INNSBRUCK, Austria (AP) _ Austria's Renate Goetschl won a World Cup super-G race Friday, making up for a disappointing world championship campaign and moving within 39 points of the lead in the discipline's standings. Goetschl, a former downhill world champion, covered the 2-kilometer (1.25-mile) Patscherkofel course just south of Innsbruck in 1 minute 26.18 seconds for her 26th career victory.

Renate Goetschl

Super-G standings leader Carole Montillet of France finished runner-up, 0.03 seconds behind. Goetschl's Austrian teammate Alexandra Meissnitzer crossed third, 0.36 seconds back.
The 27-year-old Goetschl moved into sixth place in overall career victories. Annemarie Moser-Proell of Austria leads with 62 wins. Switzerland's Vreni Schneider is second with 55.
Friday's victory was the third this season for Goetschl, who made a comeback last December following a six-month layoff following a knee injury. In January, she won a
super-G and a downhill in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, and also finished second in another super-G at the same resort.
Although Goetschl was unable to show the same winning form at the world championships in St.Moritz earlier this month, where she finished fifth in the downhill and eight in the super-G, she said she considered her season a success.
"I came fifth and eighth. Well, it was not perfect, but considering my problems prior to the season, it was OK," she said. "However, I have told myself to focus on each
race individually, so I could take the rest of the season as a preparation for the next."
Montillet, the reigning downhill Olympic champion, remained atop of the super-G standings with 387 points, but Goetschl has moved into second place and has a chance to overtake Montillet in Sunday's second super-G here.
A downhill race is also set for Saturday.

Goetschl hopes to repeat her success from the 2000 season, when she earned a super-G and a downhill victory and finished second in another super-G in a similar three-race event in Innsbruck.
Those results brought Goetschl 280 points, only 20 short of the possible maximum. Anything similar would give her an enormous boost in this year's standings.
"If I can repeat only half of it, I would be very happy," she said.
Goetschl also has a chance to win the downhill season title.
"I am only fourth in the downhill, but Karen (Clark) and Carole (Montillet) are fewer points ahead," Goetschl pointed out.
American Karen Clark and Montillet are tied for first place in the downhill standings with 245 points. Goetschl is only 27 points behind She vowed to shoot for victory in both remaining races.
"I have always been a fighter and now that there is actually a chance, I will of course try to take it," she said.

AP, 28.02.2003 

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