Beat Feuz assuaged the absence through injury of Swiss teammate Lara Gut by storming to gold in the men's downhill at the World Ski Championships on Sunday to drive a raucous home crowd wild.
Feuz, a bronze medallist at the 2015 Beaver Creek worlds, timed 1min 38.91sec down the slightly shortened Corviglia course, its diabolical 'Free Fall' 45-degree opening kick-out cut over fears of fog that had seen the downhill postponed from Saturday.
"It's my best present, I couldn't dream of more!" beamed Feuz, who celebrated his 30th birthday Saturday.
"It's unbelievable: in Switzerland at the world championships and I win!"
Erik Guay missed out on following in the footsteps of Hermann Maier (1999) and Bode Miller (2005) by claiming a speed double by just 0.12sec, the Canadian however adding silver to the gold he won in Wednesday's super-G.
AFP text, photos, graphics and logos shall not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP shall not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP content, or for any actions taken in consequence.
Business Recorder shall not be responsible or held liable for any error of fact, opinion or recommendation and also for any loss, financial or otherwise, resulting from business or trade or speculation conducted, or investments made, on the basis of the information posted here. Nor shall Business Recorder be held liable for any actions taken in consequence." >Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2017