ALPINE:

Goergl steals downhill thunder from Vonn, Riesch

Feb. 13, 2011

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — Elisabeth Goergl of Austria won the women's downhill title for her second gold medal at the World Championships.

Goergl, who also won Tuesday's super-G, beat defending champion Lindsey Vonn of the United States, who took silver, and Germany's Maria Riesch, who earned her second bronze of the worlds.

"I can't believe it, I was so anxious before the race," said Goergl, who finished the 2.9-kilometer Kandahar course in 1 minute, 47.24 seconds to lead Vonn by 0.44, while Riesch was 0.60 back.

"The super-G gold was not a relief for me, I still felt pressure," said the Austrian. "But I think you need to have that feeling to do really well."

Goergl, the first Austrian woman the win downhill gold since Michaela Dorfmeister in 2001, said she "just tried to attack my whole run. I went wide a couple of times but I kept calm. I am happy that I didn't make a mistake this time."

Goergl became the fourth racer in history to win downhill and super-G titles at the same World Championships. Vonn in '09, Sweden's Anja Paerson in '07 and Switzerland's Maria Walliser in '87 also completed the speed double.

Austria has now won all three women's events at the worlds after Anna Fenninger took the super-combined title Friday.

It was the first women's top-level downhill race in two years not won by either Vonn or Riesch.
Vonn has been struggling with the aftereffects of hitting her head in a training crash in Austria 11 days ago.

The Olympic downhill champion lost her super-G title Tuesday when she finished seventh, and skipped the slalom part of the super-combined event on Friday.

"I am very, very happy to win silver, it was the best result possible for me," Vonn told German television. "Today, I could race a bit more like I normally do but it was difficult to go to the limit."

Vonn started 20th after most of the pre-race favourites like Dominique Gisin, Lara Gut, Goergl and Riesch had completed their run.

The late start was a disadvantage because the snow had been softened by temperatures not dropping below zero for several nights.

Vonn was behind from the start. She seemed to hold a bit back from her usual attacking style but kept her racing line perfectly. She hit a bump shortly before finishing but adjusted well.

"I was not perfect, that's why I didn't win," Vonn said. "On the other hand, Lizzi (Goergl) was just sensational today and she would have been hard to beat anyway."

Riesch, who has had a fever since Tuesday, lost 0.20 in the first part of the course to Goergl but kept up with the Austrian's pace before losing speed in the final section.

"This medal makes me the happiest person today," Riesch said. "I won't complain about not being fit — if you are starting in a World Championship race, there are no excuses."

The German didn't expect to win bronze "under these circumstances. I know many people were expecting me to win a medal and it was my main goal. Unfortunately I lost too much speed in the final part."

Switzerland's Gut, who hurt her knee in a slalom crash Friday, finished fourth to miss out on a podium place by 0.34. She also took fourth in the super-G.

"It's a bummer. But on Saturday, I was walking on crutches," said Gut, who won downhill silver in '09. "I was not top fit for sure but I will get another chance."

Vonn's U.S. teammate Julia Mancuso, who won silver in super-G, was already more than a second behind going into the middle part. She had a strong finish and trailed by 1.06 in sixth place.

Laurenne Ross finished 10th. The last time three Americans finished in the top 10 of a World Championships race was in the 2007 super-G, with Vonn (then Kildow) second, Mancuso sixth and Libby Ludlow ninth.

The last time they achieved the feat in downhill was at the 1996 worlds, with Picabo Street taking the title, Hilary Lindh winning bronze and Megan Gerety placing fifth.

Paerson finished 11th after a disappointing showing.

Paerson, who said before the race she would win the title "if my skis are fast and I don't make a mistake," was the fastest starter at 119 km/h going into the middle part of the course.

But the seven-time world champion struggled to find the right line and lost time at every measuring point afterward to finish 1.78 off the lead.

Austria's Andrea Fischbacher, the last skier to win a World Cup downhill before Vonn and Riesch started their domination in Feb. 2009, was 1.62 back in ninth.

Her teammate and super-combined champion, Fenninger, developed a fever Saturday and seemed to lack power. She lost time to the favourites in all sections and was 2.36 off the lead in 17th.

Whistler's Britt Janyk finished 15th. Janyk had to deal with difficult snow conditions after starting with bib No. 25 and crossed the finish line with a time of o1:49.53 seconds.

"I went out of the gate and raced hard and I felt confident on the hill. I knew that if I put a strong run down that I could be right in there, but unfortunately I don't think my bib number was good," said Janyk, who will be competing in the team event and the giant slalom race next week.

"I didn't get the best bib draw but the track stayed in great shape and I just went in there and I raced hard."

It's the second time Janyk has finished 15th at these World Championships, after getting the same result in the super-G on Tuesday.

"I lost too much time at the top and at the bottom but in the technical sections I skied really well and I was fast," said Janyk. "Obviously, I want better than 15, but again 15 is in the points and as far as my downhill season has been going it's a strong result for me. I think there are some great things going on and I can take that into the World Cups to come."

"Britt skied well, she had a good race. Unfortunately, there is something missing," said World Cup head coach Hugues Anzermoz. "We know that starting with the bib number 25 wasn't going to be an advantage today, apart from Tina Maze, who started 29 and had an amazing race. Britt had a great run and did better than a lot of girls, but it seems like she keeps losing time in some sections."

Erik Guay's victory in the downhill Saturday gave Janyk a big lift.

"It was definitely a motivation to see Erik win," she said. "It was incredible because he's had a rough season with his back problems and he just came in here and went for it.

"I came in here with that kind of attitude as well for the race today. I feel confident with my skiing and I know I can be fast. I know I'm in the game and I feel good about that."

The next event for the women will be Wednesday's team event. The men will race the super-combined event Monday.

CBC is broadcasting action from the World Championships Sunday at 2 p.m. local time. The men's super-combined will be showcased live on CBCSports.ca Monday, starting at 3:55 a.m. E.T.

— The Canadian Press and Alpine Canada contributed to this report

2011 Alpine World Championships women's downhill results