ALPINE:

Paerson wins, Vonn retains downhill crystal, Janyk 9th

March 5, 2011

TARVISIO, Italy ― Lindsey Vonn won her fourth consecutive downhill crystal globe Saturday by finishing second to Anja Paerson, who earned her first victory in a frustrating season.

Paerson finished in 1 minute, 26.91 seconds on the Prampero course for a commanding win in a season hampered by knee problems.

Vonn finished 0.73 behind and holds an insurmountable 143-point lead in the downhill standings over German rival Maria Riesch, who finished sixth but remains the overall leader.

Vonn and Riesch have each won three downhills this season, with Paerson becoming the only other woman to win in the discipline. Last season, Vonn won six of eight downhills.

"I wasn't able to win as many times as last year, so it definitely wasn't easy," Vonn said. "Maria gave me a run for my money, and I had to keep fighting hard the whole season."

Canada’s Britt Janyk was ninth.

It was the 42nd World Cup victory of Paerson's career, improving her fourth-place position on the all-time list and moving two in front of Vonn.

"It's been kind of a struggle this season, and I finally picked a run where I could (be) perfect," said Paerson, who pulled up short because of knee pain during a race on home snow last weekend in Are, Sweden.

While she knew she had clinched the title, Vonn didn't celebrate upon crossing the finish line. She was going for time in finishing second and a chance to cut more points off Riesch's overall lead.

"I didn't know that Anja had had such a good run, but I didn't see what else I could have done to ski faster," Vonn said. "I made a little mistake in the middle, but she was just really fast on the flats."

Riesch is just 136 points ahead in the overall ranks with Vonn favored to make up more ground in Sunday's super-G. That's when the American can clinch her third discipline title in three days, having taken the super-combined globe Friday.

"It's still possible," Vonn said. "In ski racing, things can change very quickly. I obviously would love to be ahead right now, but I'm not in a bad position. I'm skiing like I have nothing to lose and sometimes that can be really dangerous."

Having made a mistake midway down, Riesch was visibly disappointed with her run, slamming into the protective padding at the finish and banging her pole in frustration.

"I just saw that I'm eight hundredths back with this mistake, so I was frustrated in the first moment, but you can't always have runs without mistakes," she said. "It's just normal that one race is not perfect. This is not my favourite downhill track, it's really, really flat and sixth place is not a really good result. But it's still OK."

In a day full of emotions, not even Paerson celebrated, instead grimacing in pain because of her knee problem.

"Landing that jump in the middle of the course was really painful," Paerson said.

Elisabeth Goergl, who swept gold in super-G and downhill at last month's World Championships, finished 1.17 back in third. Tina Maze, who won the super-combined on Friday, was fourth.

American Julia Mancuso finished 10th.

Racers competed in sunny and cool conditions, although the course was shortened because of the lack of a training session on the upper section.

"I was a bit lucky that we didn't ski the top part, so I could stay fit the entire run," said Paerson, adding that she still hasn't decided whether she'll keep racing next season.

"Of course when you win you feel positive and everything is going your way, but it's still a big decision. If you race, you have to be dedicated every hour every day. I have to see if I still have the motivation."

Janyk breathed a sigh of relief after producing her best result of the season in downhill that ensured she has qualified for the World Cup Finals in two weeks.

Janyk, of Whistler, B.C., sped down the fast course in a time of 1:28.65 seconds. Due to heavy snow on Thursday, the downhill run was shorter than originally planned.

"The race was good," said the 30-year-old Janyk. "It's a fun hill here, it's not super-technical but there is good terrain and good jumps. I felt confidence going in today. I felt comfortable in air and over the jumps and I think that was an advantage.

"Because the race didn't start from the top, it was going to be tight and I knew I was going to have to fight for every hundredth of a second. During my run I tried to tuck as much as I could and ski nice and clean. It's definitely nice be back in the top 10 in downhill."

Prior to Saturday's result, Janyk's best downhill finish this season was a 13th-place result at Val d'Isère, France, in December.

"Today just clicked," added Janyk. "My skis were running really well here all week. It's also a track that I've run before and I think I just felt kind of irritated with the races in Are and I just wanted to come out here and race hard. There was a lot of frustration these past couple of months. I know that I can finish in the top five and top 10 in downhill and to finish in the 20s is frustrating."

"Britt had a great day today," said head coach Hugues Ansermoz. "This is a track where every extra pound of muscle is an advantage and Britt was one of the fastest lighter girls today.

"Today we saw a Britt that attacked a lot and she fought for every hundredth. We also saw a Britt that took some risks like we hadn't seen so far this year."

Janyk is 16th in the downhill rankings, meaning she has qualified for the World Cup Finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, in two weeks.

"Before the race today, Britt wasn't qualified for the World Cup Finals," added Ansermoz. "She needed a great result to qualify and she did. It was a big day for her and the team."

The downhill race will be on CBC's main network Saturday starting at 2 p.m. ET.

The women will take part in a super-G race Sunday and the men will race the slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. The slalom will be shown on Rogers Sportsnet Sunday at 6 p.m. ET.

— The Canadian Press and Alpine Canada contributed to this report

Tarvisio women's World Cup downhill results