Feuz conquers 'The Rock'

Swiss ace speeds to gold, Sweden's Hector reigns in women's giant slalom

The world's top stars shone on the first medals day of the Alpine skiing competition at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, with Beat Feuz of Switzerland winning gold in the men's downhill and Sweden's Sara Hector topping the podium in the women's giant slalom.

"The Olympics are a big thing, and today it worked for me. In (Pyeongchang) four years ago I was second and third, but today everything came together. It means the world to me," said Feuz, who powered down the slopes of "The Rock" course at Yanqing's National Alpine Skiing Centre on Monday in 1 min 42.69 sec, with Frenchman Johan Clarey just 0.10 sec behind to claim silver.

"It was perfect weather, no wind, and I was just standing perfectly on the skis. A dream came true. I can't think of anything more beautiful than flying home with a gold medal around my neck," said Feuz.

Austria's Matthias Mayer took bronze in (1:42.85), while pre-race favorite Aleksander Aamodt Kilde of Norway, who leads the World Cup overall standings, finished fifth (1:43.20).

The 34-year-old Feuz will compete in the super-G on Tuesday, and told reporters that he was "looking forward to being at home and having my family back in my arms".

"Certainly tonight we'll celebrate together as a team, but in these COVID times and because the World Cup season continues, I'll have to delay the celebration until the spring."