ALPINE:

Rebensburg snags GS gold to deny Austria the victory

Feb. 25, 2010 — SRC Staff Report   

►Photos: Viktoria Rebensburg (Paul Morrison, SRC); Tina Maze (PM); Elisabeth Goergl (PM); Marie Michele-Gagnon (Gordie Bowles, SRC)

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WHISTLER, B.C. — Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg won the gold medal Thursday in the women’s giant slalom, stealing the thunder from the Austrians, who looked poised to claim gold after Wednesday’s weather-plagued opening run.

Rebensburg, who had never won a major race, clocked a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 27.11 seconds down Franz's GS, .04 better than silver medallist Tina Maze of Slovenia and .14 ahead of bronze medallist Elisabeth Goergl of Austria.

Maze also won silver in the super-G, while Goergl matched her bronze from the downhill but couldn’t hold her first-run lead.

The 20-year-old Rebensburg stood only sixth after the opening leg.

"Unbelievable! Unbelievable! Unbelievable!" Rebensburg said, adding that it helped having super-combined winner Maria Riesch and giant slalom world champion Kathrin Hoelzl on her team. "I had not that much pressure."

Hoelzl finished sixth and Riesch was 10th.

"She should experience this moment right now in the moment, because it all goes by like a film and tonight she will shake her head and wonder what happened," Riesch said.

American Julia Mancuso had the third-best second run, placing eighth overall. Teammate Sarah Schleper was 14th.

Marie Michele-Gagnon topped the Canadian entries, placing 21st, 1.78 behind the winner. Britt Janyk was 25th, Shona Rubens 28th and Marie-Pier Prefontaine 29th.

"I think it is positive. It was a good run but I wasn't all that happy to not be in first after I came down," said Gagnon, who followed the race by heading back up the hill for slalom training prior to Friday’s Olympic slalom competition.

"I am going to ski with more risk tomorrow. If I want to achieve my objective I have to ski all-out,” she said.

Austria has been shut out of alpine medals on the men’s side and has just one alpine gold on the women’s side, with Andrea Fischbacher snagging the super-G win. Goergl’s two bronze medals gives Austria a total three alpine medals at the Vancouver Games. The country won eight alpine medals at the Torino Games.

There was more fog Thursday, and it got worse just after Rebensburg's run.

Rebensburg's best previous result was second in the last World Cup GS before the Vancouver Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. Before that, she had never finished on the podium.

Like the first leg Wednesday, organizers again rushed to get the race in, sending down racers at 60- and 75-second intervals — meaning there were often two skiers on the course at a time — and abandoning TV breaks before the first 30 racers came down and the medals were decided.

The short intervals created problems in the first leg. Mancuso's first trip down was interrupted Wednesday because teammate Lindsey Vonn crashed out immediately ahead of her — breaking her right pinkie. Mancuso had to be brought back up for another try but couldn't match the speed of her aborted run and was too far back to have a realistic chance in the delayed final leg.

While she won the giant slalom at the 2006 Games, Mancuso entered these Games with low expectations after a two-year dry spell. After taking silver in downhill and super-combined, she leaves the Games content.

"It's been a long couple weeks, and the good thing about yesterday is I still have the pride of my two silver medals," Mancuso said. "There's lucky days, unlucky days. ... I'm psyched I was able to lay down a pretty good second run today, and it wasn't enough, but I really went out and did my best, so I'm proud of that."

Mancuso turned down an offer from U.S. coaches to race Friday's slalom, the final women's alpine event of the Games.

Maze has had a stellar Games, like Mancuso netting two medals.

"It's great. I didn't expect that I would take two medals," Maze said. "I was never racing so good at the big events, but this time it's different, and I skied confident."

Goergl's medal haul now matches that of her mother, Traudl Hecher, who also won two bronze medals at the Olympics — in downhill at the 1960 Squaw Valley Games and the 1964 Innsbruck Games.

Goergl also won a bronze in super-combined at last season's worlds, and she was already claiming family bragging rights.

"With my World Championships medal it's five," said Goergl, whose older brother Stephan is also a World Cup skier.

Goergl said the overnight wait didn't affect her.

"I had the same focus as if we had started the race today," she said. "I wanted gold today."  SRC

— The Canadian Press and Alpine Canada contributed to this report

Whistler women’s Olympic GS results