honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 6:12 a.m., Sunday, January 6, 2008

Skiing: Schild wins third World Cup women's slalom

Advertiser Staff

SPINDLERUV MLYN, Czech Republic — Marlies Schild won a World Cup slalom event today for her third win in the discipline this season, while American Julia Mancuso was ninth and Lindsey Vonn failed to finish.

The Austrian posted the fastest second run to win with a combined time of 1 minute, 46.35 seconds. Veronika Zuzulova of Slovakia finished second in 1:46.67, a career best. Maria Riesch of Germany, who was fastest in the opening run, was third in 1:47.53.

"Some parts of the course were icy and I had to be cautious," said Schild, who was second after the first run.

Mancuso, the Olympic giant slalom champion, finished ninth following her eighth-place finish in the giant slalom a day earlier.

"I could definitely have had better results, but I took a little break and didn't ski between Lienz and here," Mancuso said. "There's always a price you have to pay for taking a little time off."

Vonn, a speed specialist, was fifth after the first slalom run but failed to finish the second.

"It was out of control today," she said. "I was really risking a lot."

It was snowing during both runs, but Schild said that wasn't a problem. The defending World Cup slalom champion picked up her 18th career World Cup victory to move into second place in the overall standings with 300 points, five behind Nicole Hosp, who failed to finish.

Hosp, the defending discipline and overall World Cup champion, maintained her overall World Cup lead with 559 points, with Riesch moving to second, 34 points behind.

Mancuso is third on 505 points. Vonn trails her by one point.

The last American winner of the women's overall World Cup title was Tamara McKinney in 1983.