A Tyrolean prevents a total Swiss triumph in the World Championship giant slalom in Saalbach. Raphael Haaser wins gold completely unexpectedly.
14.02.2025, 19:00
14.02.2025, 19:05
SDA
Marco Odermatt, of course, the best giant slalom racer of the moment. Or Loïc Meillard, one of the Nidwalden native's biggest challengers. Or perhaps a Norwegian. Most of the predictions pointed in these directions. The battle between the Swiss and the Nordics for the medals in the most important giant slalom of the winter would also have been logical.
It would have been a continuation of what has happened in the six World Cup races in the basic discipline so far this winter. The four Swiss victories, three by Marco Odermatt and one by Thomas Tumler, were offset by a triple and a double victory for the Norwegians.
The principle of hope
And the Austrians? Their names were not mentioned very often in the list of medal candidates. In the country hosting the World Championships, their own skiers were considered "dangerous outsiders" at best. Their performance record so far this season was too poor to raise expectations too high, compared to the Swiss and Norwegians anyway.
What remained was hope. The hope that one of their own might rise above themselves, break through the fabric of normality, prove that on a day when everything fits together, the level can very well swing in unexpected directions.
This Friday was such a day. The day of Raphael Haaser. With bib number 22, he had raced up to 5th place in the first run and had created the perfect starting position to play the role of the "dangerous outsider" to perfection. The Tyrolean seized the opportunity and had the "run of his life" in a giant slalom in the final run - and held his own against the higher-ranked competition. A man who is still winless in the World Cup and has never finished higher than 7th in a giant slalom raced to World Championship gold.
Despite the 2nd and 3rd places for Thomas Tumler and Meillard, there was no unreserved satisfaction in the Swiss camp. After half the stint, the prospects for another historic success had been too good. The intermediate 2nd and 3rd places for Meillard and Odermatt seemed to be the perfect basis for the next all-round success. The final ranking was of course a bitter pill to swallow for Odermatt. The blonde, who was the defending champion, missed out on another medal by seven hundredths.
Role model Kimi Räikkönen
Odermatt's successor was, of course, at the other end of the emotional scale - even if Haaser's feelings are one of those things. He remained calm even at the moment of his greatest triumph. He enjoyed it quietly, as is his nature. The "Iceman", as they call him in the team in reference to Kimi Räikkönen, also lived up to his nickname off the track. No wonder, as he counts the Finn among his role models. The former Formula 1 world champion was also no advocate of big words.
Haaser's sparing use of emotions also has its advantages - especially in difficult times. The last unpleasant phase was not too long ago. It began in mid-December in Val d'Isère. In that giant slalom in Savoy, Haaser suffered a cruciate ligament injury, which fortunately did not turn out to be a tear, but resulted in a six-week break.
Haaser returned to racing three weeks ago in Kitzbühel - and how. He finished second behind Odermatt in the super-G. He also came second a week ago in the World Championship Super-G, again behind Odermatt. Once again, inner calm was required, especially as it was a race under special circumstances for Haaser. The day before, his sister Ricarda had suffered a cruciate ligament and meniscus tear in her right knee in a crash in the women's super-G.
A week later, Haaser made the "fairytale days in Saalbach" perfect. Silver became gold. The unexpected was followed by a surprise. Haaser's inner joy was back. "There are more important things in the world," he simply said, naturally with the necessary composure. Even forecasts that have been thrown overboard don't change anything.
