Norwegians Take Top Two Spots in Men’s Downhill

Aksel Lund Svindal gave Norway its first men’s downhill gold on Thursday.

Under a bright sky and a warm sun, Svindal turned in a gutsy run on a winding but tame course that was almost perfectly suited to him. His teammate, Kjetil Jansrud, took the silver medal, finishing 0.12 of a second behind Svindal in a triumphant showing for the country that has won more medals than any other at the Winter Olympics but is better known for its prowess in Nordic sports.

Beat Feuz of Switzerland finished 0.18 of a second behind Svindal and won bronze.

All three medal winners were lucky enough to be among the first 10 skiers on a day when the sun was heating up and slowing down the snow with each passing minute.

Svindal, one of the elder statesmen of the Alpine circuit at 35, blasted out of the starting gate, poling and skating his way down the initial slope. Midway through his run he lost his balance, went upright in the middle of the jump and landed on the back of his skis 20 feet down the hill. Svindal somehow regained his stability though and ended up gaining speed on the relatively flat and winding third quarter of the course where so many other races were losing time.