Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria – Not since the 1984 Olympics had U.S. women been so dominant in a ski race.
Julia Mancuso and Lindsey Kildow captured the top two places in a World Cup super-combi Sunday, and Resi Stiegler just missed making it an American sweep. The 1-2-4 finish was a first for American women in a World Cup event, and matched the showing in the giant slalom at the Sarajevo Olympics 23 years ago.
“What a great victory for me, but for the team also,” Mancuso said. “This is one of the best days for American skiing since a very long time.”
Mancuso had a combined time of 2 minutes, 9.16 seconds to edge Kildow by 0.06 of a second. The pair had the best times in the morning downhill portion of the event, and held their places in the afternoon slalom run.
Slalom specialist Marlies Schild of Austria was third, and Stiegler was fourth in 2:21.09 – a fifth of a second behind Schild for the third spot on the podium.
Mancuso’s strength is speed events, and she finished third in a downhill Saturday. Stiegler traditionally has been best at technical races such as slalom. They swapped tips Sunday.
“Resi and I just shared some secrets to help each of us,” Mancuso said with a laugh in the finish area.
The 1-2-4 finish matched that of the American women in the 1984 Olympic giant slalom, in which Debbie Armstrong won gold, Christin Cooper took silver and Tamara McKinney placed fourth.
Mancuso led Kildow by 0.88 of a second after the downhill and said she knew that margin would be sliced in the slalom. After she captured her second World Cup win, Mancuso – the Olympic giant slalom champion – rolled around on her back on the snow with her skis in the air.
“My good downhill time helped me a lot,” Mancuso said. “I did not have to do anything special in the slalom – just make my own race and avoid errors. It was not my best slalom ever, but I made it a consistent one.”
Kildow, who had crashed a day earlier in a downhill, closed the gap but could not catch her teammate.
“I was a bit nervous for today’s races after my crash on Saturday,” Kildow said. “I would have been happy if I had just finished my slalom run. Really awesome that I did so well.”
Men
Wengen, Switzerland – Austria’s Mario Matt won a World Cup super-combi on a sloppy course that wiped out Bode Miller and left some skiers grumbling that the race wasn’t fair.
Matt rallied in the slalom, taking advantage of starting first on a slope that got worse with each competitor. He was 34th after the downhill but regrouped for his first World Cup victory in almost two years.
Matt finished in a combined time of 2 minutes, 27.87 seconds.
Last season, he struggled after switching from slalom specialist to all-around skier.
“This means a lot to me. I’m elated,” he said. “Last year was very hard for me. It was a big change for me, and I also had problems with my slalom equipment. It was not a good year.”
Marc Berthod, the surprise slalom winner in nearby Adelboden last week, was second in 2:28.25. Swiss teammate Silvan Zurbriggen was third in 2:28.28. Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic, winner of the previous super-combi at Reiteralm, Austria, was fourth in 2:28.48.
Olympic combined gold medalist Ted Ligety of the United States finished 10th. Peter Fill of Italy, who had the fastest downhill time, finished 21st.
“Nobody had a chance after Matt,” Ligety said. “It’s not fair to the athletes, but it’s not fair to the spectators, either. This is not good ski racing when nobody has a chance after the first guy. It’s very frustrating.”
