Austrian Matthias Mayer, the PyeongChang 2018 Super-G gold medalist who finished yesterday's Downhill race in third, repeated his triumph from four years ago, giving Austria its first gold medal in China. With a superb finish, -he was clearly behind his competitors Cochran-Siegle and Kilde until the last split time but mastered a clean and straight line in the last section- Mayer beats American Ryan Cochran-Siegle by a mere four-hundredths of a second. Three-time winner of the season and big favorite Aleksander Aamodt Kilde from Norway finished in third place.
After Downhill gold in Sochi in 2014 and in the Super-G in 2018, the 31-year-old also won his third Olympic gold medal, making him the first skier in Olympic history to win three Olympic gold medals in successive Games.
Mayer breaks the record set by Toni Sailer as the most successful Austrian skier at the Olympics. Sailer had won three gold medals in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956.
Only Norwegian Kjetil Andre Aamodt with 8 medals and Alberto Tomba from Italy with five have won more Alpine Olympic medals than the Carinthian.
“I was in a very good mood, I was only concentrating on my race. It was a good fit, it's a short story. It's a difficult run, you have to attack extremely and everything has to fit together", Mayer said.
“I took a lot of risks, I rarely do that in the World Cup. I always ride solidly and very consistently. At the Olympics, only this race counts. I tried to push hard, really hard. I saw Kilde's run on TV at the start and it was really good, so I knew that I had to go all-in. I tried to push hard to the last gate, and it was good. I'm in good shape physically and the equipment works perfectly”, added Mayer who was wearing bib number 13, same as yesterday's winner in the Downhill Beat Feuz.
Ryan Cochran-Siegle finished second, his first-ever Olympic medal, and his first podium finish of the season.
"I was just trusting everything I've been through, and knowing I'm a good skier, trusting that and recognizing there are so many good skiers this year, so to come here you have to put it on the line. I came out with risk and aggression and channeled my good skiing inside myself too. And all that together ended up like it's a pretty cool day", said Cochran-Siegle.
It is the second Olympic medal for Cochran-Siegle's family. His silver medal came almost 50 years to the day after his mother, Barbara Ann, won gold in the Slalom at the 1972 Sapporo Games.
29-year-old World Cup Super-G leader Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway finished third, 0.42 behind Mayer.
“When I got to the finish, I was satisfied. It was cool. Mayer was lightning fast, Cochran too. I'm happy with the medal. It was a big goal of mine. I came here as a favorite. There was a lot of pressure on my shoulders and I was nervous all week", said Kilde.
It was a disappointing day for the Swiss. Marco Odermatt who was one of the favorites heading into the race, and yesterday's gold medallist Beat Feuz both did not finish their runs.
