Despite recent form and an indifferent start to the competition, France’s Clement Noel clinched victory in the men’s slalom at Beijing 2022 on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old was left in sixth place after his first run of the final but executed a lightning quick second run to clock a combined total of one minute and 44.09 seconds.
“That was one of the most important races in my career. It’s not often that you are able to win a medal in the Olympic Games,” he said.
“I knew that I was in shape. My races in January were not good but training here was really good, I was fast.
“This is the best I can do. I have no words to describe it. Olympic champion … wooh!”
After his mediocre first run, Noel needed something special to overtake Johannes Strolz for the gold medal.
Despite having to settle for silver, Strolz will not be forgetting his fairytale story at Beijing 2022 for a while.
Johannes Strolz with his silver and gold medal.
‘It’s totally crazy’
Just seven months ago, the 29-year-old was dropped by the Austrian ski team and had been working in the police force.
On Thursday, Strolz overcome the odds to win a magical gold medal in the Alpine combined race, emulating his father’s success in 1988.
He can now add a silver medal to that tally after beating Norway’s Sebastian Foss-Solevåg to second place in Wednesday’s slalom.
“It was really good today. The first run was very good, I found the limit. Some minor mistakes but all in all a very good run” Sholtz said.
“I tried to be aggressive in the second run too, I really tried to go for it. Now the silver medal, it’s totally crazy.
“I have to talk to coaches of the Austrian ski team and we have to make a good plan for the upcoming season and then I will see how much time is left for some police work,” he added, jokingly.
“The most important thing was I learned to trust myself even more … I was on my own for a lot of moments in the preparation for the season.”
