SOLDEU, Andorra – Marco Odermatt underlined his dominance in men’s skiing on Saturday by breaking the 23-year-old men’s record for most World Cup points in a season.
The Swiss standout won his final race of the season, the giant slalom at the World Cup Finals, by a whopping 2.11 seconds over runner-up Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway.
The victory lifted Odermatt’s total to 2,042 points and passed the previous mark of 2,000, which was set by Austrian great Hermann Maier in the 1999-2000 season.
“Sorry, Hermann,” Odermatt said in a post-race interview with Austrian TV, adding that the record meant “a lot” to him.
“The last days I always said: no no, not so important, just talk,” Odermatt said. “But as I felt today, with the pressure again, I knew it was more important than I said. I’m very happy it worked out.”
Last week, Maier wrote on his website that he hoped Odermatt would overtake him.
“In my eyes, Marco hasn’t even reached his peak and can still improve, especially downhill,” Maier said.
Theoretically, Odermatt has a chance to add even more points in Sunday’s season-ending slalom, but he has never raced in that event at World Cup level.
The overall record, between men and women, is held by Slovenian standout Tina Maze, who earned 2,414 points when she won the women’s overall title in 2013.
Odermatt, who is the Olympic champion, matched another best mark with his 13th win of the season. No male skier has ever won more races in one campaign, with only Maier, Ingemar Stenmark and Marcel Hirscher previously achieving the feat.
The overall record for wins in a season is held by Mikaela Shiffrin, who won 17 times en route to the 2018-19 women’s overall title.
Odermatt had already successfully defended his overall title and secured the super-G and giant slalom disciplines.
“I was looking forward to finals without pressure, but today I felt this pressure again,” he said. “Today was not easy. I was nervous again because of the damn 2,000 points. Now with another win, more than two seconds ahead, I don’t know what to say.”
On Saturday, the Swiss standout posted the second-fastest time in his final race as he built on his clear lead from the first race when he was 1.09 seconds faster than Alexis Pinturault. The French skier fell to number eight.
Kristoffersen was only eighth after the opening, before climbing to second place. Marco Schwarz of Austria finished 2.29 behind in third.