Marco Odermatt named skier of the year after winning 13 races and third overall title

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Marco Odermatt named skier of the year after winning 13 races and third overall title

2024-10-26 00:21 Last Updated At：00:30

SOELDEN, Austria (AP) — Swiss standout Marco Odermatt was named skier of the year by the federation of ski journalists on Friday.

Odermatt won 13 World Cup races on the way to his third straight overall title last season.

He previously received the Skieur d’Or AIJS Serge Lang award two years ago, after winning two gold medals at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

The AIJS called Odermatt's season “quite impressive,” mentioning his first World Cup wins in downhill and his nine straight giant slalom victories, missing out on what would have been a record-equaling 10th only when he failed to finish the GS at the World Cup finals in March.

The AIJS also praised Odermatt “for his kindness with his fans and his keen availability for the representatives of the international media.”

Other winners of the annual award in the past 10 years include Mikaela Shiffrin of the U.S., Alexis Pinturault of France, Federica Brignone of Italy, and Austrians Marcel Hirscher and Anna Veith.

The AIJS awarded their Prix Armando Trovati 2024 for the best ski racing photo to Alexander Hassenstein, a German photographer, for an image of Shiffrin during the second run of last year's giant slalom in Soelden.

The award is named after the late Armando Trovati, a long-time Associated Press photographer who covering ski racing.

AP skiing: https://apnews.com/hub/alpine-skiing

Dozens presumed dead and about 100 injured in fire at Swiss Alps bar during New Year's celebration

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — Dozens of people are presumed dead and about 100 injured, most of them seriously, following a fire at a Swiss Alps bar during a New Year’s celebration, police said Thursday.

“Several tens of people” were killed at the bar, Le Constellation, Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said.

Work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families but “that will take time and for the time being it is premature to give you a more precise figure," Gisler said.

Beatrice Pilloud, attorney general of the Valais Canton, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.

“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

Officials called the blaze an “embrasement généralisé,” a firefighting term describing how a blaze can trigger the release of combustible gases that can then ignite violently and cause what English-speaking firefighters would call a flashover or a backdraft.

“This evening should have been a moment of celebration and coming together, but it turned into a nightmare,” said Mathias Rénard, head of the regional government.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, Rénard said.

Helicopters and ambulances rushed to the scene to assist victims, including some from different countries, officials said.

“We are devastated,” Frédéric Gisler, commander of the Valais Cantonal police, said during a news conference.

The injured were so numerous that the intensive care unit and operating theater at the regional hospital quickly hit full capacity, according to regional councilor Mathias Rénard.

The municipality had banned New Year’s Eve fireworks due to lack of rainfall in the past month, according to its website.

In a region busy with tourists skiing on the slopes, the authorities have called on the local population to show caution in the coming days to avoid any accidents that could require medical resources that are already overwhelmed.

The community is in the heart of the Swiss Alps, just 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of the Matterhorn, one of the most famous Alpine peaks, and 130 kilometers (81 miles) south of Zurich.

The highest point of Crans-Montana, with a population of 10,000 residents, sits at an elevation of nearly 3,000 meters (1.86 miles), according to the municipality’s website, which says officials are seeking to move away from a tourist culture and attract high-tech research and development.

The municipality was formed only nine years ago, on Jan. 1, 2017, when multiple towns merged. It extends over 590 hectares (2.3 square miles) from the Rhône Valley to the Plaine Morte glacier.

Crans-Montana is one of the top race venues on the World Cup circuit in Alpine skiing and will host the next world championships over two weeks in February 2027.

In four weeks’ time, the resort will host the best men’s and women’s downhill racers for their last events before going to the Milan Cortina Olympics, which open Feb. 6.

Crans-Montana also is a premium venue in international golf. The Crans-sur-Sierre club stages the European Masters each August on a picturesque course with stunning mountains views.