Canada’s Jeffrey Read landed on a World Cup men’s alpine skiing podium for the first time in his career, winning a silver medal on Sunday in Kvitfjell, Norway.
Read, of Canmore, Alta., finished the super-G race in one minute, 9.40 seconds, just 0.17 back of winner Vincent Kriechmayr, of Austria.
WATCH | Read soars to silver:
Canmore, Alberta’s Jeffrey Read claimed his first World Cup medal, a silver, at Sunday’s super-G race at Kvitfjell in Norway.
Read’s silver medal also marked the second time a Canadian has landed on the podium in Kvitfjell this weekend — North Vancouver, B.C., native Cameron Alexander finished third in the downhill. On Sunday, Alexander placed fifth.
“There’s been a lot of anticipation and desire for this. It’s a really good feeling,” Read said. “I was just very inspired by my teammate Cam yesterday. I just knew the skiing he was able to show yesterday was what I needed to do today.”
WATCH | Alexander races to bronze on Saturday:
After winning the 2022 World Cup downhill race in Kvitfjell, Norway, North Vancouver, B.C., native Cameron Alexander claimed the bronze medal Saturday again in Kvitjell.
Kriechmayr kept the race for the men’s World Cup super-G title alive, closing the gap in the discipline standings on leader Marco Odermatt to 81 points. Only the Austrian’s home race at the World Cup finals in Saalbach on March 22 remains.
Odermatt would have locked up the title Sunday with a first or second place, but the Swiss star shared third position with Italian racer Dominik Paris, trailing Kriechmayr by 0.19 seconds.
Odermatt extended his lead in the overall standings to a massive 918 points from Cyprien Sarrazin. The Frenchman sat out this weekend’s races with a calf injury.
Odermatt was on the podium in 14 of the last 15 super-G races and won the discipline title last season. He needs to finish 13th or better in the final race to win the globe again.
‘It’s only a theoretical chance’
Kriechmayr didn’t fancy his chances of overtaking Odermatt next month.
“It’s only a theoretical chance. He won’t let this be taken away from him, with his class,” said Kriechmayr, who was the World Cup super-G champion in 2020-21.
Kriechmayr came wide in a turn and lost time halfway through his run but gained a decisive advantage on the bottom part of the course.
“Down there I raced pretty much on the limit,” the Austrian said. “I didn’t think I would lead after that mistake.”
<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/skialpin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#skialpin</a> <br><br>SIEG im Super-G! 🔥<br><br>Vincent Kriechmayr kann den vorletzten Super-G dieser Saison für sich entscheiden und holt seinen 18. Weltcupsieg! 💪🏻<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/skiaustria?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#skiaustria</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/skiverr%C3%BCckt?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#skiverrückt</a> <br><br>📸: Ski Austria <a href=”https://t.co/giCFjB1vOM”>pic.twitter.com/giCFjB1vOM</a>
—@Ski_Austria_
It was the ninth career World Cup super-G victory for Kriechmayr, who also has nine downhill wins. Three years ago, he won gold in both disciplines at the world championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Italian skier Pietro Zazzi, a late starter with bib 50, impressed by finishing sixth, sharing his position with teammate Guglielmo Bosca.
The men’s World Cup heads to the United States next for two series of technical races — in Palisades Tahoe, California next weekend, and Aspen, Colorado on March 1-3.