Crawford wins and Alexander is 3rd in World Cup downhill as Canadian team impresses in Kitzbuehel

KITZBUEHEL, Austria (AP) — James Crawford became the first Canadian skier in 42 years to win the prestigious World Cup downhill on the Streif course, sharing the podium with his third-placed teammate Cameron Alexander on Saturday.

Wearing bib No. 20 and coming down after all pre-race favorites had completed their runs, Crawford stunned the field with an attacking run on one of the circuit's most challenging courses.

He bumped then leader Alexis Monney into second position to deny the dominant Swiss team yet another victory.

”It’s definitely amazing. It’s been a dream of mine to win the classics," Crawford said. “I think the mindset and the approach that I brought was good. It allowed me to be at top speed from top to bottom.”

Alexander's run 15 minutes earlier had inspired Crawford to his winning effort.

“Cam and I go back and forth all the time in training and in racing,” Crawford said. “To see him pushing and skiing that way at the top, it kind of fired me up a little bit. I was like: ‘I know I can beat this guy, so let’s bring it today.'”

In front of 45,000 spectators, Monney took an early lead as the fourth starter and the Swiss skier looked set for his second career victory, weeks after triumphing in Bormio on the downhill course to be used for next year’s Milan-Cortina Olympics. Alexander also finished third in that race.

But Crawford, the super-G world champion, beat Monney by just 0.08 seconds for the Canadian’s first career World Cup win. Alexander trailed by 0.22 in third and Austria's Daniel Hemetsberger was 0.43 behind in fourth.

“I’ve shown speed in downhill before and feel like I’ve been trying to get back to top speed for a while,” Crawford said. “I don’t have words that can describe the emotions. It’s just incredible and to do it in Kitzbuehel is even better.”

Monney admitted it hurt to miss out on what would have been the Swiss ski team's 12th win this season.

“A bit, yeah, when you are ahead for so long. But it’s also what makes ski racing so beautiful,” Monney said.

The last Canadian winner of the iconic downhill in Kitzbuehel was Todd Brooker in 1983, and the last time two Canadian downhillers shared a World Cup podium was in February 2012, when Jan Hudec won and Erik Guay finished third in Chamonix, France.

The impressive result for the Canadian team came 10 days before the start of the world championships at another Austrian resort, Saalbach-Hinterglemm. Crawford in super-G and Alexander, who took bronze in downhill, won medals at the worlds in France two years ago.

Downhill world champion and three-time overall World Cup winner Marco Odermatt finished sixth, a day after the Swiss star triumphed in the super-G.

“It was a solid race, not the best, and with not the best race you can not win Kitzbuehel, the downhill,” Odermatt said. “A big goal and dream remains.”

Last year in Kitzbuehel, Odermatt finished runner-up to Cyprien Sarrazin, the French skier who has been out since undergoing surgery on a head injury sustained in a downhill training crash four weeks ago.

Sarrazin said in a video on his social media channels late Friday that he is recovering well, but suffers from double vision.

A slalom on Sunday concludes the 85th edition of the classic Hahnenkamm races, which have a total prize fund of more than $1 million.

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

The winner Canada's James Crawford and third placed Canada's Cameron Alexander listen from their national anthem after an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

The winner Canada's James Crawford celebrates after an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

The winner Canada's James Crawford and third placed Canada's Cameron Alexander celebrate with the team after an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kitzbühel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Switzerland's Alexis Monney speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kitzbühel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

From left, second placed Switzerland's Alexis Monney, the winner Canada's James Crawford and third placed Canada's Cameron Alexander celebrate after an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Canada's Cameron Alexander speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kitzbühel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Canada's James Crawford speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill, in Kitzbühel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Canada's James Crawford reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Canada's James Crawford reacts after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup downhill in Kitzbühel, Austria, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

PHOENIX (AP) — Flavor Flav was among the celebrities in attendance at the women's Final Four on Friday night, sitting courtside for the UConn-South Carolina game with former Gamecocks player Aliyah Boston.

Flav, a founding member of the hip-hop group Public Enemy, is also friends with Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley.

The 67-year-old Flav is a longtime supporter of women’s sports and attended various Olympic competitions this winter. He invited the U.S. women's ice hockey team to Las Vegas after their gold medal win in February, shortly after the women turned down a trip to Washington.

AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness

Rapper Flavor Flav attends a woman's NCAA college basketball tournament semifinal game between UConn and South Carolina at the Final Four, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)