SEMMERING, 29/12/2004 22:42, Austria (AP) _ Marlies Schild won for the second time in as many days Wednesday, posting the fastest time in both runs to capture a night slalom to go along with her World Cup giant slalom victory on Tuesday. Schild won in a combined time of 1 minute, 35.49 seconds to the delight of 15,000 fellow Austrians on the Hirschenkogel course. After leading by more than nine-tenths of a second after the first run, Schild also topped the second and beat Croat Janica Kostelic by 1.04 seconds.

Overall World Cup leader Tanja Poutiainen of Finland was third, another 36-hundredths of a second back. "I cannot believe it. It's amazing," Schild said. "When I passed the intermediate, I could hear the crowd scream, so I knew, I was fast." The victory on the floodlit piste moved Schild into third in the slalom standings and fifth in the overall. "I was beaming with self-confidence after yesterday's win. Thanks to this boost in confidence I am much cooler now," Schild said. Poutiainen increased her lead in the overall with 626 points, 92 ahead of Sweden's Anja Paerson. Kostelic closed on Poutiainen in the slalom standings, trailing 320-240.

Schild had 180 points in the slalom and 337 in the overall. The wins have turned around the season for the 23-year-old Schild, who failed to finish either of the opening slaloms in Aspen, Colorado. "Crashing in the first two slaloms this season, I knew I skied too aggressively. I have managed to calm down," Schild said, who finished second at the most recent slalom event in Zauchensee, Austria, on Dec. 11. "And although the slope was pretty bumpy in the second run, as I had to start last, I found the fastest way down," the 2003 slalom World Championships silver medalist added.

Behind Schild, Kostelic, who won the slalom on the Semmering Panorama slope in 2000 and 2002, was content with rallying from third place after the first run to overtake Poutiainen in the second. "After the first run it was clear that Schild's lead should be enough to win the race. But Poutiainen was within reach. So all I could do was attack and it paid off," Kostelic said. Poutiainen, who won in Zauchensee, was not disappointed about third place, though. "I skied well tonight, although this is a very tough hill. With a little luck I might have finished second, but hey, it's a podium finish after all," she said.  

Schild wins giant slalom, Poutiainen takes overall World Cup 
 
SEMMERING, 28/12/2004, Austria (AP) _ Marlies Schild of Austria won a women's World Cup giant slalom on the Hirschenkogel course Tuesday, while Finland's Tanja Poutiainen regained the lead in the overall standings with a second-place finish. Racing in front of nearly 20,000 home fans, Schild completed the technically challenging course in a two-run aggregate time of 2 minutes, 15.97 seconds, edging Poutiainen by 0.11 seconds. Another Austrian, Elisabeth Goergl, finished third in 2:17.53. "I cannot believe that I have won a giant slalom," said Schild, a slalom specialist who became the first Austrian to win at Semmering since Anita Wachter in 1998.

"I have had good runs this season, but never managed to do the trick twice in a race," added the 23-year-old, who had a training session with Goergl and Poutinainen on Monday. "On the one hand, you are excited about the atmosphere and the fans, but on the other, the pressure is enormous." Schild is the first Austrian to win a technical event this season. Poutiainen, Sweden's Anja Paerson and Slovenian Tina Maze won the previous giant slaloms. Poutiainen, who skipped two races before Christmas due to a sore back, regained the lead in the World Cup standings after Paerson crashed out in the second leg.

"The course was very steep and really narrow in the first section," Poutiainen said. "Due to the fog, you could only see from one gate to the next maximum." Poutiainen has 566 points after 12 races, 69 ahead of Paerson. Janica Kostelic of Croatia, who finished fifth, is third overall with 443 points. The race was in danger after heavy snowfall during the night, and while the fresh snow was a factor in the first run, fog handicapped the skiers in the second despite the floodlights 

World cup Leader

Poutiainen Tanja
06.04.1980 (Rovaniemi)
Ski: Volkl
 
  Poutiainen Tanja  626
  Paerson Anja  538
  Kostelic Janica  523
  Dorfmeister Michaela  360
  Gerg Hilde  336
  Schild Marlies  336
  Kildow Lindsey C.  304
  Gцtschl Renate  287
  Ertl Martina  244
  Maze Tina  239

Next Races

06.01.2005 Santa Caterina (ITA) DH
07.01.2005 Santa Caterina (ITA) DH
08.01.2005 Chamonix (FRA) DH
08.01.2005 Berchtesgaden (GER) GS
09.01.2005 Chamonix (FRA) SL
09.01.2005 Berchtesgaden (GER) SL
11.01.2005 Adelboden (SUI) GS  
 

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