Olympics – Alpine snowboarding – Odermatt’s calculated danger earns Swiss third Alpine gold

YANQING, China (Reuters) – Big slalom gold medallist Marco Odermatt of Switzerland credited a dangerous resolution to alter his skis, regardless of main after his first run in Sunday’s race, for his nation’s third Alpine snowboarding gold medal of the Winter Olympics.

Odermatt was main after the primary run in difficult situations on the course dubbed “The Ice River”, with heavy snow reducing visibility to a minimal and making life robust for your entire discipline.

He completed his second run with a mixed time of two:09:35, placing him 0.19 seconds forward of runner-up Zan Kranjec of Slovenia, with France’s Mathieu Faivre taking bronze.

“We modified the ski and binding for the second run as a result of I didn’t really feel so good on the toes after the primary run,” Odermatt stated. “It took some braveness to do it after main the Olympic race but it surely was undoubtedly the proper resolution.

“These 19 hundredths (of a second) usually are not a lot. It was undoubtedly as a result of I modified the ski.”

The Swiss has been the dominant drive in large slalom on the World Cup this season, successful 4 of the 5 races on the circuit and ending runner-up within the fifth. He additionally leads the general World Cup standings.

Odermatt pushed arduous to remain forward of Kranjec, who was quickest within the second run. The Swiss completed 59 hundredths of a second slower than Kranjec’s second effort however was nonetheless quick sufficient to win the gold medal.

“It’s at all times a bit dangerous in ski racing if you wish to struggle for the medals. A lot can occur,” Odermatt stated. “It was a tough day, with the situations, with such a protracted wait between the 2 runs.

“I actually risked every little thing within the second run as a result of I wished not simply the medal, I wished the gold medal. It’s troublesome as a result of you may lose every little thing however as we speak it paid off.”

Odermatt’s effort earned Switzerland their third Alpine snowboarding gold of the Video games, after Beat Feuz took victory within the males’s downhill and Lara Intestine-Behrami gained the ladies’s super-G.

“It’s arduous to say what’s the key,” Odermatt added. “It was a really, very arduous race. No person had a very good feeling. It was nearly preventing and pushing until the final gate and it was once more the identical within the second spherical.

“You needed to ski clear kind of and push but it surely was actually arduous with the visibility, with the snowfall.

“I gained the medal as we speak however there’s a lot between (you) and a medal, there are such a lot of shadows behind the medal, on the opposite facet.”

(Reporting by Simon Jennings; enhancing by Clare Fallon)