Meillard wins slalom gold to cap 'crazy week' for the Swiss ski team at world championships

SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria — Loic Meillard won his second world title and became the first Swiss skier in 75 years to take gold in the men's slalom at the Alpine skiing world championships on Sunday.

Meillard earned his third medal after winning the team combined with Franjo von Allmen and placing third in the giant slalom.

''It's been a crazy week,'' Meillard said after beating silver medalist Atle Lie McGrath of Norway by 0.26 seconds. Linus Strasser of Germany was 0.52 behind in third and took the bronze.

Slalom World Cup champion Manuel Feller of Austria missed the podium by 0.27 in fourth.

Sunday's race was the final event of the worlds.

Swiss success

Meillard's triumph capped a highly successful event for Switzerland, which matched the best mark of 13 medals in total and five in gold across genders at a single worlds, set by Austria in 1999.

Apart from Meillard, Marco Odermatt won the super-G and Von Allmen the downhill, while Camille Rast took the women's slalom title.

The achievement set the bar high for when Switzerland hosts the next championships in Crans-Montana in 2027.

''To perform at the same level, we have to work hard in the future,'' said Alpine director Hans Flatscher of the Swiss ski federation.

Flatscher said ''the world championships start at zero,'' and added "We have a really nice team spirit and this helps to perform."

The last Swiss men's winner of slalom gold was Georges Schneider, who took gold at the 1950 worlds in Aspen, Colorado. No Swiss skier had won a medal in the men's slalom for the past 22 years.

Olympic champion Clement Noel, who led after the first run, straddled a gate near the end of his second run and did not finish.

''You never wish to win with an ‘out' for someone else,'' Meillard said. ''It's crazy, I know slalom can be tough and sometimes so many people can ski fast, so that it worked out today, it's incredible.''

Noel won the 2022 Olympic title but is yet to win a medal at the worlds. His best result was fourth two years ago, when he missed the podium by three-hundredths of a second.

Noel's mistake meant France ended the world championships with no medals. The team was without other main medal hopes Alexis Pinturault and Cyprien Sarrazin because of injuries.

Medals for McGrath and Strasser

Silver and bronze marked their first medal at a major championship for both McGrath and Strasser, though the German had previously won Olympic silver and world championship bronze in team events.

After taking the lead in the race with only Meillard and Noel still to come down, McGrath knew he had won a medal.

The Norwegian celebrated by kicking out his ski and trying but failing to catch it in the air, a trick the Swiss great Didier Cuche was famous for. McGrath then waved his arms up and down to get fans cheering in the sold-out finish stadium before he laid down on his back in the snow.

''What a crazy day. To be able to come down and see the green light was insane,'' said McGrath, who had already been in festive mood the evening before when he sang an Austrian folklore song during the bib draw.

McGrath competed in his first worlds after missing the 2023 worlds with a knee injury.

''I tried the Cuche flip, but it didn't work," he said. "I think Cuche is the king, and I am just a little kid that wants to be like Cuche one day.''

His Norwegian teammate and defending champion Henrik Kristoffersen, who leads the World Cup season standings in the discipline, shared 13th with Lucas Pinheiro Braathen.

Having switched nationalities after competing for Norway until 2023, Pinheiro Braathen was aiming for Brazil's first-ever medal at the skiing worlds.

Feller was Austria's main medal hope but a deficit of 1.28 seconds from the first run left him with only a slim chance in the second.

''This is the biggest defeat of my career,'' said Feller, who lives in the neighboring village of Fieberbrunn.

Even though no Swiss racer had won the men's slalom title for decades, Feller was not surprised by Meillard's triumph.

''They are dominating the season so far,'' the Austrian said. ''With the confidence Loic got over the last races, he got nothing to lose. Amazing skiing.''

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AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing