Helm flew away
Heavy fall overshadows descent in Beaver Creek
12/04/2025 – 11:49 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
There was a serious fall at the first downhill World Cup competition. Rok Aznoh had to be taken to the hospital by helicopter.
The Swiss ski star Marco Odermatt also won the first World Cup downhill of the winter. However, the 28-year-old alpine dominator’s victory in Beaver Creek in the US state of Colorado was overshadowed by a serious fall by Slovenian Rok Ažnoh.
Odermatt triumphed ahead of the American Ryan Cochran-Siegle and the Norwegian Adrian Smiseth Sejersted. The German athletes were disappointed: veteran Romed Baumann came 22nd, his teammate Simon Jocher only finished 46th. The young Maximilian Schwarz ended up in 60th place in his fourth World Cup start.
The race had to be stopped for several minutes shortly before the end. 23-year-old Ažnoh lost control of his skis, crashed into the safety fence at high speed and fell violently. His helmet flew off. The Slovenian initially remained motionless, was treated for a long time and ultimately taken to a rescue helicopter.
The four-time overall World Cup winner Odermatt continues to be in top form around two months before the start of the Winter Olympics in Italy. The triumph on the legendary “Birds of Prey” slope was his third success this season and the 48th World Cup victory of his career. He had previously won the giant slalom in Sölden, Austria, and the Super-G in Copper Mountain/USA.
Lack of snow had led to several changes to Beaver Creek’s racing program. The planned second downhill run was canceled and the Super-G was brought forward from Saturday to Friday. In the opening race the finish was a bit higher and the route was shortened a bit.