Patrick Kueng wins first ever medal at alpine ski world championships
Saturday 7 February 2015 23:40, UK
Switzerland's Patrick Kueng secured a stunning victory in the men's blue riband downhill on Saturday to get his hands on his first ever medal at the alpine ski world championships.
The 31-year-old, whose maiden World Cup triumph came in the Super-G at Beaver Creek in 2013, claimed top-spot with a winning time of one minute, 43.18 seconds down the Birds of Prey course.
American Travis Ganong, who won his first World Cup race in downhill at Santa Caterina in Italy two months ago, took second with Swiss speed specialist Beat Feuz third.
It is Kueng's first podium in three World Championship starts with best finish before this weekend at the Worlds a seventh in the downhill two years ago in Schladming, Austria.
"It's incredible," Kueng said. "I had a really good run. My skis are so fast."
Ganong added: "I just turned my brain off, put a smile on my face and had some fun."
American Steven Nyman was fourth with a time of 1:43.52 ahead of France's Guillermo Fayed who clocked 1:43.57.
Defending world downhill champ Aksel Lund Svindal had to settle for sixth and reigning Olympic champion Matthias Mayer finished 11th.
Bode Miller didn't race after having surgery to fix a severed right hamstring tendon following a bad crash in the super-G race.
