Jan Zabystřan achieved a historic success for Czech skiing when he became the first Czech alpine skier to win the men’s World Cup race. The competitor, who only two years ago was flirting with both technical and speed disciplines, unexpectedly won in Val Gardena, Italy, beating the favored Swiss Marc Odermatt.
“Basically, it cannot be compared to anything. As far as Czech men’s alpine skiing is concerned, this is completely out of the question. It is a historic success,” exults former alpine skier and Czech representative Kryštof Krýzl.
The Zabystran achieved a lifetime achievement yesterday afternoon – he reached the finish line in one minute and less than twenty-five seconds, twenty-two hundredths ahead of the Swiss favorite Marc Odermatt.
“Beautiful day! For the first time in my life I crossed the finish line in super-G or downhill and saw green numbers. It’s really crazy,” the Czech skier was looking forward to shortly after the race.
The skiing community had known about Zabystřan’s talent for a long time, but the victory in the World Cup race was still a shock to many.
Among the Czech skiers, only Šárka Strachová and Ester Ledecká achieved such a result. In the men’s starting field, Zabystřan is the first Czech winner.
The Czech skier’s highest so far was the eighth place in the super-G in Kvitfjell from this March. Ondřej Banka, the last Czech alpine skier on the podium (third place in the super combined in Kitzbühel in 2015), was not so surprised by Zabystřan’s success.
“In boys’ skiing, it’s not that far from top ten to a medal,” notes Bank.
“I personally expected that this year
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