Lindsey Vonn delivered one of the rare flawless performances of her season to dominate the World Cup Super-G in Cortina d’Ampezzo yesterday.
The American claimed her fifth World Cup win of the winter, the 38th of her career and her fourth in the Italian resort where she earned her first podium seven years ago.
“Cortina has always been a special place for me,” Vonn told reporters. “It’s a weekend I always tackle with both excitement and apprehension. There have been seasons when I started badly and all changed after Cortina.”
Photo: Reuters
Swede Anja Paerson confirmed she was back on form ahead of the world championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen next month, finishing 0.43 seconds behind Vonn’s winning time of one minute, 11.66 seconds.
Austria’s Anna Fenninger, the new wonder kid of Australian skiing, took third place, 0.04 seconds behind Paerson, making it a copy of the Altenmarkt downhill podium two weeks ago.
Vonn achieved a Super-G and downhill double in Cortina last season and will have realistic hopes of repeating the feat over the weekend, with a downhill today and another Super-G tomorrow.
This was her most convincing display of the season, free of the mistakes she made even in winning four times.
“With Lindsey, you cannot only rely on yourself and your performance,” Paerson said. “However good you ski, she seems to have something else up her sleeve.”
Vonn could not afford to be short of tricks as she trailed Germany’s Maria Riesch by almost 200 points in the World Cup standings at the start of the weekend.
? MEN’S ALPINE
AP and AFP, KITZBUEHEL, Austria
Overall World Cup leader Ivica Kostelic provisionally won a Super-G race yesterday for his fifth victory of the year.
The Croatian slalom specialist, who never won a speed race before, finished in 1 minute, 17.33 seconds to beat Georg Streitberger of Austria by 0.23 seconds. Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway was another 0.05 seconds back in third.
Last year’s winner, Didier Cuche of Switzerland, was fourth, while teammate and defending overall champion Carlo Janka was 2.04 seconds behind after skiing off course and almost missing a gate.
Meanwhile, Austrian ski racer Hans Grugger was stable and in an artificial coma after an operation on serious head injuries sustained during a fall in training for the World Cup downhill.
However, Alois Obwegeser, one of the neurosurgeons who operated on the skier, said the 29-year-old was not yet classified as out of danger.
“At the moment you can’t say; it’s a severe brain injury,” Obwegeser said. “We need more examination. What the problem always is with neurosurgical surgeries is that you have to wait until the patient is awake again.”
“He is not out of danger. The acute danger is not very big, but we don’t know what the damage has been,” Obwegeser added.
Alexandra Kofler, Obwegeser’s fellow neurosurgeon, added that Grugger would remain in a coma for the next three or four days.
“We’ll be able to make a proper prognosis only in three or four weeks’ time,” she told a press conference in Innsbruck.
“The patient is no longer in an acute critical condition and is currently stable ... The operation yesterday was successful. Medical tests performed this morning have shown an improvement,” Kofler said.
Grugger, starting fifth in Thursday’s training, hit the renowned Mausefalle (mousetrap) jump, just seconds after the start, at top speed and flew high.
Grugger, who has four World Cup victories to his name and finished 22nd in the Olympic downhill last year, landed badly and slid for 30m before coming to a halt, seemingly unconscious.
He received immediate treatment on the course before being airlifted by helicopter to Innsbruck hospital.
The Streif course used for the men’s downhill is considered the most testing of the World Cup circuit: More than 3.3km long, with racers reaching motorway-coasting speeds of 130kph while being forced into negotiating 80m jumps.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely