Hirscher Takes Gold in Men’s Giant Slalom, Cochran-Siegle 11th

There’s no doubt that Austria’s Marcel Hirscher is something special. It’s hard to believe that with everything Hirscher has accomplished in his career before the Olympics started, the Austrian had no Olympic gold medals to his name. Now, he has two.

It was another near-perfect day for ski racing for the men’s giant slalom at the Yongpyong Alpine Center with blue skies, sunshine, and Colorado-like hero snow on course. Hirscher took the win with authority, besting Norwegian rival Henrik Kristoffersen by 1.27 seconds in second and Frenchman Alexis Pinturault by 1.31 seconds in third. Hirscher’s victory made him the first Austrian since Benjamin Raich at Torino 2006 to win two gold medals in one Olympics.

Winning for Hirscher this season has become almost automatic, with otherworldly skiing and huge winning margins the norm. In most races he is a part of, the real race is for second place.

“Wow,” Hirscher shared after the race. “It was not so easy to be the absolute favorite in this discipline, then sitting up there as the leader from the first run knowing that Henrik ripped it. I had no choice, I knew I have to give 100% and I have to go into this battle.”

Hirscher now has two Olympic golds to his name. Image Credit: GEPA Pictures/Christian Walgram

Dealing with Olympic pressure can be crippling for some athletes, especially ones that have expectations as high as an athlete like Hirscher or American Mikaela Shiffrin. Shiffrin delivered one gold and slipped to fourth going for her second. Hirscher, on the other hand, looked cool as a cucumber in both the alpine combined and the GS on Sunday.

“Mentally, it is nothing different between a World Cup race,” he explained. “If you’re fighting for the overall World Cup title, in each race there’s an end game. So that means no room for any mistakes, no room for did-not-finish results. So I’m kind of used to being mentally strong. I am happy, but at the moment, I’m pumped!”

Kristoffersen was able to shake off a first run where he, in the words of his father, “skied like a junior,” and leapfrogged from a pedestrian 10th place after the first run to a silver medal thanks to the fastest second run time and some determined skiing on the steep pitch approaching the finish where other racers found themselves backing off.

“I was disappointed after the first run,” he said. “It’s no big secret. But great second run, so I’m very happy. It was a little disappointing that I didn’t do better in the first run so I could kind of give Marcel a little bit of a fight because at the moment, it’s not a fight. He’s just beating by everybody by a lot. Today I won the silver medal. I didn’t lose the gold today because the gold was partly already a given before the first run so I’m really happy.”

France’s Pinturault also set a record of his own in the GS. Pinturault is now only the third Frenchman to win multiple Olympic medals in a single event. Pinturault was also the bronze medalist in the GS at Sochi 2014.

“I’m really, really happy about what I made and very proud to share this podium with Henrik and Marcel,” said Pinturault. “I think it was a really great fight. Marcel was for sure the leader today. He was the only one. Then behind him, we made a really big fight with Henrik and Zan (Kranjec) to be on the podium all together. It’s a dream that is coming true. You’re always coming to the Olympics to get something. Of course, you are dreaming about the gold but gold is not always easy to get.”

Ryan Cochran-Siegle led the way for the Americans in 11th. Image Credit: HEPA Pictures/Christian Walgram

Fastest American honors went to Vermonter Ryan Cochran-Siegle who blitzed the second run, setting the third-fastest time and jumping up 10 places in the standings to finish in 11th place. The 25-year-old’s mother, Sapporo 1972 slalom gold medalist Barbara Ann Cochran, also gave him a little pre-Games advice that he took to heart before the second run.

“I’m excited,” he said in the finish. “I definitely turned out a really god run so I can be confident about that. Coming down with the green light was something special that’s never happened to me before so I’m just thrilled right now. My mom said to take in the moment. I was just trying to focus on my best performance, just trying to ski my best and thinking about that and visualizing that in the start.”

Defending GS gold medalist Ted Ligety finished a disappointing 15th in what will likely be his last Olympic appearance. Tommy Ford finished in 20th and Tim Jitloff did not finish his first run.

The men will now race slalom on Feb. 22.

Top 10

1. Marcel Hirscher (AUT) – Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
2. Henrik Kristoffersen (NOR) – Rossignol/Rossignol/Look
3. Alexis Pinturault (FRA) – Head/Head/Head
4. Zan Kranjec (SLO) – Rossignol/Rossignol/Look
5. Thomas Fanara (FRA) – Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
6. Victor Muffat-Jeandet (FRA) – Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
7. Mathieu Faivre (FRA) – Head/Head/Head
8. Leif Christian Nestvold-Haugen (NOR) – Rossignol/Rossignol/Look
9. Loic Meillard (SUI) – Rossignol/Rossignol/Look
10. Matts Olsson (SWE) – Head/Head/Head

Official Results