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IRISH SKIER CORMAC Comerford ended a mammoth 10 days of Olympic alpine skiing with a 31st place finish in the Milan Cortina 2026 slalom event.
He completed two slalom runs in a time of 2:10.24 during a chaotic but thrilling spectacle at the Stelvio Ski Centre today.
Elite athletes are among the best goal setters out there but they often squirrel their ambitions or aspirations away in a journal under lock and key.
It can be refreshing then when one boldly proclaims what they want from a season or a major event. Over the past year, Comerford has answered questions about his goals for 2026 honestly: represent Ireland in all four alpine skiing disciplines at the Winter Olympic Games and make the top 30 in his preferred slalom event.
Today, he completed a marathon week of racing in the Italian host town of Bormio with that 31st placement.
Ticking off the first aim of the season, not only did the 29-year-old make the Irish team or get to the start line of each event – he successfully completed every single run, a feat not to be overlooked on the daunting Stelvio slopes.
On 7 February, he was just one of 34 skiers to cross the finish line of the downhill, known as the Formula 1 of alpine skiing (which in itself people in certain parts of Europe deem to be the only ‘proper’ skiing of the Games).
And, today, as athletes battled the snowy elements of the mountain he maintained focus to be in the smaller cohort who survived the first run. Just 43 out of 95 of his fellow competitors joined him for the second run. The remainder either did not finish (DNF) or were disqualified from the difficult first run.
Comerford wasn’t totally immune from that early carnage in the snow as he missed a gate in the mid-section and had to turn his skis around and go uphill to ensure there was a result beside his name.
The effort contributed to the 11.73-second time difference between him and the leader at the time, Norway’s Atle Lie McGrath.
More importantly, it left him in 35th position and over three seconds off 30th spot.
Although it could be argued that he saved himself from a DNF, Comerford was frustrated by the mistake.
“I’ve got a huge mix of emotions right now,” he told reporters after the second run.
“Super proud; disappointed; very frustrated with the result today. I know I had it in me for a top 25 looking at the splits from the first run. It was a really good performance, just the mistake in the first run was too costly. I’m really frustrated with the result now but there are a huge amount of positives to take away from this week, 10 days.”
The commentators on the live feed did initially write off the skier’s run as a DNF so how did he turn it around?
“It was just a bit of quick thinking to go around the other side of the gate,” he explained.
“It’s not my first rodeo doing that, unfortunately. Back at the world championships in 2023 I did something similar and I still managed to qualify for the second run and get a result. At least I had that experience and quick thinking to get around that gate.
“You saw how many DNFs there were in the first run, and I guess I can be grateful that I managed to think fast and get around that gate and get a second run, so yeah that’s a positive.
“This is slalom. It’s brutal. It’s the most competitive discipline. There were so many DNFs in the first run, it’s a blessing to have just made it down the first run and get a result.”
His second run through the 72 gates went more smoothly, clocking in at 1:02.37, over five seconds faster than his first and 28th fastest overall.
It was not enough though to catch the Romanian, Alexandru Stefanescu, who secured 30th position with 1.14 seconds to spare.
To underline the unpredictable nature of the sport, McGrath scuppered his lead with a DNF of his own in the second run. Arguably the harder part achieved in the poorer conditions on the tougher course, the Norwegian could not hide his anger and disappointment, throwing away his poles and walking into the nearby forest.
The eventual winner Loic Meillard was asked about his rival in the winner’s press conference.
“I’ve been in his place other times. Slalom is so tough,” he answered. “You can be the best in the start and straddle the first gate. That’s also the beauty of slalom – when it works out, it’s beautiful. I was definitely sorry for him, but at the end, other times he won when I skied out and that’s part of the game.”
Another Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen took the bronze while silver went to Austria’s Fabrio Gstrein.
The alpine skiers now move out of Bormio to make way for a new Olympic sport, ski mountaineering, which is a mix of uphill climbing and downhill skiing.
“I had ambitious goals,” Comerford says of his time in the Italian town.
“But my parents have never skied before. My mother learned to ski when I did. My dad has never put skis on his feet. So we don’t have that. There is no skiing in our blood, so it was a big task to take that on.”
Making it to the Olympic Games on his fourth attempt was his biggest achievement, he added.
“That’s been the hardest thing about this Olympics – getting here. I shouldn’t be standing here really. There have been so many times I was going to quit. And so many obstacles I had to overcome to get here.
“So everything from the day I arrived has been the cherry on the cake. Obviously we have goals and I want to push as hard as I can. And I want to be the best skier Ireland has ever had.
“It’s a shame not to meet all my goals but there are lots of positives. It would have been nice to get into the top 30 today.
“We have to celebrate now. I’ve got my friends and family here. For some of them it’s the first time they’ve seen me race ever. I’m just really excited to share the celebrations with them, get a bit of time with them.
“I just want to thank everybody from home, abroad – from New York to Sydney, there’s people all over the world tuning in and supporting and sending messages. It’s been unbelievable and I’m so grateful. I think the impact of this Olympics has been way more than I could have expected. I’m super grateful for that regardless of results or anything else. So, go raibh mile maith agaibh.”
Written by Sinead O’Carroll and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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