Chodounsky Shows Strength at World Champs GS

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (Feb. 17, 2017) – David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, CO) was the top American in Friday’s giant slalom at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in St. Moritz, taking 11th.

While Thursday was sunny and warm, the bright sun hid for most of Friday’s race—proving chillier with tough visibility. Many men struggled with the flat light and falling snow, but you couldn’t see that in Marcel Hirscher’s run, who, after finishing second to Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) in the last two World Championships giant slaloms, finally took his first GS gold. Behind him, his teammate Roland Leitinger was second and Leif Kristian Haugen of Norway third. It is Hirscher’s second medal in St. Moritz, after taking silver in the alpine combined.

Chodounsky skied a strong second run to take 11th. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom-Alexis Boichard)

Known as a slalom specialist, David Chodounsky put down the third-fastest second run in the GS, skiing with smart tactics and holding a clean edge on a difficult surface. He came down in a fit of excitement, with this result bettering all of his World Cup GS finishes.

“I’m really happy with the run,” said Chodounsky. “I skied well. I consider slalom better for me, but I’m really happy with how my GS is, especially here right now. It would have been nice to be top 10—it was very close—but I’ll take it, I’m happy.”

Ryan Cochran-Siegle finished 25th in the GS. (Getty Images/AFP-Fabrice Coffrini)

Ryan Cochran-Siegle (Starksboro, VT) was the only other American finisher to make second run, taking 25th. Both Tommy Ford (Bend, OR) and Tim Jitloff (Park City, UT) did not finish first run.

The men have just one more event of the 2017 World Championships in St. Moritz: a slalom on Sunday. Chodounsky will be going for a top spot, fueled by his confidence in the giant slalom. Watch the first run streaming live on NBCsports.com/live and the NBC Sports app at 3:45 a.m. EST, and catch the second run on NBCSN at 7 a.m. EST.

HIGHLIGHTS

• David Chodounsky finished 11th in the World Championships giant slalom.
• It was Chodounsky’s best-ever finish in a World Champs.
• Ted Ligety was the reigning World Champion in GS for the past three World Championships, but missed the race in St. Moritz due to injury.
• Marcel Hirscher won gold—his second medal in St. Moritz and his sixth World Championships medal.
• Hirscher had finished second to Ligety in both Schladming and Vail/Beaver Creek World Championships GS races.
• The men’s slalom wraps up the World Champs on Sunday.

David Chodounsky. (Getty Images/Agence Zoom-Alexis Boichard)

QUOTES

David Chodounsky
I really wanted to stay strong and carry all that speed onto the flats. I think that’s the key to this hill—make sure I’m on the right line coming off and push as hard as I could on the flats. I’m happy! It’s great. The light was flat for me first run, so I was used to it—it was better than first run for me. I just trusted myself and skied well.

I’m really happy with the run. I skied well. I consider slalom better for me, but I’m really happy with how my GS is, especially here right now. It would have been nice to be top 10—it was very close—but I’ll take it, I’m happy. I’ve been training a lot of slalom now too. It’s a nice break after January—January was very long and I was getting tired and beat up and had not so good results. I feel fresh now and I’m ready for the slalom.

Ryan Cochran-Siegle
I think I skied fine. I would actually say my first run the light was even worse. Running first was pretty fun second run. As a racer, you can always feel like you can give it a little more when you get to the bottom. I think I skied fine down here—you can let it run a little more and be a little more aggressive and just a little bit cleaner than how I skied. I think overall, I skied it alright.

BROADCAST + LIVE STREAMING (times EST)
Thursday, Feb. 16 
10:30 a.m. – women’s giant slalom, run 2 (encore) – NBCSN

Friday, Feb. 17
1:00 a.m. – women’s giant slalom, run 2 (encore) – NBCSN
3:45 a.m. – men’s giant slalom, run 1 – nbcsports.com/live – LIVE STREAM
7:00 a.m. – men’s giant slalom, run 2 – NBCSN – LIVE
10:30 a.m. – men’s giant slalom, run 2 (encore) – NBCSN

Saturday, Feb. 18
3:45 a.m. – women’s slalom, run 1 – nbcsports.com/live – LIVE STREAM
7:00 a.m. – women’s slalom, run 2 – nbcsports.com/live – LIVE STREAM
1:00 p.m. – women’s slalom, run 2 – NBC

Sunday, Feb. 19 
3:45 a.m. – men’s slalom, run 1 – nbcsports.com/live – LIVE STREAM
7:00 a.m. – men’s slalom, run 2 – NBCSN – LIVE

RESULTS
Men’s giant slalom