Mancuso wins again

CORTINA D’AMPEZZO, Italy — American Julia Mancuso won a super-giant slalom today after a 3 1/2 -hour rain delay, her second World Cup victory in a row. Associated Press It was the third win this season for Mancuso, the gold medalist in giant slalom at last year’s Turin Olympics. She won a super-combi last Sunday in Altenmarkt, Austria, a day after finishing third in a downhill there. In fading light, Mancuso went down the Olympia delle Tofane course in 1 minute, 16.25 seconds. Nicole Hosp of Austria was second, 0.33 seconds behind, and Renate Goetschl, who holds the record of nine wins in Cortina, was third, 0.34 back. Mancuso’s teammate, Lindsey Kildow, tied for fourth, 0.39 behind. Kildow said she thought the race should have been canceled. “I can’t ski on slush,” she said. “I’m happy that Julia won.” Two-time overall World Cup champion Anja Paerson finished sixth. Current overall World Cup leader Marlies Schild skied off the course midway through her run, but retained her lead in the overall standings. Goetschl, who won the opening two super-G races this season, maintained her lead in the discipline standings. Goetschl has 260 points in the super-G, followed by Hosp with 196, Kildow with 130 and Mancuso with 113. “I’m not disappointed. I’m very happy with third place,” Goetschl said. “The conditions were very tough and it was hard to keep focused.” Skiers waited through four delays before the rain finally stopped and the race began. “I didn’t think we were going to race but I was ready to ski, that’s for sure,” Mancuso said. “I just really felt comfortable on my skis. Everything was working for me.” Mancuso posted her first World Cup victory in a downhill in Val d’Isere on Dec. 19.

Click on the image for enlargement.

January 15, 2007 Sports Briefing By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WINTER SPORTS U.S. SKIERS PLACE 1-2-4 Julia Mancuso and Lindsey Kildow captured the top two places yesterday in a women’s World Cup super-combined event at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, and Resi Stiegler just missed making it a sweep for the United States. Mancuso had a combined time of 2 minutes 9.16 seconds to edge Kildow by 0.06 seconds. They had the best times in the morning downhill portion and held their places in the afternoon slalom run. Marlies Schild of Austria was third. Stiegler was fourth, one-fifth of a second behind Schild. (AP) MILLER FALTERS IN SUPER COMBINED Mario Matt of Switzerland won a men’s World Cup super-combined yesterday at Wengen, Switzerland, on a sloppy course that wiped out Bode Miller. Matt rallied in the slalom, taking advantage of starting first on the slope; conditions worsened with each competitor because of rain and temperatures in the 50s. He was 34th after the downhill but regrouped for his first World Cup victory in almost two years. Matt had a combined time of 2 minutes 27.87 seconds. Marc Berthod and Silvan Zurbriggen, both of Switzerland, took second and third. Miller, who won the famed Lauberhorn downhill Saturday, has yet to complete either a slalom or combined event this season. He was second fastest in the downhill but straddled a gate in the slalom. Ted Ligety of the United States, the Olympic combined gold medalist, finished 10th. “Nobody had a chance after Matt,” Ligety said of the deteriorating conditions. “It’s not fair to the athletes, but it’s not fair to the spectators, either.” (AP)