From Jaufental, ITA
(January 14, 2023) – Alex Gruber came from behind to win gold in the first Natural Track, edging out Austria’s Michael Scheikl for top honors.
Gruber trailed teammate Fabian Brunner by .1 entering the second heat in Jaufental, with Scheikl, Florian Clara, and Thomas Kammerlander all in contention for medals as well.
Kammerlander was first of the contenders to take their second run, and that run for Kammerlander wasn’t bad, but not what he needed to move up the finishing order.
Scheikl was next and threw down a heat-fastest second run to take the lead, a lead he would hold through Florian Clara’s run, as Clara fell behind Scheikl by just .05.
Gruber’s second run matched Scheikl’s to put him into the lead, leaving leader Fabian Brunner to go. Brunner’s second start was a tick quicker than his first, but the remainder of his run was just a bit slower than those around him. As he crossed the line he found himself in third, tied with Clara.
That gave the victory to Gruber by .11 over Scheikl. Clara and Brunner tied for bronze, with Kammerlander finishing fifth.
The United States entered three sliders in the event, with Torrey Cookman leading the way for the Americans in 16th. Zane Farnsworth finished 20th, while Jacob Sterk rounded out the American effort in 22nd.
Italian Patrick Pigneter was entered in the event, but his first run placed him outside of the qualifiers for Italy.
Results:
| Pos | Name | Nation | Bib | Start 1 | Start 2 | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total |
| 1 | Alex Gruber | ITA | 28 | 9.21 | 9.23 | 50.93 | 51.15 | 1:42.08 |
| 2 | Michael Scheikl | AUT | 30 | 9.22 | 9.21 | 51.04 | 51.15 | 1:42.19 |
| 3 | Fabian Brunner | ITA | 2 | 9.28 | 9.27 | 50.83 | 51.41 | 1:42.24 |
| 3 | Florian Clara | ITA | 27 | 9.35 | 9.43 | 50.97 | 51.27 | 1:42.24 |
| 5 | Thomas Kammerlander | AUT | 29 | 9.22 | 9.27 | 51.09 | 51.41 | 1:42.50 |
| 6 | Mathias Troger | ITA | 25 | 9.43 | 9.49 | 51.27 | 51.64 | 1:42.91 |
| 7 | Florian Markt | AUT | 24 | 9.45 | 9.41 | 51.71 | 51.75 | 1:43.46 |
| 8 | Stefan Federer | SUI | 23 | 9.32 | 9.30 | 51.89 | 51.82 | 1:43.71 |
| 9 | Miguel Brugger | AUT | 12 | 9.39 | 9.50 | 52.23 | 52.35 | 1:44.58 |
| 10 | Vid Kralj | SLO | 18 | 9.42 | 9.43 | 53.17 | 52.80 | 1:45.97 |
| 11 | Bine Mekina | SLO | 22 | 9.63 | 9.60 | 53.08 | 53.09 | 1:46.17 |
| 12 | Matevz Vertelj | SLO | 19 | 9.58 | 9.65 | 53.44 | 53.93 | 1:47.37 |
| 13 | Ziga Kralj | SLO | 20 | 9.60 | 9.71 | 53.92 | 54.15 | 1:48.07 |
| 14 | Jerome Almer | SUI | 17 | 9.64 | 9.59 | 54.52 | 53.57 | 1:48.09 |
| 15 | Gabriel Halcin | SVK | 4 | 9.70 | 9.63 | 55.03 | 54.37 | 1:49.40 |
| 16 | Torrey Cookman | USA | 6 | 9.81 | 9.80 | 54.85 | 54.90 | 1:49.75 |
| 17 | Vincent Streit | GER | 10 | 10.30 | 10.04 | 56.28 | 55.92 | 1:52.20 |
| 18 | Remi D’ Aviau de Gernay | FRA | 5 | 9.84 | 9.77 | 55.95 | 56.95 | 1:52.90 |
| 19 | Peter Neupauer | SVK | 3 | 9.93 | 9.86 | 56.82 | 56.66 | 1:53.48 |
| 20 | Zane Farnsworth | USA | 7 | 10.14 | 9.99 | 57.72 | 56.53 | 1:54.25 |
| 21 | Dominik Neupauer | SVK | 1 | 10.01 | 9.90 | 57.72 | 56.53 | 1:54.25 |
| 22 | Jacob Sterk | USA | 9 | 10.19 | 10.06 | 58.51 | 57.57 | 1:56.08 |
| 23 | Shohei Tanaka | SUI | 16 | 11.33 | 11.44 | 62.45 | 64.25 | 2:06.70 |
| 24 | Simon Dietz | GER | 21 | 9.49 | 9.45 | 52.68 | 84.28 | 2:16.96 |
| 25 | Seungmin Lee | KOR | 14 | 12.01 | 11.93 | 69.33 | 68.24 | 2:17.57 |
