Marco Odermatt Takes Fourth Consecutive Win in Wengen Alpine Ski World Cup Downhill

Marco Odermatt claimed today in Wengen his third victory of the season in the Downhill after his wins in Beaver Creek and Val Gardena. He finished 0.79 seconds ahead of Vincent Kriechmayr and 0.90 seconds ahead of yesterday's Super-G winner Giovanni Franzoni. Swiss teammates Franjo von Allmen and Alexis Monney finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

Odermatt celebrated his 50th World Cup victory, the 7th in the Downhill. Only three skiers have stood atop the podium more often: Austrians Hermann Maier (54 wins) and Marcel Hirscher (67 wins), as well as the Swede Ingemar Stenmark (86 wins).

Odermatt's victory in Wengen today makes him the most successful Wengen World Cup Downhill skier of all time. He won the four Wengen World Cup Downhill races. No other athlete has won more than two consecutive World Cup Downhills in Wengen. Franz Klammer and Beat Feuz won three times in Wengen.

He has had the best start to a Downhill season in his career, with three wins and a second-place finish in the second Val Gardena Downhill.

"Records don’t mean much to me, but when you have them, it’s nice. I’m here to race and win. And that’s because of the emotions, not because of records or what they did in the past. I managed a perfect run. I knew it would be a close race. I knew that in a shortened race, you have to be ready from the very first push. That’s why I took a lot of risks. Everything came together perfectly. What I lost in the Super-G at the Kernen-S, I gained this time," Odermatt said.

The Swiss Downhill skiers confirmed in Wengen their current dominance in the discipline on home turf. Odermatt gave the Swiss their fourth win in the fourth race of the Alpine Ski World Cup season. Since the start of the 2024-2025 season, Switzerland dominated the Men's Downhill, securing 23 of the 36 available podium places. Odermatt and his teammates won six of the eight Downhill races last season. In the first four races, Swiss skiers claimed the top two positions. In Crans-Montana and at the second Downhill event held in Kvitfjell, they achieved a clean sweep of the podium.

Vincent Kriechmayr broke Austria's Men's Team streak of eleven Downhill races without a podium finish during the traditional Lauberhorn Downhill race in Wengen. On February 17, 2024, exactly one year and eleven months ago, Vincent Kriechmayr finished second in Kvitfjell.

"It was one of my best downhill runs this season, and in some parts, it felt even very good. I could find two or three tenths of a second, but not eight tenths. It's unbelievable what Odi achieved once again. Overall, I'm happy with my second-place finish," Kriechmayr said.

Italian skier Giovanni Franzoni, wearing bib number 28, enhanced his impressive performance by securing a third-place finish in the Downhill event, following his unexpected victory in Friday's Super-G.

"It’s unbelievable, after yesterday’s victory, I had a lot of confidence today. It’s my first podium finish in the Downhill. I was a little nervous at the start, but then I went all out. Luckily, the Downhill was short today because I couldn’t sleep tonight,” Franzoni said.