Super G, Men1

The men’s Super G, the third male Alpine skiing competition held in Sochi, was scheduled and held on Sunday, 16 February. It was held on the same piste within the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center as the downhill, but the start was moved down to an altitude of 1,592 metres and was located between “Small Pan” and “Russian Trampoline”. On race day the weather was partly cloudy and for better conditions the starting time was moved up one hour from 1100 to 1000.

The 2013/2014 World Cup season had seen four Super G races, with Aksel Lund Svindal winning twice (Lake Louise and Val Gardena), while Patrick Küng won in Beaver Creek and Didier Défago in Kitzbühel. Svindal, Olympic Super G champion four years ago, who also won the last two Super G World Cups in 2011/12 and 2012/13, was also in the World Cup lead, followed by Défago, Küng, and the silver medalist from Vancouver in this discipline, Bode Miller. The last two World championships were won by Christof Innerhofer in 2011 and Ted Ligety in 2013.

Of the early starters Peter Fill (ITA) set the target with a time of 1:18.85. Of the more favored skiers, Miller set the pace with a time of 1:18.67. Next to go was Max Franz (AUT), who finished just 0.07 seconds behind Miller. His compatriot Otmar Striedinger, going next, came even closer to Miller’s time, finishing just 0.02 seconds behind. Defending champion Aksel Lund Svindal (NOR) was next to go, but he too fell just short of Miller, by 0.11 seconds. Next down the course was downhill champion Matthias Mayer (AUT), who crashed out. Unfortunately for Miller his luck could not hold as, starting 21st, Kjetil Jansrud (NOR) set the new target with a time of 1:18.40. The next skier down, Jan Hudec (CAN) finished in exactly the same time as Miller, at that stage sharing the silver medal. But a relatively late starter Andrew Weibrecht (USA) came through to set a time of 1:18.44, so relegating Hudec and Miller to bronze medals.

Jansrud, who won his second medal in Sochi after bronze in downhill, was a surprise winner, but he continued the Norwegian tradition in this event, following his compatriots Kjetil André Aamodt who won in 2002 and 2006, and Svindal, who won in 2010. But even more surprising was Weibrecht who after winning a surprising bronze in Vancouver in this event, bettered his performance with silver in Sochi, again going from zero-to-hero as his best World Cup result was still only a 10th place at this time. Hudec won the first Alpine skiing medal for Canada after 20 years, Miller, who had lost his younger brother in the last year, showed his emotions in the finishing area after winning his sixth Olympic medal, which also made him the oldest ever Alpine skiing Olympic medalist.

Skiing manufacturer Head earned a full set of medals with Jansrud, Weibrecht, and Miller, while Hudec used Rossignol. Jansrud won the race with an average speed of 96.57 km/hr by 0.30 seconds or 8.02 metres in front of Weibrecht and 0.53 seconds or 14.12 metres in front of Hudec and Miller.