
It was a triumphant day for two Canadians at what is considered the most challenging downhill skiing course in the entire world. On Saturday in the men’s downhill, Canadian Olympic bronze medalist Jack Crawford of Toronto, Ontario won gold at Kitzbuehel, Austria, and Cameron Alexander of North Vancouver, British Columbia won bronze.
Crawford posted a winning time of 1:53.64. Alexis Monney of Switzerland won the silver medal with a time of 1:53.72. Alexander won the bronze medal with a time of 1:53.86. Crawford reached the podium by 0.43 seconds and Alexander reached the podium by 0.21 seconds. Daniel Hemetsberger of Austria finished in fourth place with a time of 1:54.07.
This was the fifth of nine downhill races this season. Alexander is in sixth place with 194 points and Crawford is in seventh place with 193 points, The World Cup leader is Marco Odermatt of Switzerland with 365 points.
Crawford has reached the podium five times on the World Cup circuit and this was his first World Cup win. He previously won silver in Kvitfjell, Norway in a super giant slalom on March 6, 2022, bronze in Beaver Creek, Colorado in a downhill on December 3, 2022, silver in Bormio, Italy in a downhill on December 28, 2022, and silver in Aspen, Colorado in a downhill on March 4, 2023.
Like Crawford, Alexander has reached the podium five times in his World Cup career. He previously won four World Cup medals in the downhill. Alexander won gold in Kvitfjell on March 4, 2022, and bronze in Kvitfjell on February 17, 2024. He also won two bronze medals in Bormio. The first came on December 18, 2023, and the second came on December 28, 2024.
Crawford won the bronze medal in the men’s combined at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. The medals for Crawford and Alexander in Kitzbuehel will give them confidence as they prepare for the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan/Cortina d’Ampezzo.