OLYMPICS, ALPINE SKIING, WHISTLER, B.C. - Lindsey Vonn suffered a tough break Thursday when, on her way to winning another medal, she hooked a gate and lost her right ski in the slalom portion of the Olympic super-combined race.

It was world slalom champion Maria Riesch who took the gold and Julia Mancuso, who you'd never recognize as someone who hasn't finished a slalom race all season and who jumped up and down then fell onto her back kicking up her legs when she landed in the finish area in the lead, who ended up with the silver. Her last decent slalom race was third in U.S. Championships last season but at these Olympics her dormant talent is clearing surfacing. With Wednesday's silver in downhill and the giant slalom gold in 2006, she becomes the only American woman to win Olympic medals in three disciplines and ties Bode Miller for most Olympic medals won in alpine skiing by an American.

"So ... I found my slalom," she said, laughing after the race. "It's been hiding. I was nervous in the start. I was also really excited. I knew it was all or nothing, so I went out there and gave it my all."

Mancuso also had a big bobble in the middle of her slalom run but recovered and kept charging.

"I crossed the finish line after having a mistake. It was really just joy and amazement," she said. "When I realized I got another medal it was ... just crazy. It's that moment you wait for as an athlete. It's the moment you realize you've been working so hard and to realize anything's possible. I didn't expect that for myself. I just believed and went for it."

Riesch won in a combined time of 2 minutes, 9.14 seconds, more than a second ahead of everyone besides Mancuso, who was 0.94 back. The victory was especially precious for the World Cup slalom leader since she had to skip the last Games with a torn ACL and also after Wednesday's disappointing downhill race, when nerves took hold after watching the two racers before her (Anja Paerson and Marion Rolland) crash and she ended up eighth.

"Before the downhill [Thursday] I felt much more cool and calm than yesterday," said the German, who, after the downhill portion of her run in which she was just 0.33 seconds behind then-leader Vonn, said she was "relieved. "My position just three tenths out was good. I knew I could ski fast in the slalom and I did it. I couldn't race in the 2006 Olympic but now I'm back here in Whistler and winning a gold medal. I really can't believe that I did it."

Like Mancuso, it was a day of small miracles for Anja Paerson, who, after a horrific crash at the end of what would have been a medal-winning run in Wednesday's downhill, came back for the bronze in super-combined, 1.05 seconds back. With six Olympic medals, she ties Janica Kostelic for the all-time women's record for alpine skiers.

The Swede won slalom gold in the 2006 Games and bronze in combined and downhill, took silver in GS in 2002 and bronze in slalom. She said she woke up in pain with bruises all over her body - internal bleeding in her left calf which pained her greatly in her ski boots - and bruises all over her body. Her decision to race at all Thursday was made at the last minute.

"Today was just about me making it to the start gate," she said. "For me it would have been hard to cope if I hadn't done that jump today. When you fall down you have to get up again. At the start, I said, 'I'm going to run it. I have to do it.' And I did it."

Vonn said she was feeling good and charging. Knowing that Riesch would lay the hammer down in slalom, she wasn't simply racing for a medal. She wanted another gold.

"It's not like the World Cup where I'm fighting for the overall title, where I just want to finish to get points," she said. "I won gold yesterday so I didn't want to shoot for something lower than that. I put it all out there. It didn't work out for me. I was fighting hard and I caught a tip. It happens all the time in slalom."

Vonn leads the World Cup super-combined standings, but there have only been two races. She won the race in Val d'Isere in December and took third in the last super-combined, which was the last World Cup stop before the Games in St. Moritz.  Still, she has spent virtually no time on a slalom course since injuring her shin on Feb. 2. Riesch leads the slalom standings and besides two DNFs, has finished fourth or better in every World Cup combined race since December 2007. Mancuso was 14th in the St. Moritz super-combined after finishing third in the super G portion of the race and DNFed in Val d'Isere. She has struggled in slalom for the last couple of seasons ... though is apparently turning a new leaf.

U.S. racer Kaylin Richardson skied to 17th Thursday for her best elite super-combined result since March 2007. Leanne Smith, who has had very little slalom training and who crashed while training between runs, skied to 21st.

Olympic alpine racing continues Friday with men's super G and women's super G Saturday.

by Shauna Farnell
SkiRacing Mag

First Olympic gold for Maria Riesch - great comeback for Anja Paerson

A year after her first golden World triumph at Val d'Isère where she won the slalom, Maria Riesch captured another gold medal this week at Whistler Creek at the end of a thrilling combined event.

2nd after the downhill leg only a few tenths behind her friend Lindsey Vonn, the 25-year-old skier from Garmisch-Partenkirchen charged the slalom run with great determination to set a new best time which was out of reach for her closest rivals. USA's Julia Mancuso was 2nd ahead of an incredible Anja Paerson. Lindsey Vonn hooked a gate and crash during the slalom leg while defending her chances for another gold medal.

She is the first German since Katja Seizinger in 1998 to clinch gold in that event a day after her rather disappointing result in the downhill that she ended in 8th place.

"I have a hard time believing I made it, I was aiming for any medal today but it's absolutely wonderful to get the golden one," she said after the race. "Today I felt ready for a great race after yesterday's tough downhill. I was not able to achieve my potential in that event after all those accidents which took place before my start. I had to wait a long time at the start and I just was not as focused as needed. I struggled most of my way down the slope."

"Fortunately we started from lower today yet I still did a great mistake at the top after the first big jump. I went off line and lost much time so I was pleased after my run not to lose more time. In fact I only lost a few tenths. I knew I could do it and I felt confident before the slalom run because I liked the slope."

"I immediately found a good rhythm in that slalom and I kept on accelerating until the arrival. It was amazing to set a new best time and I was so happy to being assured finally making my first Olympic medal."

Great revenge for Maria.

"I could not compete at the 2006 Games because I injured myself at a knee at the season start so I was hoping a lot from these events here. Everybody expected me to excel here so it was not easy for me to handle all that pressure. Luckily I managed to regroup after yesterday's disappointing downhill and soon find back all my motivation for the combined."

"To be Olympic champion is just the best you can get, it means so much to me and my team. But everything needs to be perfectly in position to make it happen. It was the case today for me. Now I can relax going into the next competitions, I got what I was dreaming of. I'll for sure try again my best in the remaining competition but this result takes much pressure off my shoulders."
6th medal for Anja Paerson.

Anja Paerson achieved a quite amazing performance getting bronze in that event 24 hours after suffering a brutal crash in the downhill while fighting for a spot on the podium.

The Swedish veteran got her sixth Olympic medal after a gutsy downhill leg in the morning and a very aggressive slalom run in the afternoon. She is now tied with Croatia's skiing legend Janica Kostelic for the highest number of Olympic medal won by a female skier in Alpine Ski Racing.
She was 3rd too in combined four year ago at Sestriere where she also gained gold in slalom and another bronze in downhill. Now she only needs another medal in Super-G to complete her collection of Olympic medals in Alpine Ski Racing.

The two-time Overall World Cup champion was as proud as exhausted after her races. "It has been an incredible battle against myself today, I had some much pain after my accident that I only decided to compete a few minutes prior the beginning of the event," she explained afterwards. "Parts of my body are totally blue because of the bruises, I had a hard time putting on my shoes this morning because of my injured calf ," Paerson added.

"But it was very important for me to get going, win that battle against myself and get down that slope again to get over my fear," she also said. "I skied as strong as possible in the upper part despite my pain but I backed off a little at the bottom. I was really happy to have made it safe through that last jump this time, it was a great relief."

"In the slalom I used my anger to fight my way through the poles. I just gave what I had in me. It was incredibly intense but I feel great now. I'm really proud of myself having accomplished this strong comeback. For sure it has been one of my toughest battles but it was worth it. I don't know how I'll feel in the coming days, I hope to get better but this is already very important to me," also explained the skier from Taernaby who has now amassed a total of 16 medals since her first victory in slalom at St Anton in 2001.

Patrick Lang
FISalpine.com
Friday 19 February 2010

The SCOOP
By Hank McKee
Women's Olympic Combined, Whistler, BC, Canada, Feb. 18, 2010
Skier skis/boots/bindings
1 Riesch, Head/Lange/Head
2 Mancuso, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
3 Paerson, Head/Head/Head
4 Zettel, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
5 Maze, Stoeckli/Lange/Atomic
6 Suter, Stoeckli/Lange/Atomic
7 Zahrobska, Head/Head/Head
8 Schnarf, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
9 Kirchgasser, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
10 Marchand-Arvier, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol

Women's super combined, XXI Winter Olympics, Whistler, BC, Canada, Feb. 18, 2010. … It is the 17th Olympic combined held, the ninth for women.

It is the first Olympic medal for Maria Riesch. … It is the 15th German gold medal in alpine ski racing. … the fourth in combined. … It is the third German women's gold medal in combined, the last coming from Katja Seizinger at Nagano Feb. 17, 1998. … It is the first German alpine medal since Martina Ertl won bronze at Snowbasin in 2002. … It is the third win of the season for Riesch after a slalom win at Levi and a DH win at St Moritz.

In is the third straight Olympic medal race for Julia Mancuso, going back to her gold medal effort in the 2006 GS. … She joins Bode Miller as the only American racers to win three Olympic medals. … She, Miller and Penny Pitou are the only American alpine racers with two silver medals. … It is the 34th Olympic alpine medal for the U.S. and the fourth of these Games. … The U.S. record for a single Olympics is five at Sarajevo in 1984. … She had skied to a top three result on the World Cup in the last two seasons.

It is the sixth Olympic medal for Anja Paerson, tying Janica Kostelic for the all-time alpine record. …It is the 15th Swedish alpine medal but she is only the sixth Swedish athlete to score one. … It is her seventh top three finish this season and she won the last World Cup combined before arriving at Whistler.

Shona Rubens scores her career best Olympic result, eclipsing a 21st in the downhill set yesterday. … It is the best result of the Games for Emily Brydon, the third best of her Olympic career. … Kaylin Richardson matches her career best Olympic result, also in combined, from the 2006 Olympics. … Leanne Smith gets her first Olympic finish and it is the best of any of the four Smiths who have scored in previous Games. … Anna Berecz collects the best alpine result of any Hungarian in Olympic competition.

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Run 1 Run 2 Total Time FIS Points
 1  19  206001 RIESCH Maria  1984  GER   1:24.49  44.65  2:09.14  0.00
 2  3  537545 MANCUSO Julia  1984  USA   1:24.96  45.12  2:10.08  9.03
 3  21  505483 PAERSON Anja  1981  SWE   1:25.57  44.62  2:10.19  10.08
 4  20  55838 ZETTEL Kathrin  1986  AUT   1:26.01  44.49  2:10.50  13.06
 5  4  565243 MAZE Tina  1983  SLO   1:25.97  44.56  2:10.53  13.35
 6  22  515766 SUTER Fabienne  1985  SUI   1:25.29  45.56  2:10.85  16.42
 7  12  155415 ZAHROBSKA Sarka  1985  CZE   1:27.33  43.69  2:11.02  18.05
 8  8  296427 SCHNARF Johanna  1984  ITA   1:25.72  45.57  2:11.29  20.64
 9  17  55759 KIRCHGASSER Michaela  1985  AUT   1:27.09  44.26  2:11.35  21.22
 10  9  196460 MARCHAND-ARVIER Marie  1985  FRA   1:25.41  46.41  2:11.82  25.73
 11  13  225206 ALCOTT Chemmy  1982  GBR   1:27.06  45.45  2:12.51  32.36
 12  26  106666 RUBENS Shona  1986  CAN   1:26.90  45.68  2:12.58  33.03
 13  27  425887 LOESETH Mona  1991  NOR   1:27.72  44.96  2:12.68  33.99
 14  11  105997 BRYDON Emily  1980  CAN   1:26.49  46.27  2:12.76  34.76
 15  14  565320 FERK Marusa  1988  SLO   1:26.15  46.83  2:12.98  36.87
 16  15  55947 FENNINGER Anna  1989  AUT   1:27.19  46.08  2:13.27  39.66
 17  25  537626 RICHARDSON Kaylin  1984  USA   1:27.64  45.76  2:13.40  40.90
 18  16  55576 GOERGL Elisabeth  1981  AUT   1:25.60  47.98  2:13.58  42.63
 19  2  375018 COLETTI Alexandra  1983  MON   1:26.74  47.07  2:13.81  44.84
 20  30  195972 AUBERT Sandrine  1982  FRA   1:29.50  44.46  2:13.96  46.28
 21  28  538305 SMITH Leanne  1987  USA   1:27.27  46.70  2:13.97  46.38
 22  29  505632 LINDELL-VIKARBY Jessica  1984  SWE   1:26.47  47.69  2:14.16  48.20
 23  23  515849 DETTLING Andrea  1987  SUI   1:26.28  48.16  2:14.44  50.89
 24  24  25096 GUTIERREZ Mireia  1988  AND   1:29.16  46.51  2:15.67  62.70
 25  5  435210 GASIENICA DANIEL Agnieszka  1987  POL   1:30.28  45.96  2:16.24  68.17
 26  34  35089 SIMARI BIRKNER Macarena  1984  ARG   1:29.56  46.81  2:16.37  69.42
 27  32  245051 BERECZ Anna  1988  HUN   1:33.47  49.50  2:22.97  132.80
 28  35  115115 BARAHONA Noelle  1990  CHI   1:34.05  50.20  2:24.25  145.09
Did not start 1st run
   33  105920 SIMMERLING Georgia  1989  CAN         
Did not finish 2nd run
   31  35079 SIMARI BIRKNER Maria Belen  1982  ARG         
   18  537544 VONN Lindsey  1984  USA         
   10  206175 STECHERT Gina  1987  GER         
Did not finish 1st run
   7  296008 MERIGHETTI Daniela  1981  ITA         
   6  485563 PROSTEVA Elena  1990  RUS         
   1  515806 KAMER Nadja  1986  SUI