Shock as Marcel Hirscher crashes out of slalom, Sweden’s Myhrer wins gold

In one of the biggest shocks of the 2018 Winter Olympics, Austrian great Marcel Hirscher crashed out of the men’s slalom, squandering his chance of claiming a third gold medal.

With Hirscher out, first-run leader Henrik Kristoffersen – second to the Austrian in the overall World Cup standings – was favorite to take gold only for the Norwegian to fail to complete his second run.

Sweden’s Andre Myhrer, with just one World Cup victory this year, was the surprise winner and, aged 35, becomes the oldest Olympic medalist in this event.

“Coming into this race he [Hirscher] and Henrik were the favorites. To be able to do this after the season that they had is amazing for me,” said Myhrer, slalom bronze medalist in Vancouver eight years ago.

“It means everything. I’ve been training my whole life for a moment like this. I’m totally blown away.”

Ramon Zenhaeusern of Switzerland secured silver, finishing 0.34 seconds behind the Swede, while Austria’s Michael Matt claimed bronze four years after his older brother Mario took gold in the same event. Another Matt brother, Andreas, claimed silver in the men’s ski cross at Vancouver 2010.

READ: Winter Olympics day 13: Results and live update

READ: Best photos from day 13 at PyeongChang 2018.

Poor race not a surprise for Hirscher

In tricky conditions, only 43 of the 108 starters completed the race and star man Hirscher was the first to fall.

The six-time world champion had filled the only gap in his resume with golds in the combined and giant slalom in Pyeongchang and was favorite to claim a third Thursday.

But in trying to become the first male skier in 50 years to win three Olympic gold medals, the 28-year-old missed a gate in the first run and failed to finish a slalom race for the first time in two years.

After the race, Hirscher said he knew even before the first run that there would be “no chance” of a medal because training had gone badly.

“The feeling was really bad the whole week on slalom skis and this is the final result,” he told reporters.

“I had absolutely no confidence on this kind of snow. I skied really badly. This is what also can happen and is part of the game, part of the sport. You have success and sometimes you have not the best days.

“On GS (giant slalom) it was OK with the snow conditions, but with slalom skis I really don’t prefer these aggressive conditions but this is definitely my mistake.”

Hirscher says PyeongChang 2018 has still been a successful Olympics

Austrian great more nervous than usual

Slalom silver in 2014 had been Hirscher’s only medal from two previous Olympics, and the overriding question in the build-up to these Games was whether the greatest skier of his generation could win Olympic gold.

He put that question to bed on day four by winning the combined, telling reporters: “I’m super happy because this stupid question has gone away.”

The skiing program is one of the most hotly contested of any Winter Olympics, and PyeongChang 2018 is no different. US favorite Mikaela Shiffrin won silver in the alpine combined, taking her PyeongChang Olympic haul up to two, after claiming gold in the giant slalom.

Switzerland's Michelle Gisin took gold, making an Olympic double for her family after elder sister Dominique won the downhill in Sochi four years ago. Her fellow Swiss Wendy Holdener won bronze.

Marcel Hirscher, winner of two gold medals this games and arguably the greatest skier of his generation, was vying for a third Olympic title. But the Austrian lost control and crashed in the men's slalom, leaving the contest wide open.

Sweden's Andre Myhrer clinched gold in the slalom, becoming the oldest Olympic medalist in this event, aged 35 -- improving on his slalom bronze in Vancouver eight years ago.

Sofia Goggia, 25, became the first Italian to win the women's downhill, cementing a successful season in which she leads the World Cup downhill standings.

US skier superstar Lindsey Vonn was denied gold in her signature event at what will likely be her final Olympics, walking away with bronze. She had hoped to reclaim the title she won in Vancouver eight years ago, having missed the chance at Sochi 2014 due to injuries.

Austria's Marcel Hirscher won his second gold in the giant slalom on Sunday, finishing 1.27 seconds ahead of Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen -- the largest margin of victory in the competition since 1968.

Ester Ledecka, the 22-year-old Czech, is better known as a snowboarding world champion, not a super-G skier. The underdog stunned the world as she finished one-hundredth of a second ahead of defending champion Anna Veith.

A big upset in the women's slalom, where US favorite Mikaela Shiffrin, the defending champion, missed out on a medal a day after winning gold in the giant slalom.

Instead, Frida Hansdotter of Sweden claimed her first ever Olympic medal, becoming the third Swede to win slalom gold.

In the men's super-G, Austria's Matthias Mayer grabbed gold, breaking Norway's 16-year grip on the title. Mayer won downhill gold in Sochi. His father Helmut clinched silver in the inaugural Olympic super-G in Calgary in 1988.

Mikaela Shiffrin was set to be the standout star of the Games after she took her first gold, and the second of her career, in the giant slalom.

Norway's Ragnhild Mowinckel won giant slalom silver for her first Olympic medal, finishing 0.39 seconds behind Shiffrin.

Italy's Federica Brignone took bronze, becoming the first Italian woman in 16 years to win an alpine skiing medal.

Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway made history in the men's downhill on day six, becoming the oldest Olympic alpine skiing champion at the age of 35.

Svindal's gold was Norway's first ever Olympic downhill gold. His teammate Kjetil Jansrud took silver, finishing just 0.12 seconds adrift.

Swiss world champion Beat Feuz finished 0.18 seconds behind Svindal, taking bronze.

Austrian superstar Marcel Hirscher won his first Olympic gold in the alpine combined on day four. The 28-year-old has competed in three Winter Games but his previous best was a silver in Sochi.

France's Alexis Pinturault won his second Olympic medal, adding silver in the combined to the bronze he won in giant slalom in Sochi four years ago.

Another Frenchman Victor Muffat-Jeandet won bronze -- a pleasant surprise after recording the 29th fastest time in the opening downhill leg.

Russian Pavel Trikhichev suffers a fall after clipping a gate during the alpine combined downhill. He was the sole Olympic Athlete from Russia to compete in the event.

The best photos of alpine skiing at the Winter Olympics

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His winning margin of 1.27 seconds in the men’s giant slalom was the largest Olympics lead in 50 years. More was expected Thursday in an event in which he was world champion in 2013 and 2017.

Only three Alpine skiers have won gold medals in three different events at the Olympics – Austrian Tony Sailer, France’s Jean-Claude Killy and Croatia’s Janica Kostelic – and Hirscher’s chances of joining that elite list now appear to have gone with the skier having said that he will not compete in Beijing 2022.

“After wining two gold medals there is no pressure at all,” said Hirscher who, with 55 World Cup wins, is second only to Ingemar Stenmark’s 86 on the men’s all-time list.

“Everything is fine, I feel sorry for my special discipline slalom, but on the other side these were very successful Olympic Games.”

On the eve of the slalom race, Michael Pircher, Hirscher’s coach, told CNN Sport that his star skier – a man so well known in Austria that he cannot go to the cinema without being mobbed – had been more nervous than usual during these Games.

“We thought after the gold medal in super combined he could be more relaxed but the opposite happened, he was more concentrated, more focused, more nervous,” said Pircher.

“We thought our goal was one gold medal, that it could be easier for the next race, but it was the opposite. We’re under electricity.”