ÅRE, (Sweden): Marcel Hirscher took the season closing giant slalom on Saturday to equal the record of 13 wins in a single campaign.

The 29-year-old Austrian entered a select club containing only two others members as he matched the number of wins achieved by skiing legends Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden in 1978-79 and Austrian Hermann Maier in 2000-2001. The victory was Hirscher’s sixth in a World Cup giant slalom this season, he also won seven slaloms.

In 24 hours he could set a new outright record if he wins his favoured slalom, which brings the curtain down on the 2017/2018 season on Sunday. Last month’s Olympic gold medallist in the giant slalom and combined was half a second clear of his rivals after the first leg despite a costly mistake, and he did not buckle on the second run as he chased his place in skiing history.—AFP