Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt continued his dominance of men’s alpine skiing Thursday, winning the season’s first super-G on Thanksgiving Day at Copper Mountain and further stamping his authority ahead of the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.
The three-time defending overall World Cup champion edged Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr by a razor-thin 0.08 seconds, having to charge through the lower section of the demanding Colorado course to snatch victory. It marked Odermatt’s second win in as many speed-discipline races this season, after he opened with giant slalom success in Sölden last month.
While Odermatt’s performance sent a clear message to his rivals, the day’s most emotional moment belonged to Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde.
Nearly 23 months after a terrifying 90-mph crash in Wengen that left him with a dislocated shoulder, severe calf laceration, nerve damage, and a life-threatening infection, Kilde returned to World Cup racing for the first time. The 33-year-old speed specialist finished 24th in his comeback run, but simply crossing the finish line upright was a triumph.
Waiting at the bottom was his fiancée, American superstar Mikaela Shiffrin. Overcome with emotion, Shiffrin burst into tears as Kilde skied into the finish area, the couple sharing a long embrace while the crowd roared in appreciation.
The race marked only the second time in nearly 50 years that Copper Mountain has hosted a men’s World Cup event, adding extra significance to a day that combined Swiss supremacy with one of skiing’s most inspiring comebacks.
