Fourth in the first run dominated by the Austrian Johannes Strolz, the Valaisan is placed to win his first Olympic medal in the slalom of the Beijing Games. Second round from 6:45.
© AFP
Very consistent this season in slalom, Loïc Meillard will try to win his first Olympic medal.
Valaisan Loïc Meillard was the best Swiss skier in the first round of the slalom at the Beijing Games. The skier from Hérémence is in provisional fourth place, 30 hundredths behind the Austrian Johannes Strolz.
Freed by his Olympic title in the combined in Beijing, Strolz took all the risks to edge out the Norwegians Henrik Kristoffersen (2nd by 2 hundredths) and Sebastian Foss-Solevaag (3rd by 6 hundredths), the world champion in discipline.
The other Helvetians are a little further. With his bib number 1, Haut-Valaisan Ramon Zenhaüsern seemed to be sure in the first run. Due to the immense density that characterizes the slalom this season, the silver medalist between the tight stakes at the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Games finds himself in 11th place, 80 hundredths behind the surprising Johannes Strolz.
Yule and Aerni further
More on the attack on the first track, the Valaisan Daniel Yule made several small mistakes which relegated him to 13th place, 1”14 behind the leader. Luca Aerni did not manage a very clean round either and paid a lot of money for a big mistake committed halfway through.
If his compatriot from Val Ferret still has a very small hope of recovering in the second run, it will be very complicated for the skier from Crans-Montana, who is in 18th place at 1”71 behind Strolz. Aerni thus finds himself condemned to achieve an almost impossible feat on the second track.
The first round was marked by the elimination of Austrian Manuel Feller, Swedish Kristoffer Jakobsen and Norwegian Lucas Braathen, all candidates for the podium in this discipline.
