COURCHEVEL, France –
Greek racer AJ Ginnis finished runner-up to gold medalist Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway in the men’s slalom at the Alpine skiing world championships Sunday to earn his country its first medal at a worlds in any Olympic sport on snow or ice.
Ginnis was second after the opening run and held on to his position as he finished 0.20 behind Kristoffersen. The Norwegian posted the fastest-second run time as he improved from 16th position.
It’s Kristoffersen’s second world title after winning gold in the GS four years ago.
Alex Vinatzer of Italy was 0.38 behind to take the bronze medal.
First-run leader Manuel Feller dropped to seventh as Austria failed to win a gold medal at a words for the first time since 1987.
Lower-ranked skiers were still coming down the L’Eclipse course.
Sunday’s race is the last event of the worlds.
Feller is chasing his country’s first gold medal of the championships. Austria led the medal table with five golds two years ago and has won at least one event at every worlds since 1987.
Feller crashed and hurt his hip during pre-race warmups but seemed unaffected by the incident. He avoided risks on the first steep section after the start but posted the fastest split times in the last two sections.
Braathen, who leads the season-long World Cup standings in the slalom, competed less than three weeks after he underwent surgery for appendicitis. The Norwegian led Feller by 0.41 halfway through his run but lost time on the final part of the course.
It’s Braathen first world championships race after he missed the previous worlds in 2021 following knee surgery.
Ginnis could win the first world championships medal for Greece in any Olympic sport on snow or ice. Two weeks ago, Ginnis became the first skier from Greece on a World Cup podium when he finished second in the last slalom before the worlds.
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