Whistler, you have a world champ.
James "Jack" Crawford ascended to the top of the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships podium on Feb. 9, seizing gold in super-G down the speedy slopes of Courchevel, France. Skilfully shredding his way through a course called "the Wall of the Brave," the Whistler Mountain Ski Club (WMSC) alum displayed courage as he pushed himself, attacked each turn, and hit the finish line in one minute and 7.22 seconds.
That put him a mere one one-hundredth of a second ahead of silver medallist Aleksander Aamodt Kilde from Norway (1:07.23). Bronze went to a French contender, Alexis Pinturault (1:07.48), while Switzerland's Marco Odermatt fell short of the podium by roughly a tenth of a second (1:07.59).
Crawford has become just the third Canadian man to win a world title in alpine skiing. He joins Erik Guay, who prevailed in 2017, and John Kucera, who broke through in 2009. The Toronto, Ont. native is racing at his third World Championships, having previously placed fourth in 2021's edition of the alpine combined.
As he crossed the line and saw the green light indicating he'd moved into first, Crawford pumped his fist and hollered emphatically.
"I successfully executed my plan and what I wanted to do, but I hadn't won a race yet so the nerves were still there," he remembered of that moment. "There were still a lot of fast guys to come [at that point] like Vincent Kriechmayr, the last world champion, so I didn't feel necessarily like I was secured in [first place]. At the same time, I knew that it was going to be a pretty good day."
Consistency is key
Crawford has already gone where very few Canadian skiers have gone before. Last February, he delivered Canada's first Olympic alpine skiing medal since 2014 and the first ever in alpine combined. His inaugural FIS World Cup medal, a bronze, came in the Dec. 3 downhill event at Beaver Creek, Colo., and he earned a silver to wrap up 2022 in Bormio, Italy.
Yet, to win gold against the likes of Kilde and Odermatt—who are essentially the Connor McDavids and Sidney Crosbys of alpine skiing—requires a whole new level of talent and execution.
"The result today was kind of where I was trying to get to all season," Crawford said. "Coming second and third is huge. It feels good. It's not by any means a bad result, but at the end of the day, learning how to actually win is a whole different story at this level. To be able to do it at a World Championships feels phenomenal."
"You have these guys like Kilde and Odermatt, who are very consistent and really know what it takes to be the best on any given day," continued Crawford. "As I've progressed as a skier, I've started to learn more and more about what it's like to be in that kind of realm. Once you get to this level, the tiniest little thing can be the difference between coming tenth and coming first."
Kilde is a favourite in almost every super-G or downhill race he enters, and for good reason. The "Attacking Viking" boasts two Olympic medals and 39 World Cup podium finishes on an ever-growing resume and has capably taken the alpine skiing torch in his country from retired greats Aksel Lund Svindal and Kjetil Jansrud. Kilde has now won his first World Championships medal, but it isn't the colour he wanted, and he was seen tossing his gloves in frustration moments after Crawford reached the line.
“It’s a classic example of this being a brutal sport, but an amazing sport,” Kilde said in a press release. “It’s small margins. You have a guy who has never won a race before, he comes in and delivers a gold. It’s brilliant.
“For me it’s a little bit of a pity to miss by 27 centimetres. That’s tough, but it’s my first medal. I’ve got to look on it in a positive way and focus on Sunday, and enjoy today. I won my first [World Championships] medal and that’s amazing. It’s a gold medal I want, but this is a very good start.”
Odermatt, too, is a force to be reckoned with. He is the reigning Olympic king in giant slalom and has 44 World Cup medals under his belt. The Swiss speedster will continue to be a top athlete for the remainder of these World Championships and beyond.
Canadian content
Another WMSC contender, Brodie Seger, was the next-best Canadian in ninth, while Jeffrey Read of Canmore, Alta. placed 11th. Broderick Thompson of Whistler was unable to complete his race.
In any case, Kucera, now head coach of the men's speed team for Alpine Canada, is pleased with the season so far. He believes that even better things are yet to come.
"We're really optimistic moving forward," Kucera said. "This group has been doing a great job. They've been doing a great job for a really long time. The staff that we have with this group is is really strong and dedicated as well. Now, we're really starting to establish ourselves as hopefully a top group that can consistently bring it—not just one athlete but a number of guys—and I think that really shows the strength of our team.
"A big part of this is it didn't happen overnight. It took a lot of years, you know, a really strong development pipeline that these [Canadian national team guys] went through. Obviously, you could even go farther back to some great club coaching, parents, everybody to help get them there. Now we're at a point where we can bear the fruits of that labour."
Crawford happens to be Canada's most decorated active skier, but he shares a close bond with his teammates and especially his WMSC peers. The Olympic bronze medallist believes that Alpine Canada is still scratching the surface of its true potential over the next few years.
"It just goes to show how tight-knit we [as WMSC skiers] were growing up, and how much we wanted to push each other to this level," Crawford said. "It's definitely hard to compete with some of those top nations, but with the group we have and how we carry ourselves, anything's possible. I'm very positive that most of our guys are right behind me, and I don't think it's going to be long until all of us are are contending for gold medals day in, day out."
The 2023 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships continue until Feb. 19 in Courchevel and Meribel, France. Men's downhill takes place on Feb. 12, after which the technical events of slalom and giant slalom will take over the schedule. Canadian fans can follow the action on the CBC Sports website.
