Villetta stuns favorites to win men’s super-combined
Print Edition
Switzerland’s Sandro Viletta won the men’s Olympic super-combined yesterday topping a shock podium that included neither favorites Ted Ligety of the US nor Frenchman Alexis Pinturault.
The 28-year-old Viletta, who had only one World Cup win in his career, won with a combined time of 2min 45.20sec, after one downhill and one slalom run.
Croatian veteran Ivica Kostelic was second at 0.34sec, bagging his fourth Olympic silver and third in the combined.
He preceded Italy’s Christof Innerhofer at 0.47sec, who takes his second medal at these Winter Games after winning downhill silver on Sunday.
“This is amazing, it’s perfect, it’s more than a dream come true,” Viletta said. “It’s also a big shock. I didn’t think I would come first.”
The Swiss was just 14th after the downhill and nowhere near the favorites to win but a second-fastest run in the slalom secured the gold.
Kostelic meanwhile admitted the color of his medal was a slight disappointment.
“I was hoping for the gold this time,” said the Croatian.
But he added: “A big rock has fallen from my heart now... I had a pretty bad season. I never skied the podium in the World Cup so I am thankful for the medal.”
Innerhofer almost skipped the race altogether.
“At the start gate, I nearly decided not to bother because the downhill went so well for a lot of the slalom specialists.
“I practiced slalom only four days in two years,” added the triple world medalist from 2011. “I can’t believe it, this is crazy.
The result turned all predictions upside down as combined world champion Ligety and young gun Pinturault failed to even make the top 10 in the Valentine’s Day race.
The two skiers had each won one super-combined race this World Cup season.
But Ligety, who needed a clean slalom after finishing 18th in the morning’s downhill, made a costly mistake and ended up 12th.
France had meanwhile set its sights on Pinturault to win a first alpine skiing medal for the country in Sochi.
But the 22-year-old, who won the super-combined in Kitzbuehel last month, straddled a gate even and went out.
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