Odermatt seals maiden overall title as Goggia takes downhill crown
Marco Odermatt added a maiden FIS World Cup overall title to his first giant slalom crystal globe at the 2021/2022 season finale in Courchevel as Italian star Sofia Goggia finished ahead of rival Corinne Suter to claim her third downhill title.
Odermatt’s brilliant breakthrough season had already seen him capture the giant slalom title ahead of Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen with his results at Kranjska Gora in Slovenia last weekend.
The Swiss star, who also claimed gold in the Beijing giant slalom recently, knew a good result in Wednesday’s final downhill would finally get him over the line for his maiden overall title.
Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr took the victory with a fine run of 1:50.43, however Odermatt’s superb second place earned him enough points to put him beyond his nearest rival Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.
With three men’s races left at French resorts this season, Odermatt’s 1459 points easily eclipsed Kilde’s 1110 with the Norwegian adding a first downhill title to his second Super G title thanks to his Wednesday fourth which saw him finish 13 points clear of Switzerland’s Beat Feuz.
Odermatt, 24, becomes the first Swiss for 12 years to win the overall title with just the men’s slalom title left to be decided now on Sunday as Kristoffersen leads compatriot Lucas Braathen by 48 points.
The women’s downhill followed the men’s downhill with leader Goggia looking to fend off nearest challenger and Beijing champion Corinne Suter of Switzerland, which she did by finishing 12th to Suter’s 19th place.
Goggia’s third downhill title – after 2018 and 2021 victories – saw her claim an impressive four 2021/2022 victories to achieve 504 points with Suter on 407 and Czech Ester Ledecká third on 339 after the winter sports phenomenon finished seventh on the day to make the discipline podium.
Goggia, 29, overcame nasty mid-season ACL and fibula injuries to earn an incredible silver in the Beijing downhill and maintained her composure against the odds to end the FIS World Cup season on another high.
The women still have three races left this season at Courchevel and Méribel with American Mikaela Shiffrin closing in on a fourth overall title and Swede Sara Hector leading the giant slalom standings.
