Carnage on the slopes of the Stelvio. Rarely if ever has the Winter Olympics slalom taken out so many contenders so spectacularly or so fast, all of which made Cormac Comerford’s 31st place finish feel something like a victory in itself.
The Team Ireland skier was back for his fourth and final event at Milano Cortina, and like the rest of the competitors was greeted with a proper blizzard for Monday’s morning run. Of the 95 starters, only 44 made it safely down to ensure their second run in the afternoon. Lucky for some.
Comerford soon realised that in the incredibly tough conditions. The visibility next to zero, he was forced to briefly turn back on himself to avoid completely missing one of the early gates on his first run. He finished in 1:07.87, almost 12 seconds off the lead.
“I’ve got a huge mix of emotions right now. Super proud, disappointed, very frustrated with the result. I know I had it in me for even a top 25 looking at the splits from the first run – it was a really good performance, just the mistake in the first run was too costly,” Comerford said.
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“But there are a huge amount of positives to take away from these 10 days. It’s massive to compete in four disciplines, I’m super proud of that achievement. To top it off with a top 30 would have been the cherry on the cake. But, this is slalom. It’s brutal. It’s the most competitive discipline.
“I knew it was going to be tough doing all four events. I’m really happy, surprised, how the body’s held up. I felt pretty good today. I think the biggest challenge was mental fatigue.”
Among the medal contenders the real drama was only beginning. The skies above Bormio cleared considerably for the start of the second run just after lunchtime, at which point Atle Lie McGrath from Norway held a 0.59 of a second advantage. With the top 30 then skiing in reverse order, McGrath was last out of the hut, appearing well within reach of the gold medal.
Then pressure got in the way. McGrath straddled one of the early gates, and with that his dream was over. Inconsolable, he flung his ski poles over the side of the course, then marched across the other side of the piste, before collapsing on his back next some pine trees. Holding his face in his hands, the disappointment ran deep.
Switzerland’s Loic Meillard was nonetheless sensational on the penultimate run, winning the gold medal with a combined time of 1:53.61, just .35 ahead of Fabio Gstrein from Austria. Norway’s Henrik Kristoffersen won bronze, just over a second behind Meillard.
Only 39 of that 44 finished their second run, Comerford moving up four places after his first run, with his combined time of 2:10.24. Once more a long way from the dry slopes of Kilternan, the 29-year-old was duly pleased with his effort.
“The Olympics has always been an extremely difficult race,” Comerford said. “There were also quite technical turns and challenging sets there, and it caught a lot of people out, and it caught me out as well. Generally the attitude was good and after the mistake, I gave it welly.”
“To be fair to the organisers, they did a really good job of keeping the track in good condition.”
Still it was unlucky for others. Brazil’s Lucas Pinheiro Braathen, who made Winter Olympic history on Saturday when winning gold in the giant slalom, was among the many causalities of the first run. The 691m course, with 70 turn gates, was truly treacherous, no such thing as a clean or smooth line on the maddening ski piste.
Despite the much-improved conditions, among those to slide out on the second run was defending Olympic champion Clement Noel from France. Lots more skiers had travelled very long distances to make their Olympic debut, only for their Games to end within a matter of seconds.
Few had the disappointment to match the 25-year-old McGrath: his grandfather died on the night of the Opening Ceremony, and he almost didn’t make the start of last week’s giant slalom, where he finished fifth. “By far the toughest race of my life,” he said of that effort, “and maybe the one I’m the most proud of.”
Meillard was still deserving of gold, executing his run to perfection, the 29-year-old World Champion thus improving on his bronze in the giant slalom, and silver in the men’s team combined. It was also a fourth gold in five alpine events for the Swiss men.
Next up for Team Ireland is Anabelle Zurbay in Wednesday’s women’s slalom, the 17 year-old and youngest member of Team Ireland already finishing 48th in the giant slalom on Sunday.
