Vancouver Olympic favorite Lindsey Vonn injured her left arm in a crash yesterday in the opening run of the World Cup giant slalom at Lienz, Austria, and Kathrin Hoelzl of Germany won the race.

Hoelzl led after the first run and posted a combined time of 2 minutes, 16.61 seconds to edge Manuela Moelgg of Italy by 0.05 seconds.

Vonn initially thought she had broken her arm after losing her balance and falling backward. An X-ray and MRI exam revealed no break, only a bone bruise.

"It's not a classic broken wrist, but a swelling," said doctor Eduard Sporer of the Lienz district hospital, who added Vonn might be able to race in today's slalom.

Vonn lost her balance on a bump after a sharp left turn, hitting a gate and losing a ski. After staying down for almost 10 minutes and receiving first aid, she put her skis on and went down the hill with her arm in a sling.

BASEBALL

GIANTS GET DEROSA

The San Francisco Giants hope Mark DeRosa can provide the power in the middle of the lineup they've been seeking this winter.

The Giants reached an agreement with the free-agent infielder on a two-year contract. Giants spokesman Jim Moorehead said the 12-year veteran was in San Francisco and passed a physical yesterday. The team planned to formally announce his deal today.

DeRosa, 34, likely will play third, moving slugger Pablo Sandoval to first.

DeRosa underwent left wrist surgery after the 2009 season, when he batted .250 with a career-best 23 homers to go along with 78 RBIs for Cleveland and St. Louis.

SAILING

ALFA ROMEO WINS

New Zealand maxi Alfa Romeo won the Sydney to Hobart yacht race yesterday, completing a start-to-finish victory and relegating four-time and defending champion Wild Oats XI to second place.

Alfa Romeo, skippered by Neville Crichton, crossed the finish line at Constitution Dock in Hobart, the capital of the island state of Tasmania, in an official time of 2 days, 9 hours, 2 minutes, well off the race record.

Wild Oats XI, which holds the record of 1 day, 18 hours, 40 minutes, set in 2005, finished second. Wild Oats XI was 2 hours, 3 minutes behind Alfa Romeo.

ELSEWHERE

Hockey: The Washington Capitals have acquired left wing Jason Chimera from Columbus in a trade that sends right wing Chris Clark and defenseman Milan Jurcina to the Blue Jackets. Chimera has eight goals and nine assists this season for Washington. The deal moves him from the last-place Blue Jackets to a Capitals club that leads the Eastern Conference.

Speedskating: Olympic 3,000-meter speedskating champion Ireen Wust of the Netherlands qualified yesterday to defend her title at the Vancouver Olympics. Wust won the Dutch trials over 3,000 meters in 4 minutes, 6.80 seconds at Thialf Ice Stadium. She qualified for the Olympics in the 1,500 on Sunday.

Soccer: Curt Onalfo will be the new coach of D.C. United. The club said yesterday it hired Onalfo as the replacement for Tom Soehn, whose contract expires this week. D.C. has missed the MLS playoffs two years in a row.