Kitzbuehel ski races to pay winners record 100,000 euros

Updated Mar. 5, 2020 12:42 a.m. ET

VIENNA (AP) — Prize money in Alpine skiing is set to reach new heights in the upcoming World Cup season as the winners of the classic downhill and the slalom in Kitzbuehel in January will both receive 100,000 euros ($111,000), a record for a single race.

Organizers of the traditional Hahnenkamm races announced Wednesday they have raised their total prize fund from last season by 25 percent to 725,000 euros ($801,500) to mark the 80th anniversary of the event.

"We don't want to invest the budget for the 80th Hahnenkamm races into a jubilee party, but the local ski club prefers to set an example for the athletes," chief organizer Michael Huber said.

The races in Kitzbuehel, a marquee stop on the men's World Cup drawing tens of thousands of spectators each year, will be held on Jan. 24-26. They also consist of a super-G, where the winner will be awarded 68,500 euros ($75,700).

World Cup organizers typically pay 45,000 Swiss francs ($45,170) for a win. Prize money is paid down to 30th place, which usually earns around $500.

Last season, Mikaela Shiffrin earned a record 886,000 Swiss francs ($889,400) in prize money on the way to her third straight overall title. The now retired Marcel Hirscher, who won a record-extending eighth straight overall title, topped the men's list with 565,000 Swiss francs ($567,000).

The World Cup season starts Oct. 26-27 with giant slaloms for women and men on the Rettenbach glacier in Soelden, Austria.