Murisier claims 1st World Cup win by taking men's downhill, Canada's Crawford fourth

BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (AP) — Justin Murisier of Switzerland claimed his first World Cup victory by beating his stellar teammate Marco Odermatt in the opening men’s downhill race of the World Cup season on Friday.

Murisier beat Odermatt, the defending World Cup overall and downhill champion, by 0.20 seconds. Slovenia’s Miha Hrobat was third, 0.35 behind Murisier, to earn a spot on the World Cup podium for the first time in his career.

Toronto’s James (Jack) Crawford was 0.51 seconds off the lead in fourth place.

“I had a good plan today and I was able to lean into it,” Crawford said. “The snow and the course here are similar to what we grew up skiing on so it’s easy for me to trust myself to do the right things.”

Bryce Bennett, who holds two career World Cup wins, was the top American in sixth, 0.88 behind the winner. Teammate Sam DuPratt, the second-to-last skier on the course, took a tough crash and needed to be taken down the Birds of Prey course in a sled.

Murisier claims 1st World Cup win by taking men's downhill, Canada's Crawford fourth | iNFOnews.ca — Second place finisher Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt, top left, and first place finisher Justin Murisier celebrate with teammates and coach after a men’s World Cup downhill skiing race, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Beaver Creek. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Murisier finished 50th in his only other downhill event at Beaver Creek in 2022. Odermatt’s first World Cup win came five years ago at the Birds of Prey course when he won the super-G.

Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde, who won the previous four races held at Beaver Creek, is out for the season due to injuries.

The clear, blue skies were a nice change from last year when poor weather caused the cancellation of all three races at the event.

Racing continues on Saturday with the super-G and the giant slalom on Sunday.