Levi: Paerson wins slalom as Kostelic clinches discipline title; Kildow sixth in race

By Published On: March 11th, 2006Comments Off on Levi: Paerson wins slalom as Kostelic clinches discipline title; Kildow sixth in race

Levi: Paerson wins slalom as Kostelic clinches discipline title; Kildow sixth in raceLEVI, Finland – Olympic champion Anja Paerson of Sweden beat Croatia’s Janica Kostelic by 0.29 seconds to win a women’s World Cup slalom Saturday.

Paerson had a two-run total of 1 minute, 38.86 seconds on Levi’s Black course. It was the two-time defending World Cup champion’s third slalom win of the season.

By finishing runner-up, Kostelic clinched the season slalom title. Only one slalom remains, at the World Cup Finals next week at Are, Sweden.

”I’m happy to win the slalom cup,” Kostelic said. ”I’m also happy about these races (in Levi). The slope was the same both days. Maybe my best run was yesterday’s second run.”

Kostelic, who won a night slalom on the same hill Friday, moved to 640 points in the slalom standings, 170 ahead of Marlies Schild of Austria. A win is worth 100 points.

Paerson is likely to require surgery at the end of the season to fix her knees.

”It didn’t bother me a lot today,” Paerson said. ”It’s hard to say about my knees’ condition because it’s going up and down every day. When I came here I felt pain in my knees.”

Paerson posted the fastest opening run and was runner-up in the second run.

”I had a good first run,” Paerson said. ”The slope was good. I was able to attack more than yesterday. I’m really happy with the win.”

Nicole Hosp of Austria, the Olympic silver medalist, finished third, 1.14 back, after clocking the fastest second run. Schild, the only other racer with three slalom wins this season, was 1.60 off the pace in fourth place.

Kostelic still has a comfortable lead over Paerson in the overall standings. With four races left next week, Kostelic leads Pearson 1,720 points to 1,466.

Kathrin Zettel of Austria, who was third after the opening run, skied out in the second.

Italy’s Chiara Costazza placed fifth for her best finish of the season followed by Lindsey Kildow of the United States.

Levi is north of the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland, and is the northernmost venue on the World Cup circuit.

Women’s slalom
Levi, Finland
March 11, 2006

1. Anja Paerson, SWE 1:38.86
2. Janica Kostelic, CRO 1:39.15
3. Nicole Hosp, AUT 1:40.00
4. Marlies Schild, AUT 1:40.46
5. Chiara Costazza, ITA 1:40.81
6. Lindsey Kildow, USA 1:40.90
7. Tanja Poutiainen, FIN 1:40.91
8. Michaela Kirchgasser, AUT 1:41.06
9. Ana Jelusic, CRO 1:41.31
10. Therese Borssen, SWE 1:41.50
11. Sarka Zahrobska, CZE 1:41.55
12. Fanny Chmelar, GER 1:41.67
13. Resi Stiegler, USA 1:41.82
14. Monika Bergmann-Schmuderer, GER 1:42.17
15. Anna Ottosson, SWE 1:42.29
16. Trine Bakke Rognmo, USA 1:42.57
17. Maria Pietilae-Holmner, SWE 1:42.65
18. Veronika Zuzulova, SVK 1:42.94
19. Henna Raita, FIN 1:42.96
20. Brigitte Acton, CAN 1:43.15
21. Florine DeLeymarie, FRA 1:43.19
22. Laure Pequegnot, FRA 1:43.21
23. Malin Hultdin, SWE 1:43.25
24. Manuela Moelgg, ITA 1:43.33
25. Nika Fleiss, CRO 1:43.46
26. Vanessa Vidal, FRA 1:43.59
27. Sandrine Aubert, FRA 1:44.15
28. Nina Loeseth, NOR 1:44.36
No other North Americans.

THE SCOOP

By Hank McKee

Equipment
Women’s SL, Levi, March 11, 2006

Skier, skis/boots/bindings
1. Paerson, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
2. Kostelic, Salomon/Salomon/Salomon
3. Hosp, Volkl/Fischer/Marker
4. Schild, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
5. Costazza, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
6. Kildow, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
7. Poutiainen, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
8. Kirchgasser, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
9. Jelusic, Dynamic/Salomon/Atomic
10. Borssen, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic

Women’s slalom, Levi, Finland, March 11, 2006. … It is the 32nd event of the women’s 34 race, two combined World Cup schedule. … Just World Cup Finals remains with one race in each discipline.

It is the 33rd career win for Anja Paerson, matching Hanni Wenzel for fifth on the all-time win list among women. … It is Paerson’s 18th career slalom win. for fourth on the all-time list among women, one behind Janica Kostelic … It is Paerson’s eighth win of theseason, including the Olympic gold medal in slalom. … It is her third World Cup slalom win this season.

It is the 53rd career World Cup podium for Janica Kostelic. … It is her 17th podium of the season, including two Olympic medals. … She has finished every World Cup slalom this season on the podium, winning two.

It is the 22nd career podium for Nicole Hosp. … Her ninth in slalom. … It is her seventh podium of the season, including the Olympic slalom (bronze medal).

It is the 25th career top-six placing for Lindsey Kildow. … Her second career top six in slalom, the first being a day previous when she was fourth. … It is her 11th top six of the season. … It is the sixth time in her career Resi Stiegler has finished 13th. … She has been better than that eight times. … Four times this season, including two Olympic placings. … It is the 15th career World Cup scoring result for Brigitte Acton. … The third in slalom. … It is her second-best slalom result ever after an 18th at Zagreb in 2005.

Janica Kostelic has the World Cup overall standings lead 1,720-1,466 over Anja Paerson. … With four races remaining only one of these two women can win the title. … Lindsey Kildow is fourth in the standings behind Michaela Dorfmeister (did not race) 1,228-947. … Kostelic ices the slalom title, leading second ranked Marlies Schild (fourth in race) 640-470 with one race remaining. … It is the third slalom crown for Kostelic, who also won in 2001 and 2003. … Winning margin is .29 of a second. … Kostelic was the only skier within a second of Paerson’s winning time. … Only the top five were within two seconds. … In six of the eight women’ World Cup slaloms held this season, third place was more than a second off the winning pace.

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