Canadian Jack Crawford was the upset winner of the world Alpine skiing championships men’s super-G by the closest possible margin -- one hundredth of a second -- in Courchevel, France.
Crawford, 25, earned his first career top-level international victory, edging Norwegian co-favorite Aleksander Aamodt Kilde on Thursday.
"[World champion] has a ring to it,” Crawford, whose aunt, Judy, placed fourth in the 1972 Olympic slalom, told Austrian broadcaster ORF. “I definitely wasn’t expecting anything today. I didn’t even bring my hat for an interview.”
France’s Alexis Pinturault took bronze, relegating the other pre-race favorite, Swiss Marco Odermatt, to fourth place.
River Radamus was the top American in 16th, two spots ahead of countryman and Olympic silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle.
ALPINE WORLDS: Results | Broadcast Schedule
Crawford, a childhood hockey teammate of Connor McDavid in Toronto, won on the eve of the first anniversary of his first top-level podium, a combined bronze at the Olympics. Since, he earned his first three World Cup podiums, but no wins and a best super-G finish this season of sixth.
He became the latest Canadian to take a surprise world title after, most recently, Erik Guay in the super-G in 2017, plus his coach, John Kucera, in the downhill in 2009.
Kilde and Odermatt combined to win all six World Cup super-Gs this season going into worlds.
Kilde earned his first world championships medal on Thursday after Olympic silver and bronze last year.
“It’s a classic example of this being a brutal sport but amazing sport,” Kilde said, according to the International Ski Federation. “It’s small margins. You have a guy who has never won a race before, he comes in and delivers a gold. It’s brilliant.
“For me it’s a little bit of a pity, to miss by 27 centimeters, that’s tough, but it’s my first medal.”
Odermatt, the Olympic giant slalom champion and World Cup overall champion, is still seeking his first world championships medal.
Pinturault continued his strong worlds after winning the combined on Tuesday at his home resort. He also took super-G bronze at the last worlds in 2021.
The 31-year-old, who reportedly had retirement cross his mind last offseason after his first winless World Cup season in 11 years, now has seven individual world medals, one more than the French legend Jean-Claude Killy.
Worlds continue Saturday with the women’s downhill without Mikaela Shiffrin. She often skips downhills on the World Cup and has never raced it at worlds.
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