Sweden's Andre Myhrer won his first career gold medal Wednesday in the men's slalom at the 2018 Winter Olympics (dates/times ET).
The skier finished with a time of 1:38.99 after the two runs, 0.34 seconds ahead of silver-medal winner Ramon Zenhaeusern of Switzerland. Austria's Michael Matt—the younger brother of 2014 gold medalist Mario Matt—earned the bronze medal in the competition.
The men's slalom is one of the largest events in the Olympics with 108 initial entries, but Myhrer was consistent enough to beat out the extended field in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Men's Slalom Final Results
1. Andre Myhrer (SWE) - 1:38.99
2. Ramon Zenhaeusern (SUI) - 1:39.33
3. Michael Matt (AUT) - 1:39.66
4. Clement Noel (FRA) - 1:39.70
5. Alexis Pinturault (FRA) - 1:39.72
6. Victor Muffat-Jeandet (FRA) - 1:39.75
7. Kristoffer Jakobsen (SWE) - 1:39.94
8. Daniel Yule (SUI) - 1:40.12
9. Dale Ryding (GBR) - 1:40.16
10. Sebastian Foss-Solevaag (NOR) - 1:40.18
Full results available at Olympic.org.
Henrik Kristoffersen posted the best time in the first run at 47.72 seconds, allowing him to go last among the top contenders in the second run. Unfortunately, he fell early on the course, knocking him off the medal stand and preventing him from posting a time.
Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post showed his surprise:
The Norwegian won bronze in this event four years ago and won silver in the giant slalom this year, but this event ended in disappointment.
Prohibitive favorite Marcel Hirscher was disqualified after falling and missing a gate in the first run. Not only was the Austrian the reigning world champion in this event, he had also already earned two gold medals in Pyeongchang in the giant slalom and alpine combined.
These mistakes opened opportunities for the rest of the field, and Myhrer took advantage.
The 35-year-old posted the second-best time in the first run but was just eighth in the second run. That was enough for him to stay in first place, as most of the top 10 from the first run struggled in the second.
Fellow alpine skiers were quick to celebrate the victory:
The Swede didn't finish in the 2014 slalom after earning bronze in 2010, but he finally won gold in his fourth Olympic games.
The difficult course caused a number of top performers to struggle beyond just Kristoffersen and Hirscher. More than half the field—56 skiers in total—failed to post a time in the first run. Three of the top 30 did the same in the second run.
However, Matt and Zenhaeusern excelled in the second run, posting the first- and second-best times, respectively, to get onto the medal stand. While Myhrer didn't have his best stuff in the second run, it was enough to win.
Only the alpine team event remains for these competitors to add one last medal before they leave South Korea. The competition will begin Friday night in the United States, Saturday morning locally.
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