Austrian walks tall

Michael Malchhofer, the tallest man on the piste, stepped out from the shadows of his more illustrious compatriots to become the unlikely but emphatic winner of the downhill event of the skiing world championships in St Moritz.

The Austrian giant was timed down the technically demanding course at one minute 43.54 seconds, almost half-a-second ahead of the Norwegian Kjetil Andre Aamodt, with Switzerland's Bruno Kernen in third.

His countryman Stephan Eberharter, who took the giant slalom title on the opening day of these championships, carried the mantle of pre-race favourite. But it was Kernen, the 1997 world champion, who put down the first serious marker for the title. He crossed the line in 1:44.51, exciting the vast crowd with the real possibility of a home victory.

When his compatriot Didier Cuche slotted into the silver-medal position, the usually restrained cognoscenti of St Moritz were almost beyond themselves.

Their giddy joy lasted barely till Cuche slipped his skis off (in other words, about five seconds) before Walchhofer, skiing an idiosyncratic line, was setting new marks on his way down. The grins of Cuche and Kernan turned to wry smiles: 'I knew that Walchhofer would be the hottest contender,' said Kernan later, with a little help from hindsight.

The 27-year-old Austrian was imperious; his six-foot, four-inch frame beautifully balanced. It is hard to believe that Walchhofer came to these championships without a single World Cup downhill win in his career. However, seven second-places in downhill events, and a first World Cup win in a combined event at Kitzbühel last month, at least signified that a breakthrough was on the cards.

But he still had an anxious wait, for the next three skiers down were the two Norwegians Aamodt and Lasse Kjus, and his team-mate Hermann Maier.

Maier, the double Olympic champion, probably should not have been selected by the Austrians. All week he had been rejecting the notion that he was a 'hero' after coming back from a motorcycle crash in August 2001, which almost cost him his leg, to win a silver medal in Sunday's Super G.

Maier, who was given the downhill place more on reputation, looked exhausted after the race, and claims by the likes of Josef Strobl that they should have been picked ahead of him seem justified. Arguably, the Austrian team has a dozen skiers with the capability to win this race on their day.

Aamodt briefly looked as if this race was within his grasp. However, a couple of minor mistakes left the Norwegian with a silver medal, and when Kjus hit the first mark over half-a-second slower, Walchhofer could relax: the title was his. 'This is quite overwhelming,' said the tall man, 'It's just perfect.'

Britain's Finlay Mickel finished in 33rd position. Poor Mickel was yellow-flagged in the combination event last week and suffered the same fate here, having to restart after the German Max Rauffer, who started immediately before him, crashed.