Super G, Men

The fourth Alpine skiing race of the Vancouver Olympics was held on Friday, 19 February, as scheduled. The favorites were Michael Walchhofer (leader of the current Super G World Cup), Aksel Lund Svindal (second in the 2009-10 Super G World Cup, winner of the 2008-09 Super G World Cup, and bronze medalist at the 2009 World Championships), Didier Cuche (2009 World Champion and winner at Kitzbühel in 2010), and Manuel Osborne-Paradis (recent winner at Lake Louise). But Didier Défago and Bode Miller were also highly considered after winning gold and bronze in the downhill four days earlier. The 2006 medalists Kjetil André Aamodt (gold) retired shortly after Torino, Hermann Maier (silver) retired just before the 2009-10 season, and Ambrosi Hoffmann (bronze) raced only in the downhill in 2010. The only World Cup Super G held on this course was won by Christoph Gruber on 21 February 2008.

The race started at 11:30 AM with perfect sunny weather and temperatures between 3.5° (start) and 9° (finish). With number 3 the American Andrew Weibrecht set an early quick time. The first of the favorites was Miller in start position 11. He took the lead from the first split to the finish, but he lost time in the second part of the course, and topped the time of his fellow countryman by only 0.03 seconds. Svindal, who turned 28 on the closing day of the Vancouver Olympics, did not start well, as in the downhill, and at the first intermediate split was 0.3 seconds behind Miller, but he finished quickly to lead by 0.28 seconds at the finish line and take the gold medal. The oldest competitor in the field, Patrik Järbyn, hooked a gate and fell in the last section of the course and landed hard on his back and head and was unconscious. He was flown to hospital by helicopter, but luckily was not hurt badly and was able to leave the hospital the next day.

When Svindal came to the leaders area, Miller was laughing and joked with him with some profanity which was broadcast around the world. Svindal won the race with an average speed of 87.67 km/hr by 0.28 seconds or 6.8 metres in front of Miller. The sensation of the race was bronze medalist Weibrecht who had never previously placed better than 10th in a World Cup race. Svindal won the first gold medal for Atomic at this Olympics. Miller, on the same skis as in the downhill and the only one of the top racers on downhill skis, won silver with Head, while Weibrecht took bronze using Rossignol.