Matthias Mayer is and remains a reliable supplier of Olympic medals: the Carinthian was also represented at an award ceremony at his third Winter Games. The 31-year-old ski star, who won the downhill gold in Sochi in 2014 and the Super G title in Pyeongchang in 2018, secured bronze in the Yanqing downhill. And only 16 hundredths behind champion Beat Feuz (Sui) and six behind the silver-plated Frenchman Johan Clarey, who at 41 years and 29 days became the oldest medal winner in alpine Olympic competitions.
Clarey dedicated his medal to compatriot David Poisson, who died in a downhill training accident in Canada in 2017. “He’s still in my heart and in my head. That was the first thing I thought about when I crossed the finish line,” said the veteran after an absolutely fair race that was postponed by one day due to strong winds .
“He knows what matters”
Mayer did not mourn after gold, but was “hugely” happy about bronze. “Even after Kitzbühel, where Blaise (Giezendanner, note) with start number 43 drove in ahead of me,” he emphasized. “Matthias has the necessary calm, which he also radiates. He knows what is important. He has become such a personality over the years,” ÖSV men’s racing director Andreas Puelacher praised his protégé.
Mayer joined an elite group of eight Austrian athletes who have won medals at three or more different Winter Games. Felix Gottwald, Thomas Morgenstern, the brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger, Mario Stecher, Christoph Bieler and Marlies Schild had previously done this. “When I think, the first Olympic victory eight years ago, that was a while ago. And a lot has happened since then. The consistency is still very good. It was a tremendous race, it was a fight,” analyzed Mayer .
Double World Champion Vincent Kriechmayr was not lucky, as he did not get past eighth place with start number 1. “The one was neither an advantage nor a disadvantage. In the middle section I would have estimated the speed faster than it was in the end. I might have been a bit too round there,” said the 30-year-old Gramastettner, who competed in the Super- G should get his second chance.
Debutant with a bleeding nose
Daniel Hemetsberger was unlucky in his Olympic debut from a red-white-red point of view. The 21st place was far below his chances, the 30-year-old from Nußbach hit his right ski pole in the face after a few goals while correcting and got a bleeding nose. “The slap in the face wasn’t that great. Of course that was the end of the race – stupid. I just made sure that I open my mouth wide so that I can breathe because my nose was full of blood. I can’t believe it accuse me of giving everything,” emphasized the athlete from the Salzkammergut, for whom the Winter Games are already over. For a Super-G nomination, Hemetsberger lacked the corresponding top results this season.
Favorite Aleksander Aamodt Kilde (Nor) landed in the beaten downhill field, who finished fifth. His girlfriend Mikaela Shiffrin retired in the giant slalom.
The “Ball Lightning” cried
“I dedicate the victory to my girlfriend, who manages everything at home with two children, so that I can have a clear head at the start and can risk everything.” After his gold coup in the Olympic downhill – four days before his 35th birthday – shot dem Swiss Champion Beat Feuz tears in his eyes. The “Kugelblitz” thanked her partner Katrin Triendl, a former Austrian ski racer, who shared the excitement with her two daughters Clea (3 ¾ years) and Luisa (3 weeks) at home in Aldrans – above the roofs of Innsbruck.
Feuz has now won everything a world-class downhill skier can claim: three times in Wengen, three times in Kitzbühel, a world championship title (2017 in St. Moritz), four small crystal balls and now, as the ultimate, Olympic gold. It was the last chance for the Swiss, he grabbed it by the hair. “The race was incredibly difficult, but definitely one of the best of my career. I’m overjoyed,” said Feuz, who almost had to end his career in 2012. After a severe infection in the left knee, a stiffening, equivalent to a sports disability, was even up for debate.
But the success story was not to end there. Feuz fought back, on December 4, 2021 he got his 42nd downhill podium finish in third place from Beaver Creek. The Swiss broke the record set by Franz Klammer and Peter Müller. Feuz’s parents Hedi and Hans are also happy about that, as they put the money they saved into promoting their talented boy instead of into a new barn. It was worth it.
Source: Nachrichten
