INNSBRUCK, Austria (AP) _ In her third World Cup career win, Austria's Brigitte defeated all her rivals, to win a closely contested Super G Sunday. It was one of the most successful weekends for the Austrian women's team, which won all three races on the slopes of Mt. Patscherkofel outside Innsbruck. Obermoser outsped French 2002 Olympic downhill champion Carole Montillet by 0.21 seconds to win her first World Cup Super G race in 1 minute and 28.06 seconds.

Brigitte Obermoser

Obermoser had starting number 16. Later starters were hampered by an increasingly rutty track.
Montillet prevented an Austrian 1-2-3 sweep, with Renate Goetschl placing third and Alexandra Meissnitzer fourth, a spot she shared with Italy's Daniela Ceccarelli.
Nevertheless, "it was an unbelievably successful weekend," a beaming Hans Pum, the Austrian alpine team chief said. "It's especially nice that three different
Austrians won the three races."

Renate Goetschl

Goetschl won a Super G race on Friday and Michaela Dorfmeister placed first in the World Cup downhill on Saturday.
Obermoser, 27, who hails from Altenmarkt in Salzburg province, said she was "very surprised" at her victory, and the surprise was shared by others.
"The piste felt like a washboard today," Obermoser said. "My knees are still all shaky. I was disappointed after the World Championships not having made a medal and now that. I am baffled," she added.
Obermoser, who had celebrated her first World Cup downhill0 win at a pre-Championship event in St. Moritz, Switzerland, was considered a favorite for gold, but failed to win a medal, finishing a disappointing fourth.
"I did not speculate with a win, because I made the mistake to hope for a medal in St. Moritz and was utterly disappointed afterward. So I wanted to spare myself such an
experience," she said Sunday.
"It was a great weekend for our team and especially for0 myself today," Obermoser told reporters. "I have recorded a win in every discipline now, except for slalom. But I guess, I have to become two hundred years old to win there, too."

Katia Wirth

Her Austrian teammates were also happy for Obermoser to achieve her first win in a Super G. "She has great talent and long deserved to win in this discipline," said
Dorfmeister, the reigning Super G World Champion, who finished sixth on Sunday.
Obermoser, who grew up with five other siblings, is loved in her team for her sense of humor. "She is a great joker and music lover. If we are down, we visit her and she will cheer us up in a minute," Meissnitzer, who was pushed off the podium by Obermoser's brilliant run, described her teammate. With her win, Obermoser has now moved closer to the big three in the Austrian team: Goetschl, Dorfmeister and
Meissnitzer.

Carole Montillet, Brigitte Obermoser and Renate Goetschl

Obermoser, whose biggest success in skiing so far has been her downhill bronze at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, "is one of the biggest talents in the sport and was long expected to do this well," said Toni Giger, who is the Austrian men's team chief.
Reigning downhill Olympic champion Montillet meanwhile kept her lead in the Super G World Cup standings. She was leading with 467 points, 59 points ahead of Goetschl.
Janica Kostelic of Croatia, who finished a good eighth in 1:28.47, maintained her lead in the overall standings with 1,412 points after 27 races.
Dorfmeister is second with 887, followed by giant slalom specialist Karen Putzer of Italy with 847.

AP, 03.03.2003

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