After being crowned world champion in the parallel on Tuesday, Mathieu Faivre won the giant slalom at the World Championships in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. The dream week continues for the skier from Isola 2000.
Mathieu Faivre is world champion! Forget Alexis Pinturault and all the excitement of his ski championships because the star of the week is none other than the Frenchman Mathieu Faivre. The performance is simply historic.
Mathieu Faivre on top of the world
Already very solid in the first run, he was one of three skiers within the same second as Alexis Pinturault in the rearview, who was faster than the others in the first run. Untouchable on the first run, the favorite went off course on the second run; this mistake is disqualifying, and the disappointment is terrible. One person’s misfortune often makes someone else’s happiness. Dominant on the ice, the skier from Isola 2000 secured the best finish ahead of the local Luca de Aliprandini and the Austrian Marco Schwarz, who completes the podium. At the finish of the giant slalom, Mathieu Faivre seems to still have difficulty grasping the magnitude of his achievement: “For now, it’s unreal, it’s a crazy thing,” he says at the bottom of the descent. The French national anthem, La Marseillaise, resounds, and the emotion is immense.
A rebirth like a phoenix
Already a surprising winner of the parallel event a few days ago, the Frenchman snatched a second gold medal in Cortina after dominating the giant slalom. Yet the Nice native was not the French athlete anyone expected on the Cortina tracks. Mathieu Faivre hadn’t been on a podium in nearly four years, but there are days when everything you attempt works out. That’s exactly what Mathieu Faivre experienced, stealing the spotlight from his compatriot, Alexis Pinturault, the overwhelming favorite in the competition.
Still on cloud nine after this adrenaline-filled race, Mathieu Faivre has meanwhile become the first world champion in giant slalom since Jean-Claude Killy. It’s been 53 years since a Frenchman held the title of world giant slalom champion, making the achievement surreal. This gold medal also signifies a double for Mathieu Faivre after his parallel race, a feat not seen since 1968.
