Canadian Alexander earns World Cup men's downhill bronze medal

KVITFJELL, NORWAY — Canadian Cam Alexander captured a bronze medal Saturday in a men’s World Cup downhill ski race.

Alexander, of North Vancouver, B.C., finished third in a time of one minute 44.81 seconds. Switzerland’s Niels Hintermann secured the gold medal in 1:44.62, just 0.08 seconds ahead of Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr.

Alexander also won a World Cup race here in 2022 in a shared victory with Hintermann. The Canadian earned his third career podium finish and second this year, finishing third in a men’s downhill in Italy in December.

“It feels good to be back on the podium here,” he said. “This place has been very good to me and our team as a whole so I hope we keep coming back every year from now on.

“The track was amazing today. They did great prep from the two days before when it snowed a bunch, so it was a very good race all around.”

Jeff Read of Canmore, Alta., was sixth, ahead of Swiss star Marco Odermatt, the downhill world champion. It marked just the third time in 19 starts in all disciplines this season that Odermatt didn’t finish in the top three.

“It’s a track that we’re really confident on,” Read said. “Cam and I have spent a little extra time here with the Europa Cup, so we were able to draw on that experience and really throw down.”

Toronto’s Jack Crawford was 23rd while Brodie Seger of North Vancouver was 29th. Kyle Alexander, Cameron’s brother, finished 60th.

Cameron Alexander stands ninth in the overall World Cup downhill standings while Crawford is 13th. Both have qualified for the season’s finale in the discipline.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press