World Ski Championships, Alex saves men’s Italy: the journey to the Cortina Olympics has begun

Bronze medal for Alex Vinatzer in the world slalom in Courchevel: it is he, the reckless young man who saves the Italian men’s expedition which ends with a medal, his own. Avoiding the zero of Vail 2015 and another fourth place like at the Cortina World Championships in 2021. A relief, finally, a beautiful race for him, the athlete who often jumped until a few months ago. In short, in the last race of the French review, Vinatzer puts all the pieces together and creates a high-level race. A sumptuous Henrik Kristoffersen wins who goes on the attack in the second heat and makes it clear who is the strongest. He, who competes on skis built by his former rival and now his sponsor, the Austrian cannibal Marcel Hirscher. A glorious gold, in short, theirs is a beautiful story that from “sporting enemies” have become a single athlete who combines Kristoffersen’s instinct on the snow and Hirscher’s dominating mind.

The silver – historic – goes to Alexandros Ioannis “AJ” Ginnis, the Greek-American who chose Athens, bringing Greece to a world podium, for the first time ever. It was a beautiful, exciting and uncertain era up to the last cent, a competition that rekindles the lights on the slalom.

Returning home Italy Vinatzer brings back a medal between the narrow posts that was missing from Garmisch 2011 with the bronze of Manfred Moelgg. Vinatzer did two heats of an excellent level, but after the first fraction he managed the second fraction in an intelligent and attacking way. An important step for him, for the technical director Max Carca and for the whole sector which sees the light after years of darkness.

Among the disappointed nations is Austria, which comes out of the World Cup without gold, a national tragedy, a bit like our national football team without the World Cup. And he has to wait for the 2025 review in Saalbach at home to raise his head and enrich the medal collection.