News agency2 minutes to read
SOLDO, Andorra — Marco Odermatt confirmed his dominance in men’s ski racing on Saturday by breaking the 23-year-old male record for most World Cup points in a single season.
The Swiss leader won his final race of the season, the giant slalom at the World Cup finals, by 2.11 seconds over second-place finisher Henrik Christoffersen of Norway.
The win brought Odermatt’s total to 2,042 points and surpassed the previous record of 2,000 points set by Austrian great Hermann Mayer in the 1999-2000 season.
“Sorry Hermann,” Odermatt quipped in an interview with Austrian television, adding that the record meant “a lot” to him.
“In the old days, I always said: No, it’s not that important, just numbers,” Odermatt said. “But as I felt today, with the pressure again, I knew it was more important than what I said. I’m so glad it worked.”
Last week, Mayer wrote on his website that he hopes Odermat will outpace him.
“In my opinion Marco hasn’t reached his peak and he can still improve, especially on the slopes,” Mayer said.
Theoretically, Odermatt has a chance to add more points in the slalom that ends Sunday, but he has never ridden the event at a World Cup level.
The overall record, between men and women, is held by Slovenia’s Tina Mazi, who amassed 2,414 points when she won the women’s overall title in 2013.
Odermatt, the Olympic champion, achieved another best mark with its 13th win of the season. No male skier has won more races in a single campaign, and only Mayer, Ingmar Stenmark, and Marcel Hirscher have achieved the feat in the past.
The overall record for wins in a single season is held by Mikaela Shiffrin, who won 17 times on her way to winning the 2018-2019 women’s overall title.
Odermatt had already successfully defended his overall title and claimed super-G ground balls and giant slalom.
“I was looking forward to the finals without the pressure, but today I felt that pressure again,” he said. “It wasn’t easy today. I was nervous again because of those 2,000 points. Now with another win, over two seconds ago, I don’t know what to say.”
On Saturday, the Swiss star set the second fastest time of his recent career as he built a clear lead since the first run, when he was 1.09 seconds faster than Alexis Pintoro. The French skater dropped to eighth place.
Kristofferson only finished eighth after the second leg before moving up to second. Austrian Marco Schwartz came in third with a time of 2.29.