Winner Canada’s James Crawford celebrates on the podium after the men’s Downhill event of the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup in Kitzbuehel, Austria, on Jan. 25.JOE KLAMAR/AFP/Getty Images
Canada’s Jack Crawford has had some great success in his skiing career, but a World Cup win had always eluded him.
That all changed at one of the most difficult, occasionally horrific, World Cup ski courses this weekend.
win the prestigious World Cup downhill race in Kitzbuehel, Austria on Saturday. Afterward, he followed up with a long celebratory night at the famous Londoner pub.
The Toronto native earned his maiden victory in his 112th World Cup appearance, and he shared the podium with third-place Cameron Alexander of North Vancouver. Teammates later carried the two Canadians on their shoulders into the famed Après-ski party.
Kitzbuehel’s downhill is the most storied of all alpine ski races, taking place on the legendary Streif course before some 45,000 people. The last Canadian to win the illustrious event was Todd Brooker in 1983, which had been another memorable double-podium day for Canada, as Ken Read finished third.
“No words can describe the emotions. It’s chaotic as soon as you cross the finish line,” said Crawford on Sunday by phone from Kitzbuehel. “There was no chance to sit down and take a break. It was a long and unique day.”
The Streif has been called intimidating, terrifying and dangerous, with sheer ice, steep drops, and hairpin turns. It has ended the careers of some skiers and made legends of others.
Crawford already had an Olympic bronze medal to his name from Beijing in 2022 in the alpine combined, plus a world title in the Super-G from 2023. He had four World Cup podiums in seven seasons on the circuit, but he’d been searching for his first win. He had crashed in a race at Beaver Creek in Colorado a month earlier and was trying to build back his confidence.
Open this photo in gallery:James Crawford of Team Canada in action during the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup Men’s Downhill on Jan. 25, in Kitzbuehel, Austria.Christophe Pallot/Agence Zoom/Getty Images
He felt good on Saturday. Pushing out of the gate in the 20th position, Crawford had the benefit of learning from his competitors’ runs. He clocked a scorching time of 1 minute 53.64 seconds on the 3.3-kilometre-long course – hitting speeds of more than 140 kilometres an hour. He thrust himself into top spot by 0.8 of a second, bumping Switzerland’s Alexis Monney to second in 1:53.72 and Canadian teammate Alexander into third at 1:53.86. Crawford saw green as he glimpsed his name atop all skiers on the board at the finish. He thrust his arms in the air.
“A first World Cup win, and for it to be in Kitzbuehel, it’s hard not to let your emotions run wild,” said the 27-year-old.
It’s a new chapter for Canada on that illustrious slope, following the Crazy Canucks of the early 1980s. Canadians won the men’s World Cup downhill races there four successive years, starting with Read in 1980, Steve Podborski in 1981 and 1982, and Brooker in ‘83.
Crawford will get his name on a gondola cab at the famous Austrian resort – an honour bestowed on all winners of the famous race. He can recall riding in those named after the other Canadian champs there.
Brooker, reached at his home near Meaford, Ont., was kicking himself a little for not travelling to the race this year. But he was watching it live on TV at home on Saturday morning. He’s known Crawford for years, seeing him often at Georgian Peaks Ski Club.
“I always figured with Jack, it was going to be any race now he was going to win,” Brooker said. “Because Jack and his family live just down the road, and the ski club is nearby, and I’ve known him for a long time, this has quite a bit of meaning.”
Crawford said this generation of Canadians have those great Canadian skiers of the past to thank for the warm reception they got at the Londoner, the well-known British pub near the mountain that is always jammed after that famous race.
“The Londoner treats us Canadians quite well, probably because of the past winners,” Crawford said. “I’ve been there before, but it was a little bit different this time, because there was something to actually celebrate this time. To be able to do it with Cam, to have a buddy along alongside me, was amazing.”
Both men rested on Sunday to respond to all the people who had called and texted with congratulations. Putting two on the podium at that event marked a huge day for Canadian skiing.
“We knew two of us at some point were going to be on the podium together, and we couldn’t have picked a better spot to actually do it,” said Alexander, also 27. “Mentally, it’s one of the most intimidating, and the most intense start of any World Cup … you just hang on for dear life through the side hill and then try and take your speed to the finish line. It feels like you’re riding on the edge the whole way down. It’s an exhilarating experience.”
The result moved the Canadians up in the season’s Crystal Globe Downhill standing. Alexander sits sixth, and Crawford seventh.
“I think it shows that we have a bright future ahead,” Alexander said. “Our group has a lot of confidence and this is going to push us that much more.”
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