Maria Riesch skied a blistering second run to win a dramatic women’s slalom on Saturday and hand Germany their second gold of the World Ski Championships.
In an action-packed climax to the second run, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy looking on, Italian Manuela Moelgg and Lindsey Vonn of the US, the top duo after the first run, both crashed out.
Riesch, the leader of the World Cup slalom standings and second in the overall classification behind Vonn, produced a storming, almost error-free second run through 64 gates after starting in sixth, 0.63 seconds behind Moelgg.
PHOTO: EPA
The 24-year-old clocked a combined total of 1 minute, 51.80 seconds to give her country a second gold after that of Kathrin Hoelzl in the giant slalom.
“There’s actually not been so many ups as downs over the last two weeks,” she said in reference to her failed bids to medal in the downhill, Super-G, giant slalom and super-combined. “I had to wait until the very last day of the championships for the women to win something. I had a really good second run. The three leaders all went out, but you always have to come down.”
Riesch finished 0.77 seconds ahead of Czech defending champion Sarka Zahrobska. Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen took her second bronze of the championships, having also claimed third in the giant slalom, a further 0.32 seconds adrift.
Zahrobska, who also won a slalom bronze in Bormio, Italy, in 2005, berated her father Petr — chosen randomly by the organizers — for setting a tough second run.
“He set a very difficult run, much more difficult than the first one,” Zahrobska said. “At the finish, I didn’t think I’d get a medal, but I did and now have the full complement after gold in Are [Sweden] and bronze in Bormio.”
Vonn, who swept gold in the downhill and Super-G, but whose participation in this event was thrown into doubt after she lacerated a right thumb tendon on the top of a champagne bottle, had clocked an impressive time down the first run of the testing Bellevarde course.
But the 24-year-old American, who was sporting a wad of silver duct tape over a splint on her right hand in a bid to immobilize the thumb, lost her edging high on the second descent and slid out.
Fancied Austrian duo Kathrin Zettel, winner of the super-combined, and Michaela Kirchgasser both crashed out during the first run.
■SKI JUMPING
AP, OBERSTDORF, GERMANY
Harri Olli of Finland nailed the longest jump of the day and won his first World Cup event on Saturday.
Olli soared 225.5m in the first heat and followed up with a jump of 216m to collect a winning total of 435.8 points in Oberstdorf.
The Finn beat two Norwegians for his first career victory in an individual event.
Anders Jacobsen had jumps of 218m and 212.5m for 428.6 points in second place. Johan Evensen had the second-longest jump of the day in the second heat at 223.5m to add to his 211.5m jump in the first round.
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