A superb run propelled Mayer, the Sochi 2014 downhill champion, to the title as he finished in a time of 1min 24.44sec.

Switzerland's Beat Feuz was 0.13 seconds adrift of the Austrian to add silver to the bronze he claimed in the downhill.

The bronze medal was secured by Norwegian defending champion Kjetil Jansrud.

The triumph for Mayer saw him become the first athlete from outside of Norway to top the super-G podium at the Winter Olympics since compatriot Hermann Maier earned victory at Nagano 1998.

Norway have clinched every gold medal in the discipline since but, the likes of Jansrud and recently-crowned downhill champion Aksel Lund Svindal, were unable to prolong the record.

Svindal, the gold medallist at Vancouver 2010, could manage only fifth, ending his hopes of claiming the speed double on what is expected to be his last appearance at the Games.

Mayer was involved in a nasty-looking crash in the downhill section of the Alpine combined race earlier this week, won in style by team-mate Marcel Hirscher.

The 27-year-old had no such trouble today as he produced a storming run before crossing the line in a time which would not be surpassed.

Feuz clocked 1:24.57, with Jansrud adding another medal to his collection with bronze, a further 0.05 seconds adrift.

"It's just unbelievable," said Mayer. 

"Four years ago I won the downhill and now today I'm Olympic champion in super-G. 

"I have no words for that."

On his downhill fall, Mayer added: "I have to thank my physiotherapist as he did a really good job. 

"I had real pain on my hip and I didn't know if I could start the downhill yesterday.

"But it's okay and today, what should I say? 

"I wasn't thinking about my pain on the hip, I just was focused on my skiing. 

"That was my good thing today."