Austrian skier Raphael Haaser wins gold in men's giant slalom at the Alpine world championships

SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria (AP) — Austrian skier Raphael Haaser ended the Swiss dominance in the men's events at the Alpine world championships by winning the giant slalom on Friday.

Haaser improved from fifth place in the opening run as the leading racers faltered in the second, and he finished ahead of three Swiss rivals.

“Just crazy, super,” said Haaser, who was 0.61 off the lead after the first run. “I told myself, I have nothing to lose."

The Austrian skier beat silver medalist Thomas Tumler by 0.23 seconds while Loic Meillard was 0.51 behind and took bronze.

Defending champion Marco Odermatt missed a medal by seven-hundredths in fourth.

“It's just such an unbelievable day. Really happy with this race,” said Haaser, whose best result in a World Cup GS is seventh. “I think I was capable to ski in the top 10 permanently, but stepping on top of the podium, didn't expect that.”

Haaser won silver in the super-G last week, in a race won by Odermatt. His gold is the third medal for the men’s team of host nation Austria after Vincent Kriechmayr placed second in the downhill.

On the women's side, Austria also has three medals including one in gold, from Stephanie Venier in super-G. In that race, Haaser's sister Ricarda crashed and suffered a season-ending knee injury.

Haaser himself returned from a six-week layoff for a knee issue only two weeks before the worlds.

“The worlds have always been my goal, I knew I would be able to make it here," he said. “The only question was whether I could do a World Cup race before and qualify for the team.”

First-run leader Timon Haugan of Norway had a big mistake early in his second run and finished a full second behind in seventh.

“I felt like I'd lost everything anyway so I just tried to go for it in the middle section. It was still possible,” Haugan said. “I was very nervous, I had never been in this position, leading a GS race, so that was new for me.”

Meillard and Odermatt stood second and third after the first run, but both lost a place after making too many mistakes on a second-run course set by Helmut Krug, an Austrian coach working for the Swiss team.

“The first run I was pretty happy with my skiing. I know it was not the limit,” Odermatt said. “In the second run I really tried to push, I did a huge mistake before the flat and you lose too much speed.”

Odermatt, who is the Olympic gold medalist and three-time World Cup champion in GS, added that “even with a perfect run it would have been very tight to beat Raphael today. He must have been amazing.”

The Swiss team had won all three previous men’s events.

Meillard paired with Franjo von Allmen to win the team combined event Wednesday, and Von Allmen took the downhill three days earlier.

Slipper crews had been working through the night to get fresh snow off the course, and snowfall during the first run caused flat light.

Skies cleared and the sun peaked through the clouds during the second run.

The next event at the worlds is the women's slalom on Saturday.

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

Austria's Raphael Haaser, center, winner of a gold medal in a men's giant slalom, celebrates on the podium with silver medalist Switzerland's Thomas Tumler, left, and bronze medalist Switzerland's Loic Meillard, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Austria's Raphael Haaser listens to the national anthem after winning the gold medal in a men's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Austria's Raphael Haaser celebrates with team after winning the gold medal in a men's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Switzerland's Loic Meillard, back to camera, hugs Austria's Raphael Haaser after he won the gold medal in a men's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Austria's Raphael Haaser celebrates winning the gold medal in a men's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Austria's Raphael Haaser celebrates at the finish area of a men's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

United States' River Radamus concentrates at the starting gate of a men's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt concentrates ahead of a men's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)

Switzerland's Marco Odermatt competes in a men's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Switzerland's Loic Meillard competes in a men's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Norway's Timon Haugan competes in a men's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

Norway's Timon Haugan competes in a men's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Marco Trovati)

Brazil's Lucas Pinheiro Braathen competes in a men's giant slalom, at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria, Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Giovanni Auletta)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A 24-year-old man was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of an elderly Thai man whose 2021 killing in San Francisco helped spark a national movement against anti-Asian American violence.

A jury did not find Antoine Watson guilty of murder when it returned a verdict Thursday for the January 2021 attack on 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee. Jurors found Watson guilty on the lesser charges of involuntary manslaughter and assault.

The office of San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins declined to comment, saying that the jury was still empaneled. Jurors will return Jan. 26 to hear arguments on aggravating factors and sentencing will be scheduled once that is completed, the office said in an email.

Vicha Ratanapakdee was out for his usual morning walk in the quiet neighborhood he lived in with his wife, daughter and her family when Watson charged at him and knocked him to the ground. The encounter was captured on a neighbor's security camera. Ratanapakdee died two days later, never regaining consciousness.

His family says he was attacked because of his race, but hate crime charges were not filed and the argument was not raised in trial. Prosecutors have said hate crimes are difficult to prove absent statements by the suspect.

Watson testified on the stand that he was in a haze of confusion and anger at the time of the unprovoked attack, according to KRON-TV. He said he lashed out and didn't know that Ratanapakdee was Asian or elderly.

San Francisco Public Defender Mano Raju, whose office defended Watson, extended his sympathies to the victim's family and said the defendant is “fully remorseful for his mistake.”

“While this death was a terrible tragedy and has garnered a lot of press attention, the importance of our legal system is that it gives us a chance to look at the facts in a balanced way,” he said in a statement.

Hundreds of people in five other U.S. cities joined in commemorating the anniversary of Ratanapakdee's death in 2022, all of them seeking justice for Asian Americans who have been harassed, assaulted, and even killed in alarming numbers since the start of the pandemic.

Asians in America have long been subject to prejudice and discrimination, but the attacks escalated sharply after the coronavirus first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China. More than 10,000 hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were reported to the Stop AAPI Hate coalition from March 2020 through September 2021.

The incidents involved shunning, racist taunting and physical assaults.

FILE - Flowers are left with pictures of 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee during a rally attended by hundreds of people on Jan. 30, 2022, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Janie Har, File)

FILE - Monthanus Ratanapakdee holds a photo of her father, 84-year-old Vicha Ratanapakdee, and stands in front of the San Francisco apartment building where he was attacked last year and later died of his injuries, on Jan. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Terry Chea, File)