Are: Hosp overtakes Mancuso for Austria's 1st gold

Feb 13, 2007

Nicole Hosp of Austria won her country's first gold medal 11 days into the 2007 alpine World Championships, scorching the second run to overtake leader Julia Mancuso. Mancuso, who led the first run, struggled in the second run and fell to fifth, out of the medals. The good times continued for host country Sweden, with Maria Pietilae-Holmner taking silver and Italy's Denise Karbon bronze.
    Tied for fourth after the first run, Hosp, the giant slalom World Cup points leader, won with a combined time of 2 minutes, 31.72 seconds. Pietilae-Holmner was .85 back and Karbon .97 back. Austrian Michaela Kirchgasser finished fourth, Mancuso fifth, German Kathrin Hoelzl sixth and Swede Anna Ottosson seventh.
    It is the fifth World Championships medal for Hosp, who took bronze in the downhill last week. She took silver in combined at the 2003 worlds and in the team event in 2005 and bronze in slalom in 2003.
ARE, Sweden — Nicole Hosp of Austria won her country's first gold medal 11 days into the 2007 alpine World Championships, scorching the second run of giant slalom to overtake leader Julia Mancuso. Mancuso, who led the first run, struggled in the second run and fell to fifth, out of the medals. The good times continued for host country Sweden, with Maria Pietilae-Holmner taking silver and Italy's Denise Karbon bronze.
    “The snow wasn’t what I expected. It was a lot rougher, and kind of unforgiving,” Mancuso said. “I didn’t have the timing right. … I just had to go out and ski. I was a littler bit tired.”
    Was Mancuso aware of how stellar a run the Austrian had thrown down?
    “No,” Mancuso said. “I just had to go out and ski my best.”
    Tied for fourth after the first run, Hosp, the giant slalom World Cup points leader, won with a combined time of 2 minutes, 31.72 seconds. Pietilae-Holmner was .85 back and Karbon .97 back. Austrian Michaela Kirchgasser finished fourth, Mancuso fifth, German Kathrin Hoelzl sixth and Swede Anna Ottosson seventh.
    It is the fifth World Championships medal for Hosp, who took bronze in the downhill last week. She took silver in combined at the 2003 worlds and in the team event in 2005 and bronze in slalom in 2003.
    American Libby Ludlow was 29th, with Resi Stiegler 35th and Jessica Kelley 36th.
    ''I dreamt of this gold medal last night,'' Hosp said. ''I heard there were some bad jokes going around, that the Austrians cannot make a gold medal. And now it's time for the gold medal for Austria. I think a lot of people at home are very happy about it.''
    Pietilae-Holmner was sixth after the opening run but had a similarly stunning second trip down the slope for an aggregate time of 2:32.57.
    Until Tuesday, Austria had two silver and three bronze medals.
    ''Niki had a perfect run,'' Austria's alpine director Hans Pum said. ''Everybody was asking when we were going to win our first gold. It was a lot of pressure for the whole team. But now we have the gold medal.''   
    Anja Paerson, who had won the first three events at these championships and became the first skier with world titles in all five disciplines when she won Sunday's downhill, crashed in the second leg. She was seventh in the first leg.
    Paerson had a chance to become the first woman to win four golds at the same worlds. Leading halfway down the course in the second run, however, Paerson caught an inside ski and crashed, gliding down the course on her belly.
    ''Of course I'm very disappointed," she said. "I tried to push myself to go fast and go for the gold and not hold back anywhere. You only have a World Championships at home once, and you can't go home feeling you didn't give it your all.''
    Following her crash, Paerson got back up and continued down to the finish to wave and smile at the home crowd, but said she wasn't as happy as she looked.
    ''Of course not. I just look that way for you guys,'' she said. ''It would have been one thing if I wasn't even close, but in the second run I skied extremely well up there, and I think it would have been extremely tight at the finish. Maybe I wouldn't have beaten Hosp, but I think I would have gotten a medal.''
    Unheralded 20-year-old Pietilae-Holmner, last year's world juniors slalom champ, was just sixth after the first leg. She said she received some valuable advice from Paerson while she was talking to teammate Ottosson ahead of the second run.
    ''Anja came over and said 'It's only medals that count,' and that gave me something to think about,'' Pietilae-Holmner said. ''I said to myself to view it as a first run, and not think about the fact that I was in sixth place.''
    Italy's Karbon, who switched to Fischer skis last summer, moved up from 12th after the first run. ''I thought the medals was going to be fought out by the skiers in front of me,'' she said. ''I liked the second run much more. It was much tighter. It suited my characteristics much better. I believed until the end."
    She suffered major torn ligaments in her knee in 2004. "The gates were more narrow and I could really relax," she said of the second run. "I was disappointed by my first run so I had nothing to lose. I just attacked. I am surprised but just so happy to achieve this performance. … I've been coming back a long time from my injuries."  
    Paerson still has a chance for a fourth gold, as she remains one of the favorites for the slalom on Friday. ''Anything can happen,'' she said. ''It feels like I have a lot of energy left in my body. I don't feel very worn today after the giant slalom, so that bodes well for the slalom.''

— Don Cameron, Whitney Childers and The Associated Press contributed to this report

THE SCOOP
By Hank McKee

Equipment
Women's GS, Are, Sweden, Feb. 13, 2007
Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1 Hosp, Volkl/Fischer/Marker
2 Pietilae-Holmner, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
3 Karbon, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
4 Kirchgasser, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
5 Mancuso, Rossignol/Lange/Rossignol
6 Hoelzl, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
7 Ottosson, Dynastar/Lange/Tyrolia
8 Rebensburg, Nordica/Nordica/Marker
9 Zettel, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
10 Simard, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol

Women's giant slalom, Are, Sweden, Feb. 13, 2007. … It is the seventh race of the 2007 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships. … It is the 42nd World Championship GS.
    It is the fifth World Championships medal for Nicole Hosp (includes team medal) and second of the 2007 event. … She was bronze in the DH, was fourth in SG and sixth in CM
B. … It is her first career gold medal in worlds or Olympics. … It is her second GS win of the season, after Kranjska Gora Jan. 6. … It is the first gold medal for Austria of the 2007 champinships and first for an Austrian woman since Michaela Dorfmeister won the 2003 super G title.
    It is the first World Championships medal for Maria Pietilae-Holmner. … The closest she had come to a medal previously was 10th in the 2006 Olympic GS. … It is her first podium of the season and first of her career… Her previous best being a fifth in GS at Aspen in November. … The first World Cup she scored in was a GS in Are, Feb. 22, 2004.
    It is the second World Championships medal for Denise Karbon. … She won silver in GS in 2003. … She has one World Cup victory (GS Alta Badia Dec. 13, 2003) and seven podiums but only one since 2004, that one coming at Cortina Jan. 21. … She missed the bulk of the '05 season to knee injury.
    It is the fourth top-10 result of the 2007 worlds for Julia Mancuso. … She had earned a bronze medal in GS in 2005 and won gold in GS at the 2006 Olympics. … It is the third top 10 for Genevieve Simard in World Championships competition, having topped out at fourth in SG at St. Moritz in 2003. … It is her third-best result of the season after fourth at Cortina in GS and fifth at Lake Louise in SG. … It is the second career World Championships result for Shona Rubens. … She was 18th in DH two days ago. … It is her only GS result in world competition. … It is the third career World Championships result for Libby Ludlow… She was also ninth in SG earlier at Are, and 23rd in DH in 2003. … Her best World Cup GS result is 19th. … It is the third GS result at a World Championships for Britt Janyk. … Her best a 23rd in 2001. … Her previous three results at Are this season have been career_best championship placings. … It is the first GS result at World Championships for Resi Stiegler. … It is the first World Championships result of Jessica Kelley's career. … Her best finish of the season was 22nd in GS at Aspen Nov. 25. … It is the first GS result at World Championships for Brigitte Acton. … Her best of two GS scoring finishes this season on World Cup was 21st at Aspen.
    Winning margin is .85 of a second. … Top three are within the same second. … Top 14 within two seconds.

Medal count
AUT 6 (1g, 2s, 3b)
SWE 5 (3g, 1s, 1b)
SUI 3 (1g, 2b)
USA 3 s
ITA 2 (1g, 1b)
NOR 1 g
CAN 1s

Are World Championships women's GS final results

 755042

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Run 1 Run 2 Total Time FIS Points
 1  5  55690 HOSP Nicole  1983  AUT   1:13.80  1:17.92  2:31.72  0.00
 2  12  505760 PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria  1986  SWE   1:13.84  1:18.73  2:32.57  4.93
 3  13  295445 KARBON Denise  1980  ITA   1:14.54  1:18.15  2:32.69  5.63
 4  10  55759 KIRCHGASSER Michaela  1985  AUT   1:14.94  1:17.93  2:32.87  6.67
 5  3  537545 MANCUSO Julia  1984  USA   1:13.55  1:19.41  2:32.96  7.19
 6  8  205993 HOELZL Kathrin  1984  GER   1:14.43  1:18.59  2:33.02  7.54
 7  4  505187 OTTOSSON Anna  1976  SWE   1:13.80  1:19.25  2:33.05  7.71
 8  35  205218 REBENSBURG Viktoria  1989  GER   1:15.21  1:18.06  2:33.27  8.99
 9  7  55838 ZETTEL Kathrin  1986  AUT   1:14.57  1:18.73  2:33.30  9.16
 10  1  106056 SIMARD Genevieve  1980  CAN   1:13.68  1:19.66  2:33.34  9.40
 11  9  296259 MOELGG Manuela  1983  ITA   1:14.29  1:19.07  2:33.36  9.51
 12  17  155415 ZAHROBSKA Sarka  1985  CZE   1:13.68  1:19.76  2:33.44  9.98
 13  44  515766 SUTER Fabienne  1985  SUI   1:14.62  1:18.84  2:33.46  10.09
 14  6  185140 POUTIAINEN Tanja  1980  FIN   1:14.09  1:19.60  2:33.69  11.43
 15  16  195671 JACQUEMOD Ingrid  1978  FRA   1:14.64  1:19.35  2:33.99  13.17
 16  23  196179 BERTRAND Marion  1984  FRA   1:14.46  1:19.55  2:34.01  13.28
 17  34  196851 BERTRAND Olivia  1989  FRA   1:14.62  1:19.54  2:34.16  14.15
 18  24  196026 SANTON Aurelie  1982  FRA   1:15.60  1:18.63  2:34.23  14.56
 19  27  515573 AUFDENBLATTEN Fraenzi  1981  SUI   1:15.17  1:19.39  2:34.56  16.47
 20  19  295435 GIUS Nicole  1980  ITA   1:14
.73		  1:19.84  2:34.57  16.53
 21  29  705287 ZUZULOVA Veronika  1984  SVK   1:15.38  1:19.28  2:34.66  17.05
 22  11  565243 MAZE Tina  1983  SLO   1:14.71  1:19.98  2:34.69  17.23
 23  31  206001 RIESCH Maria  1984  GER   1:15.64  1:19.09  2:34.73  17.46
 24  14  295342 PUTZER Karen  1978  ITA   1:15.29  1:19.45  2:34.74  17.52
 25  36  106666 RUBENS Shona  1986  CAN   1:15.61  1:19.18  2:34.79  17.81
 26  43  565320 FERK Marusa  1988  SLO   1:15.61  1:19.20  2:34.81  17.92
 27  25  225206 ALCOTT Chemmy  1982  GBR   1:15.52  1:19.42  2:34.94  18.68
 28  21  505632 LINDELL-VIKARBY Jessica  1984  SWE   1:15.51  1:20.05  2:35.56  22.27
 29  28  536884 LUDLOW Libby  1981  USA   1:15.40  1:20.28  2:35.68  22.97
 30  46  425771 LOESETH Nina  1989  NOR   1:15.87  1:20.47  2:36.34  26.80
 31  39  185271 LEINONEN Sanni  1989  FIN   1:16.56  1:20.15  2:36.71  28.94
 32  50  106022 JANYK Britt  1980  CAN   1:15.87  1:20.98  2:36.85  29.75
 33  32  505610 BORSSEN Therese  1984  SWE   1:16.29  1:20.60  2:36.89  29.99
 34  52  385032 JELUSIC Ana  1986  CRO   1:16.27  1:21.07  2:37.34  32.60
 35  48  537772 STIEGLER Resi  1985  USA   1:17.04  1:21.04  2:38.08  36.89
 36  33  537230 KELLEY Jessica C  1982  USA   1:16.27  1:21.86  2:38.13  37.18
 37  42  495318 RUIZ CASTILLO Carolina  1981  SPA   1:16.04  1:22.12  2:38.16  37.35
 38  45  425629 LOESETH Lene  1986  NOR   1:16.98  1:21.79  2:38.77  40.89
 39  26  565315 ROBNIK Mateja  1987  SLO   1:16.64  1:22.33  2:38.97  42.05
 40  53  155047 ZAKOURILOVA Petra  1978  CZE   1:17.91  1:22.46  2:40.37  50.17
 41  51  705327 MACULOVA Sona  1987  SVK   1:18.15  1:22.51  2:40.66  51.85
 42  22  106527 ACTON Brigitte  1985  CAN   1:16.98  1:24.15  2:41.13  54.58
 43  55  305694 YUMOTO Hiromi  1981  JPN   1:19.25  1:22.62  2:41.87  58.87
 44  65  95050 KIRKOVA Maria  1986  BUL   1:19.30  1:23.40  2:42.70  63.69
 45  64  255098 KRISTJANSDOTTIR Dagny L.  1980  ISL   1:19.08  1:24.73  2:43.81  70.12
 46  63  35079 SIMARI BIRKNER Maria Belen  1982  ARG   1:20.39  1:24.79  2:45.18  78.07
 47  59  275009 MCGARRY Kirsten  1985  IRE   1:20.34  1:25.04  2:45.38  79.23
 48  67  395010 NURMBERG Tiiu  1982  EST   1:21.56  1:26.02  2:47.58  91.99
 49  74  465055 NAREA Bianca-Andreea  1986  ROU   1:21.74  1:26.60  2:48.34  96.40
 50  62  175024 SOELLING Sophie  1981  DAN   1:21.27  1:27.94  2:49.21  101.44
 51  78  315174 TRMCIC Marija  1986  SRB   1:22.33  1:27.19  2:49.52  103.24
 52  66  695073 SKRYABINA Anastasiya  1985  UKR   1:22.61  1:29.06  2:51.67  115.71
 53  71  245051 BERECZ Anna  1988  HUN   1:22.37  1:29.62  2:51.99  117.57
 54  81  555017 BENHENA Evija  1989  LAT   1:25.25  1:32.72  2:57.97  152.25
 55  75  125011 MIAO Liyan  1976  CHN   1:26.65  1:33.18  2:59.83  163.04
 56  83  525033 DASDEMIR Tugba  1985  TUR   1:27.39  1:33.47  3:00.86  169.02
 57  88  695044 MASHCHAKEVICH Oksana  1983  UKR   1:28.90  1:34.52  3:03.42  183.87
 58  87 IVCEVSKA Ivana  1988  MKD   1:29.76  1:35.07  3:04.83  192.04
 59  86  125022 XIYUE Qin  1988  CHN   1:29.64  1:36.18  3:05.82  197.79
 60  82  525051 ULUSOY Duygu  1987  TUR   1:31.77  1:35.08  3:06.85  203.76
 61  85  125013 LIU Jing  1983  CHN   1:30.77  1:39.13  3:09.90  221.45
 62  91  755048 GOGOL Olga  1991  MKD   1:33.91  1:41.21  3:15.12  251.73
 63  84  125027 LI Yang  1989  CHN   1:33.32  1:44.17  3:17.49  265.47
 64  92  775002 ZVOZNIKOVA Lida  1988  KGZ   1:39.89  1:44.49  3:24.38  

Did not start 1st run:
PALIC Tea (CRO)

Did not start 2nd run:
KURFUERSTOVA Eva (CZE)

Did not finish 1st run:
DIAB Nathalie (LIB), IGHNIADES Mia (LIB), POSHKA Kristine (LAT), FIMBAUERE Liene (LAT), BENHENA Iveta (LAT), MORLANS Leyre (SPA), COLETTI Alexandra (MON), SEKIZUKA Mami (JPN), KRZYZYNSKA Dagmara (POL), HRSTKOVA Lucie (CZE), STYGER Nadia (SUI), SCHILD Marlies (AUT)

Did not finish 2nd run:
GISEM Tamara (UKR), EREMENKO Vera (KAZ), NOVAKOVIC Zana (BIH), CLEMENTE Mireia (SPA), PENZESOVA Nina (SVK), HUCKOVA Eva (SVK), NOVOSELIC Sofija (CRO), LOLOVIC Jelena (SRB), GASIENICA DANIEL Agnieszka (POL), FERNSEBNER Carolin (GER), GRAND Rabea (SUI), WEIRATHER Tina (LIE), DREV Ana (SLO), PAERSON Anja (SWE)

About the Author: Pete Rugh

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