Austria’s Anna Fenninger won the women’s world super combined title on Friday, with Slovenia’s Tina Maze taking silver and Sweden’s Anja Paerson claiming bronze.
Fenninger’s victory maintains the Austrian women’s domination at the world ski championships after compatriot Elisabeth Goergl won super-G gold on Tuesday.
“I can’t realize it yet,” a teary 21-year-old Fenninger said. “It was very hard, the slope was really bad. The snow kept springing up, but I just fought through.”
Photo: Reuters
“I wanted to prove to everyone I could do it in the slalom. When you say that to me [that I’m world champion], I can’t believe it. It still has to sink in,” she added.
This was Fenninger’s first major title and having finished fourth in Friday morning’s downhill, her combined winning time was 2 minutes, 43.23 seconds, with Maze second 0.09 seconds back and Paerson third, 0.27 seconds adrift.
It was Maze’s second silver at a world championships after she finished second in the giant slalom in Val d’Isere two years ago.
Photo: EPA
“I said that Anna would have a good run today, I had a feeling she could also do well in the slalom,” Maze said. “I’m very happy with my second place.”
Paerson claimed her 12th world championship medal, her first since she won three golds at Are, Sweden, in 2007, giving her a total of 18 medals in her career, having also stood on the podium six times at the Winter Olympic Games.
Swiss teenager Lara Gut was in contention for a top three place until she took a nasty fall and was sent tumbling down the Gudiberg piste.
Having been the fastest down the Kandahar downhill course in the morning, Goergl finished fifth, just over half a second away from her second medal of the fortnight-long championships.
Home favorite and overall World Cup leader Maria Riesch, the Olympic champion, ended up finishing 11th, having been 15th in the downhill, as she produced a battling performance to race despite the effects of a bout of flu.
“You have to accept these things,” said a disappointed Riesch, who won a bronze in the super-G. “I did my best, but it wasn’t enough. It is certainly troublesome to be sick, but I already have a medal. I am going to train for the downhill tomorrow -[Saturday] to work on the second part of the course where I lost a bit of time today.”
Struggling all week with the -after-effects of a head injury, reigning world downhill champion Lindsey Vonn sat out the slalom, having been 12th fastest in the downhill, to focus on defending her title today.
“I am still not 100 percent fit, I won’t do the slalom, I couldn’t concentrate enough at the end of the race,” Vonn said.
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