Swiss athlete Thomas Tumler achieved his long-desired first World Cup victory at the age of 35 on Sunday, successfully navigating a demanding Beaver Creek course with two flawless runs in a men’s giant slalom. “I can’t express my feelings right now; it’s surreal,” remarked Tumler, who entered the World Cup circuit in 2012 and had […]
Swiss athlete Thomas Tumler achieved his long-desired first World Cup victory at the age of 35 on Sunday, successfully navigating a demanding Beaver Creek course with two flawless runs in a men’s giant slalom.
“I can’t express my feelings right now; it’s surreal,” remarked Tumler, who entered the World Cup circuit in 2012 and had reached the podium only three times in 123 prior competitions.
Tumler recorded a total time of two minutes 27.60 seconds, finishing 0.12 seconds ahead of Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who made history as the first Brazilian male to earn a World Cup podium position. Slovenian Olympic silver medalist Zan Kranjec (2:28.18) secured third place.
Tumler’s victory marked a complete Swiss dominance this season at the Colorado venue, with Justin Murisier taking the downhill crown on Friday and Marco Odermatt clinching Saturday’s Super-G.
Tumler topped the standings after a perfect first run in 1:16.24, holding a lead of over half a second from the rest of the competitors.
However, Braathen did not let Tumler escape with the win, reducing nearly seven seconds off his own first run time to complete the second run in 1:10.41 and momentarily seize the lead.
WATCH | Tumler achieves 1st World Cup victory:
Thomas Tumler of Switzerland claims gold in the men’s giant slalom event in Beaver Creek, Colo., for his first career World Cup win.
Braathen, originally from Oslo and previously representing Norway, switched nationalities after a brief retirement last year and was overwhelmed with emotion upon realizing he would be on the podium.
During his final run, Tumler’s skis shook momentarily, but the Swiss maintained his composure, doing enough to fend off the competition before celebrating by collapsing onto the snow in happiness.
World Cup champion and Olympic titleholder Odermatt was aiming for his third podium of the weekend in Beaver Creek after finishing second in Friday’s downhill. However, he caught an edge and fell early in his second run, resulting in a DNF.
