Anja Paerson
. world ski news : Paerson Completes Park City Double (Reuters) - 30 November 2003 - 10:18
PARK CITY, Utah (Reuters) - Sweden's Anja Paerson claimed an emphatic victory in a World Cup slalom race on Saturday 24 hours after winning a giant slalom on the same hill. The 22-year-old took a 0.86-second advantage into the second leg and increased that gap to more than a second to win in one minute 33.74.
Anja Paerson
It was a repeat of her performance in Maribor in January when she claimed a similar clean sweep -- a feat she also managed in the Slovenian resort in 2002.
Experienced Swiss Sonja Nef was second with a time of 1:34.88, while world slalom silver medallist Marlies Schild made sure there was an Austrian on the podium.
Sonja Nef
Paerson's victory was her ninth in World Cup slaloms and underlined her iron grip on the sport -- in the three races this season she has not finished lower than second.
If anything the dynamic Swede was even more dominant on Saturday than she had been in winning Friday's giant slalom.
Marlies Schild
TECHNICAL PROWESS
Nobody could match her power and technical prowess down a tricky course, with her one big threat, Austrian 20-year-old Nicole Hosp, crashing in the opening run.
"It was a little easier in the second run," Paerson said. "The snow was softer but it was fine."
With overall World Cup and slalom world champion Janica Kostelic still sidelined by a thyroid condition, Paerson currently looks unstoppable in the technical disciplines and leads the overall standings with 280 points.
"I'm just worried about my technical skiing right now," said the Swede who was born in the same town as World Cup victories record holder Ingemar Stenmark. "Maybe later in the season I will look at the overall battle."
Sonja Nef
Nef, the 2001 world champion at giant slalom, believes she can be a force again after recovering from tearing knee ligaments in a training accident in March.
"Since coming back from my injury this is the best I've felt," she said.
AGGRESSIVE PAERSON
Paerson believes she still needs to be aggressive in spite of leading after the first run of races.
"In the past, I've led after the first run and ended up third or fourth," she said, "so if you're in a big lead you can't relax because everyone else is charging."
It was Paerson's seventh slalom victory of her five-year world cup racing career and the second time she has won back-to-back victories in giant slalom and slalom.
"It has been fun so far and it's relaxing to know I'm skiing well," she said. "I'm just enjoying every run I take."
The 22-year-old is working hard on improving her fitness.
"I try every year to be better and I've been focusing on my upper body strength and that has helped me to be even stronger in my legs," she said.
Nef is one of the oldest competitors on the World Cup circuit at 33. She was a world grand slalom champion in 2001 and Olympic bronze medallist in 2002 on this course.
Nef's 10 years on the World Cup circuit has helped her through the past nine months after knee surgery.
"It played a big part because you need confidence when you are in the hospital and training again," she said. "That's why I'm so happy about today's result."
Schild struggled on her first run but made a solid comeback.
"I wasn't so good on the first run and made some mistakes but I did better on the second run, maybe because it was a little faster," she said.
Marlies Schild, Anja Paerson and Sonja Nef
The women's World Cup tour now moves to Lake Louise, Canada for downhill and super-G races next week.
By Eric Moffitt, Reuters, 29.11.2003
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