Girardelli — an Austrian who won five titles skiing for Luxembourg — for second on the men's all-time list. Only Austria's Marcel Hirscher, with eight overall crowns, stands above them.espn+2

Odermatt now holds 10 career discipline titles across downhill, super-G, and giant slalom, and he leads both the super-G and giant slalom standings heading into the final stretch of the season. He has won nine races this campaign — four in downhill, three in giant slalom, and two in super-G — adding to the two silvers and a bronze he collected at the Milano Cortina Olympics last month.channelnewsasia

"A Little Bit Proud"

Austria's Vincent Kriechmayr won Friday's downhill, his first victory of the season and his first in the discipline since 2022, finishing 0.09 seconds ahead of Italy's Giovanni Franzoni, with Odermatt 0.31 seconds off the pace in third.straitstimes+1

"An amazing day for me once again," Odermatt told FIS television. "Super happy with my race today with another podium. To secure those globes once again early … means you are far ahead and that makes it even more special today".channelnewsasia

He added: "All the tracks are totally different to each other, different terrain and snow conditions. And to always find the best solution to be able to fight for the top spot, this is the most difficult thing in our sport. And this makes me a little bit proud that I am managing this so well to be always there".channelnewsasia

Two super-G races are scheduled in Courchevel this weekend before the World Cup season concludes in Kvitfjell, Norway, where Odermatt could add still more hardware to an already remarkable collection.straitstimes