Dominik Paris delivered an impressive performance to claim his second consecutive victory at the World Cup finals, triumphing in the super-G event held on the demanding Kvitfjell piste this past Sunday. The 36-year-old skier from the Dolomites demonstrated remarkable skill and composure as he navigated the hard-packed and heavily rutted snow conditions, a result of intense racing over the weekend. Paris completed his run with a time of 1 minute and 26.81 seconds, narrowly surpassing Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr by just 0.07 seconds. Another Austrian, Raphael Haaser, secured third place, finishing 0.38 seconds behind the winner.
This victory marked a significant turnaround for Paris, who had not recorded a World Cup win throughout the current season until his breakthrough on Saturday. Despite the lack of wins, he had previously earned an Olympic bronze medal on his home snow, underscoring his enduring competitiveness at the highest level. Reflecting on his unexpected success, Paris admitted, “It’s a surprise for me too. I knew I could do well, but I wasn’t expecting another win.” He added that the snow conditions felt unusual, describing the surface as “very bumpy,” which made maintaining speed a challenge. “When I saw the green light at the finish line, I had to look twice because I couldn’t believe it,” he said, capturing the mix of relief and excitement after his run.
Meanwhile, Marco Odermatt, the dominant force of the season who had already secured the overall World Cup title and his fourth consecutive super-G crystal globe, experienced an uncharacteristically difficult race. The 28-year-old Swiss skier finished 19th, trailing Paris by 1.97 seconds, marking his poorest super-G result since placing 28th at Kvitfjell in 2022. Odermatt candidly acknowledged the dip in his performance, stating, “I will enjoy this for sure in a couple of hours, but usually it’s always much cooler if you can collect another globe after a good performance, and today was definitely my worst performance in many years.” He also admitted that his motivation was waning after a long and demanding season, saying, “For sure the battery is slowly going down today. The motivation to race was not at the highest level.”
On the previous day, Odermatt had finished seventh in the downhill event, where he had already clinched a third straight discipline title. This week, his focus has shifted primarily to the giant slalom, where he is still in contention for a fifth consecutive crystal globe. This strategic emphasis on technical events has come at the expense of his preparation for the speed disciplines. Looking ahead, Odermatt is set to compete in the final race of the season on Tuesday, where he will face stiff competition from Brazilian Olympic champion Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who has a strong connection to the Norwegian slopes where he grew up racing. Odermatt expressed hope about maintaining his motivation for the upcoming event, saying, “I hope I can keep up this motivation for Tuesday.”
For Dominik Paris, who first entered the World Cup circuit in 2008, the recent victory represents his 26th career World Cup win and his eighth triumph on the Kvitfjell piste, a venue famously used for the 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics. This achievement allowed him to surpass Norwegian skier Kjetil Jansrud, who had previously held the record with two downhill and five super-G wins on this course between 2012 and 2018. Paris showed respect for his former rival, now 40 years old, remarking, “I feel a bit sorry for him but perhaps it will make him think about returning to competition.” This comment hints at the camaraderie and competitive spirit that define the elite skiing community.
