Gold Medalist Matthias Mayer of Austria competes during the Alpine Skiing Men's Super-G at the National Alpine Skiing Centre in Yanqing District, Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 8, 2022. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
YANQING, Beijing, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Matthias Mayer of Austria made history on Tuesday as he defended his Olympic Super-G title to become the first male alpine skier to win gold in three consecutive Games.
The 31-year-old Austrian, who also won downhill gold in Sochi 2014, followed up his PyeongChang 2018 Super-G win by clocking a winning time of 1 minute 19.94 seconds at the Yanqing National Alpine Skiing Center.
American Ryan Cochran-Siegle took a surprise silver, finishing 0.04 seconds behind Mayer to win his first Olympic medal in his second Games. Norway's Aleksander Aamodt Kilde claimed bronze in 1:20.36.
Mayer did not start well as his skis slipped, but his aggressive skiing paid off in the final stretch.
"I had a problem with my stick. It was stuck in such an aluminum thing and I had to push it out, back, and do it again," Mayer said about his rocky start.
"It was a bit of a nervous start but after the first gate I didn't remember that," he said.
Mayer said the bronze he won in Monday's downhill motivated him to perform well in Super-G.
"Yesterday the bronze medal gave me a real push for today. I was very focused today and very free of my mind. I had to push hard," he said.
For Kilde, his fifth finish in Monday's downhill was not motivation but something he had to put behind him.
"Yesterday was a tough day. Mostly because I came in as a favorite and had a lot of pressure on my shoulders, and also pressure to myself to deliver," he said.
"I felt like I didn't ski well enough yesterday, so that was what made it the most disappointing part of it," said the Norwegian racer.
"Today when I can come back and just reset and deliver a solid run, and take my first championship medal, it's incredible. It's really a good feeling," he said.
Beat Feuz, who won the downhill title on Monday, crashed out with four turns into the challenge. ■
Gold Medalist Matthias Mayer of Austria competes during the Alpine Skiing Men's Super-G at the National Alpine Skiing Centre in Yanqing District, Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 8, 2022. (Xinhua/Chen Bin)
Gold Medalist Matthias Mayer of Austria competes during the Alpine Skiing Men's Super-G at the National Alpine Skiing Centre in Yanqing District, Beijing, capital of China, Feb. 8, 2022. (Xinhua/Lian Zhen)
