Goergl leads Worlds Super Combined after downhill leg

Recently crowned super G world champ, Elizabeth Goergl of Austria leads the way again today (Feb. 11) following the downhill leg of the World Championship super combined in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Gemany.

Goergl again looked strong on the challenging Kandahar course, finishing in one minute, 49.27 seconds. Swiss skier Dominique Gisin follows in second, 0.26 seconds off the pace. Sweden’s Anja Paerson stands third, 0.27 seconds behind as racing shifts across town to the Gudiberg slalom track.

Laurenne Ross led the North Americans in sixth place, 0.80 seconds behind the leader. Her top World Cup downhill finish came this year in Lake Louise where she finished 19th. Ross finished 16th in Tuesday’s World Championship super G on the same course.

Canadian Britt Janyk finished the downhill leg eighth.

American Julia Mancuso, Vancouver Games super combined and 2007 Worlds silver medalist, stands ninth, 0.91 seconds behind while teammate Lindsey Vonn, winner of this season’s only World Cup super combined, finished 12th. Vonn will not race the slalom leg as she continues to recover from a minor concussion she suffered nine days ago.  

Goergl finished second at this season’s lone World Cup super combined at Val d’Isere in December.

Clouds rolled in overnight for the first time all week, bringing the temperatures up and softening the course some. A few rain drops fell toward the end of the downhill leg but as the sun continued to rise weather dried up and skies settled to partly cloudy and are predicted to stay that way for the rest of the day.

“The course is definitely a lot softer, it was running a little easier, you just had to go with the flow a little more,” said Mancuso. “It’s not a bad place to be. I think I have a lot of work to do in the slalom but if I have a good slalom run then it’s just like every other combined, you just have to fight to the end because I think anything is possible.”

Local favorite, German Maria Riesch today skied the entire course for the first time this week after exiting the first downhill training run after two gates and skipping the second run with flu symptoms. The current World Cup overall leader appeared exhausted in the finish, breathing heavily after falling face down. Riesch is the reigning super combined Olympic champion.  

The second run begins at 2:30 pm CET/ 8:30 EST. Click here to watch the results as they happen live.