KVITFJELL, Norway — Dominik Paris, the Italian skiing sensation, secured his second World Cup race victory in three days last Sunday. This impressive feat comes after a solitary win in the past three years for Paris. In a super-G race marked by tight margins and a course made shorter by fog, Paris stood out as the sole competitor to break away from the pack, enhancing his downhill triumph from Friday.
Without Paris in Sunday’s event, the results would have seen the top 30 skiers, including six from Team USA, all finishing within a second of each other, and the current world champion, Canada’s James Crawford, taking the top spot. Nevertheless, Paris emerged as the dominant force, surpassing Crawford by 0.38 seconds, with third-place going to Miha Hrobat, trailing by 0.47 seconds.
“The feeling was amazing,” expressed the 35-year-old Paris. “Seeing the green light in the finish, that’s nice.” This win marks another memorable moment for the Italian athlete, whose name carries a French flair, on a slope fondly remembered for hosting the 1994 Olympics. Paris boasts six of his 24 career World Cup victories at Kvitfjell, replicating a weekend double in downhill and super-G from 2019, plus a downhill win in March 2022.
In the highlight season of 2019, Paris secured a career-best seven World Cup wins, along with his sole gold medal in super-G at the world championships, and his only World Cup crystal trophy for the season-long super-G title. Interestingly, this period of success coincided with his summer activities recording an album as a heavy metal singer with his band, Rise of Voltage.
Marco Odermatt concluded the race in fourth, a mere 0.01 seconds behind Hrobat. Despite this, Odermatt’s season-long super-G title was already confirmed earlier when Mattia Casse, Paris’s fellow Italian racer, suffered an injury during a downhill training session. Notably, it marked the first occasion in 17 men’s speed races this season—including the World Cup and world championships—that no Swiss skier claimed a podium position.
“It’s quite an achievement, I think. They are really, really good this year,” remarked Hrobat, who previously finished third in downhills surpassed by two Swiss athletes.
Odermatt gathered 50 race points on Sunday, securing an unassailable lead of 210 in the super-G standings ahead of the final race on March 23 in Sun Valley, Idaho, clinching his third consecutive super-G title. His dominance extends to his fourth straight overall World Cup title, with a commanding 570-point lead over Henrik Kristoffersen and only six races remaining. Despite 600 points still up for grabs, Kristoffersen does not compete in downhill or super-G.
As the men’s World Cup circuit remains in Norway, Kristoffersen is anticipated to gain points in the upcoming giant slalom and slalom events next weekend at the nearby Hafjell.
