St. Moritz shines on Paerson again

Sweden’s Anja Paerson dominated the course once again at St. Moritz Friday, handily winning the World Cup super-combined in 1 minute, 41.87 seconds.

St. Moritz has been good to the Swede, who won the super G race here a year ago along with the downhill and took giant slalom gold at the Swiss resort during the World Championships in 2003.

“It’s more like a home race for me,” Paerson  told the AP. “It’s the snow, also the hotel where we stay. So many things that are very important so that everything clicks. Coming here it is always a place where I know I am going to get energy.”

Sweden’s Anja Paerson dominated the course once again at St. Moritz Friday, handily winning the World Cup super-combined in 1 minute, 41.87 seconds.

St. Moritz has been good to the Swede, who won the super G race here a year ago along with the downhill and took giant slalom gold at the Swiss resort during the World Championships in 2003.

“It’s more like a home race for me,” Paerson  told the AP. “It’s the snow, also the hotel where we stay. So many things that are very important so that everything clicks. Coming here it is always a place where I know I am going to get energy.”

Austrian Nicole Hosp fought back from a 17th place in the super-G run to win the slalom and take second, still a huge 1.12 seconds behind Paerson. Swiss racer Fabienne Suter also worked her way onto her home podium, finishing 1.60 seconds back.

Four Americans were sitting pretty after the SG portion of the race – Leanne Smith was in fourth, Chelsea Marshall 10th, Keely Kelleher 12th and Lindsay Vonn 14th. However, Smith and Vonn missed gates in the slalom portion and were disqualified while Marshall went on to finish 29th and Kelleher 32nd.

“I had a feeling we were all going to do well,” Smith said after the race. Earlier in the week, she had said she could land a top 10 result at St. Moritz. “This hill’s not that difficult. Hopefully I can do it in the next couple of days.”

After the super G, Vonn identified Paerson as the racer to beat and said she knew the mistakes she made on the SG course, which she skied in flat light.

“It wasn’t so much light as just more overskiing it,” she said. “I purposefully went a little bit round in some sections to make sure I had speed. You can definitely let it run a little more. But it’s good information for the super G.”

Vonn, despite her DQ, still leads the World Cup overall.

Women’s racing continues at St. Moritz this weekend. Due to predicted better weather on Sunday, organizers decided to run the super G Saturday and downhill on Sunday.
 

---

The Scoop

By Hank McKee

Equipment

Women’s super combined, St. Moritz, Switzerland, Dec. 19, 2008

1 Paerson, Head/Head/Head

2 Hosp, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker

3 Suter, Stoeckli/Salomon/Atomic

4 Riesch, Head/Lange/Tyrolia

5 Gut, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic

6 Zahrobska, Head/Head/Tyrolia

7 Goergl, Head/Head/Head

8 Fenninger, Head/Head/Head

9 Brydon, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon

10 Merighetti, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon

Women’s super combined, St Moritz, Switzerland, Dec. 19, 2008. … It is the ninth of 36 races on the women’s 2008-09 World Cup schedule. … The first of three scheduled combined races. … It is a super G/slalom event. … It is the 30th Cup race hosted by St Moritz. … Just the second combined. … The site first hosted in 1971, but did not conduct a Cup race between 1980 and 1999. … It has hosted annually since then, missing only in 2005.

It is the 39th career World Cup win for Anja Paerson. … just her second in combined, the previous coming at Crans-Montana March 9, 2008. … She has finished just seven combineds in her career with no placing worse than fourth. … She was second in combined at St Moritz Jan. 22, 2006. … She is the second most victorious active skier on the World Cup behind only Renate Goetschl’s 46 win total. … She is fourth all-time among women for wins. … It is her first podium of the season.

It is the 46th career World Cup podium for Nicole Hosp. … It is just her second podium in combined, having won at Tarvision March 2, 2007. … She was fourth in combined at St Moritz Jan. 22, 2006.

It is the fourth career World Cup podium for Fabienne Suter, the first not recorded in super G. … It is her first scoring finish in a World Cup combined event.

Ninth marks the third top 10 finish of the season for Emily Brydon, all in different disciplines. … It is the second career scoring result for Larisa Yurkiw, and a career best placing after a 29th in DH at Lake Louise Dec. 5. … It is the fifth career scoring result for Chelsea Marshall, her second in combined.

Paerson won the SG leg with Brydon second. Leanne Smith was fourth and Marshall 10th after the first leg.

Lindsey Vonn (SL DNF) retains the lead of the World Cup overall standings 438-400 over Tanja Poutiainen (did not race). … Maria Riesch (4th in race) is in third at 378. … It is the first combined for the women this season so Paerson leads those standings 100-80 over Hosp.

---

Women’s super combined, St Moritz, Switzerland, Dec. 19, 2008

Rank	Bib	FIS Code	Name	Year	Nation	Run 1	Run 2	Total Time	FIS Points
1	20	505483	PAERSON Anja	1981	SWE	57.84	44.03	1:41.87	0.00
2	19	55690	HOSP Nicole	1983	AUT	59.07	43.92	1:42.99	13.63
3	31	515766	SUTER Fabienne	1985	SUI	58.35	45.12	1:43.47	19.48
4	22	206001	RIESCH Maria	1984	GER	59.51	44.06	1:43.57	20.69
5	36	516138	GUT Lara	1991	SUI	58.45	45.22	1:43.67	21.91
6	2	155415	ZAHROBSKA Sarka	1985	CZE	59.36	44.44	1:43.80	23.49
7	17	55576	GOERGL Elisabeth	1981	AUT	58.43	45.41	1:43.84	23.98
8	11	55947	FENNINGER Anna	1989	AUT	58.37	45.50	1:43.87	24.34
9	10	105997	BRYDON Emily	1980	CAN	57.96	45.93	1:43.89	24.59
10	4	296008	MERIGHETTI Daniela	1981	ITA	58.82	45.12	1:43.94	25.20
11	3	196460	MARCHAND-ARVIER Marie	1985	FRA	58.62	46.12	1:44.74	34.93
12	12	55838	ZETTEL Kathrin	1986	AUT	59.65	45.35	1:45.00	38.10
13	56	505679	HANSDOTTER Frida	1985	SWE	59.75	45.39	1:45.14	39.80
14	42	55818	KOEHLE Stefanie	1986	AUT	59.03	46.27	1:45.30	41.75
15	7	296427	SCHNARF Johanna	1984	ITA	59.30	46.07	1:45.37	42.60
16	38	55766	MADER Regina	1985	AUT	58.87	46.55	1:45.42	43.21
17	44	515997	FEIERABEND Denise	1989	SUI	59.54	45.91	1:45.45	43.58
18	1	55898	BREM Eva-Maria	1988	AUT	59.32	46.23	1:45.55	44.79
19	32	565320	FERK Marusa	1988	SLO	59.70	46.02	1:45.72	46.86
20	14	515692	GRAND Rabea	1984	SUI	59.92	45.82	1:45.74	47.11
21	59	565333	BRODNIK Vanja	1989	SLO	59.63	46.39	1:46.02	50.52
22	27	505449	BENT Nike	1981	SWE	59.56	46.47	1:46.03	50.64
23	37	55806	ALTACHER Margret	1986	AUT	59.79	46.38	1:46.17	52.34
24	41	206160	RIESCH Susanne	1987	GER	1:00.74	45.72	1:46.46	55.87
25	34	106849	YURKIW Larisa	1988	CAN	59.58	47.01	1:46.59	57.45
26	23	195671	JACQUEMOD Ingrid	1978	FRA	59.44	47.41	1:46.85	60.62
27	46	195983	ROLLAND Marion	1982	FRA	58.82	48.07	1:46.89	61.11
28	51	185271	LEINONEN Sanni	1989	FIN	1:00.55	46.41	1:46.96	61.96
29	33	538038	MARSHALL Chelsea	1986	USA	58.81	48.35	1:47.16	64.39
30	52	196928	WORLEY Tessa	1989	FRA	1:00.44	47.83	1:48.27	77.90
31	5	196573	REVILLET Aurelie	1986	FRA	59.27	50.13	1:49.40	91.66
32	40	537565	KELLEHER Keely	1984	USA	58.96	50.62	1:49.58	93.85
33	55	35089	SIMARI BIRKNER Macarena	1984	ARG	1:02.99	47.15	1:50.14	100.67
34	35	55885	STRENG Simone	1987	AUT	1:04.10	46.11	1:50.21	101.52

Did not start 2nd run: LALIVE Caroline (USA), MIKLOS Edith (ROU)

Did not finish 1st run :RUIZ CASTILLO Carolina (SPA), DETTLING Andrea (SUI), GIANESINI Giulia (ITA), COLETTI Alexandra (MON), RICHARDSON Kaylin (USA), GISIN Dominique (SUI), FISCHBACHER Andrea (AUT), PUENCHERA Jessica (SUI), STECHERT Gina (GER), BORSOTTI Camilla (ITA)

Did not finish 2nd run: SMITH Leanne (USA), DESFORGES Emilie (CAN), HRSTKOVA Lucie (CZE), KIRCHGASSER Michaela (AUT), LINDELL-VIKARBY Jessica (SWE), AUBERT Sandrine (FRA), VONN Lindsey (USA), ROBNIK Petra (SLO), MAZE Tina (SLO), COOK Stacey (USA)

Disqualified 1st run: SIORPAES Wendy (ITA)

Disqualified 2nd run: ROBNIK Mateja (SLO), MANCUSO Julia (USA)