Ligety flirting with history in Schladming
Ted Ligety is on the threshold of history. Ted Terrific put down what he called “a solid run,” to open the defense of his World GS title putting down the gauntlet for the pretenders with a 1.30 second margin over the field in the first of two runs of the Schladming World Championship giant slalom.
“I didn’t take any unnecessary risks and that’s what I’ll do in the second run too,” Ligety said of a run that left Aksel Lund Svindal 1.30 back and local hero Marcel Hirscher 1.31 back.
Using some drifting ski power turns to advantage the American strengthened his chance to the first male skier of the modern era (with super G and combined as a stand alone event) to win three gold medals at a single World Championship.
Anja Paerson (2007) and Janica Kostelic (2005) accomplished the feat.
Stein Eriksen (’54) and Toni Sailer (’58) swept gold medals in all three available events.
Robby Kelley and Tim Jitloff both made the flip for the second run, as did “the fifth American” DU skier Leif Kristian Haugen of Norway.
Gepa photo
Schladming (AUT)
FIS World Ski Championships
Men’s Giant Slalom
FIRST RUN
| Rank | Bib | FIS Code | Name | Year | Nation | Run 1 | Run 2 | Total Time | FIS Points |
| 1 | 3 | 534562 | LIGETY Ted | 1984 | USA | 1:13.14 | 1:13.14 | ||
| 2 | 1 | 421328 | SVINDAL Aksel Lund | 1982 | NOR | 1:14.44 | 1:14.44 | ||
| 3 | 6 | 53831 | HIRSCHER Marcel | 1989 | AUT | 1:14.45 | 1:14.45 | ||
| 4 | 7 | 292491 | MOELGG Manfred | 1982 | ITA | 1:14.58 | 1:14.58 | ||
| 5 | 5 | 202462 | DOPFER Fritz | 1987 | GER | 1:14.72 | 1:14.72 | ||
| 6 | 8 | 292120 | SIMONCELLI Davide | 1979 | ITA | 1:14.91 | 1:14.91 | ||
| 7 | 15 | 50625 | RAICH Benjamin | 1978 | AUT | 1:15.04 | 1:15.04 | ||
| 8 | 2 | 194364 | PINTURAULT Alexis | 1991 | FRA | 1:15.09 | 1:15.09 | ||
| 9 | 14 | 53985 | MATHIS Marcel | 1991 | AUT | 1:15.13 | 1:15.13 | ||
| 10 | 10 | 180534 | SANDELL Marcus | 1987 | FIN | 1:15.42 | 1:15.42 | ||
| 11 | 11 | 51007 | SCHOERGHOFER Philipp | 1983 | AUT | 1:15.45 | 1:15.45 | ||
| 12 | 4 | 292000 | BLARDONE Massimiliano | 1979 | ITA | 1:15.47 | 1:15.47 | ||
| 13 | 19 | 501324 | OLSSON Matts | 1988 | SWE | 1:15.51 | 1:15.51 | ||
| 14 | 13 | 201702 | NEUREUTHER Felix | 1984 | GER | 1:16.30 | 1:16.30 | ||
| 15 | 17 | 191423 | RICHARD Cyprien | 1979 | FRA | 1:16.71 | 1:16.71 | ||
| 16 | 23 | 194495 | FAIVRE Mathieu | 1992 | FRA | 1:16.78 | 1:16.78 | ||
| 17 | 16 | 501017 | MYHRER Andre | 1983 | SWE | 1:16.93 | 1:16.93 | ||
| 18 | 27 | 511852 | CAVIEZEL Gino | 1992 | SUI | 1:16.99 | 1:16.99 | ||
| 19 | 26 | 700830 | ZAMPA Adam | 1990 | SVK | 1:17.07 | 1:17.07 | ||
| 20 | 18 | 510727 | DEFAGO Didier | 1977 | SUI | 1:17.13 | 1:17.13 | ||
| 21 | 24 | 534959 | JITLOFF Tim | 1985 | USA | 1:17.17 | 1:17.17 | ||
| 22 | 25 | 294890 | NANI Roberto | 1988 | ITA | 1:17.44 | 1:17.44 | ||
| 23 | 39 | 561244 | KRANJEC Zan | 1992 | SLO | 1:17.54 | 1:17.54 | ||
| 24 | 9 | 380260 | KOSTELIC Ivica | 1979 | CRO | 1:17.61 | 1:17.61 | ||
| 25 | 36 | 422304 | KRISTOFFERSEN Henrik | 1994 | NOR | 1:17.67 | 1:17.67 | ||
| 26 | 38 | 481327 | TRIKHICHEV Pavel | 1992 | RUS | 1:17.70 | 1:17.70 | ||
| 27 | 22 | 511313 | JANKA Carlo | 1986 | SUI | 1:17.78 | 1:17.78 | ||
| 28 | 20 | 202437 | LUITZ Stefan | 1992 | GER | 1:18.09 | 1:18.09 | ||
| 29 | 21 | 421669 | HAUGEN Leif Kristian | 1987 | NOR | 1:18.11 | 1:18.11 | ||
| 30 | 34 | 930160 | KELLEY Robby | 1990 | USA | 1:18.44 | 1:18.44 | ||
| 31 | 50 | 380335 | ZUBCIC Filip | 1993 | CRO | 1:18.78 | 1:18.78 | ||
| 32 | 37 | 180666 | TORSTI Samu | 1991 | FIN | 1:19.09 | 1:19.09 | ||
| 33 | 52 | 303097 | ISHII Tomoya | 1989 | JPN | 1:19.10 | 1:19.10 | ||
| 34 | 42 | 180705 | PIRINEN Eemeli | 1993 | FIN | 1:19.44 | 1:19.44 | ||
| 35 | 46 | 40489 | LAIDLAW Luke | 1992 | AUS | 1:19.51 | 1:19.51 | ||
| 36 | 35 | 103676 | BROWN Philip | 1991 | CAN | 1:19.75 | 1:19.75 | ||
| 37 | 44 | 561217 | KOSI Klemen | 1991 | SLO | 1:19.85 | 1:19.85 | ||
| 38 | 47 | 481103 | ANDRIENKO Aleksander | 1990 | RUS | 1:20.05 | 1:20.05 | ||
| 39 | 53 | 92534 | CHONGAROV Nikola | 1989 | BUL | 1:20.09 | 1:20.09 | ||
| 40 | 30 | 100558 | COOK Dustin | 1989 | CAN | 1:20.19 | 1:20.19 | ||
| 41 | 51 | 302982 | OHKOSHI Ryunosuke | 1988 | JPN | 1:20.41 | 1:20.41 | ||
| 42 | 62 | 550054 | ZVEJNIEKS Kristaps | 1992 | LAT | 1:20.82 | 1:20.82 | ||
| 43 | 58 | 20398 | VERDU SANCHEZ Joan | 1995 | AND | 1:21.06 | 1:21.06 | ||
| 44 | 43 | 400237 | MEINERS Maarten | 1992 | NED | 1:21.21 | 1:21.21 | ||
| 45 | 56 | 370022 | JENOT Olivier | 1988 | MON | 1:21.28 | 1:21.28 | ||
| 46 | 54 | 20174 | VIDOSA Roger | 1984 | AND | 1:21.77 | 1:21.77 | ||
| 47 | 48 | 30149 | SIMARI BIRKNER Cristian Javier | 1980 | ARG | 1:21.88 | 1:21.88 | ||
| 48 | 72 | 110320 | CLARO Eugenio | 1993 | CHI | 1:21.95 | 1:21.95 | ||
| 49 | 77 | 680041 | ABRAMASHVILI Iason | 1988 | GEO | 1:22.47 | 1:22.47 | ||
| 50 | 80 | 660021 | DANILOCHKIN Yuri | 1991 | BLR | 1:22.49 | 1:22.49 | ||
| 51 | 73 | 40349 | RISHWORTH Mike | 1987 | AUS | 1:23.07 | 1:23.07 | ||
| 52 | 75 | 750088 | RISTEVSKI Antonio | 1989 | MKD | 1:24.41 | 1:24.41 | ||
| 53 | 59 | 260110 | KIYA DARBANDSARI Mohammad | 1989 | IRA | 1:24.49 | 1:24.49 | ||
| 54 | 85 | 240132 | FARKAS Norbert | 1992 | HUN | 1:24.58 | 1:24.58 | ||
| 55 | 98 | 270055 | LYNE Conor | 1993 | IRE | 1:24.75 | 1:24.75 | ||
| 56 | 76 | 170131 | FAARUP Christoffer | 1992 | DAN | 1:25.21 | 1:25.21 | ||
| 57 | 83 | 80063 | LONGHI Jhonatan | 1988 | BRA | 1:25.60 | 1:25.60 | ||
| 58 | 81 | 230659 | VALCAREGGI Massimiliano | 1995 | GRE | 1:25.61 | 1:25.61 | ||
| 59 | 79 | 460060 | BARBU Alexandru | 1987 | ROU | 1:25.75 | 1:25.75 | ||
| 60 | 86 | 250348 | KRISTGEIRSSON Einar-Kristinn | 1994 | ISL | 1:26.73 | 1:26.73 | ||
| 61 | 82 | 800013 | TOLA Erjon | 1986 | ALB | 1:27.66 | 1:27.66 | ||
| 62 | 91 | 690672 | TELYCHUK Vasyl | 1992 | UKR | 1:28.94 | 1:28.94 | ||
| 63 | 99 | 340305 | MOHBAT Alexandre | 1995 | LIB | 1:29.09 | 1:29.09 | ||
| 64 | 89 | 710311 | RUDIC Marko | 1990 | BIH | 1:29.29 | 1:29.29 | ||
| 65 | 87 | 320360 | PARK Hyun | 1993 | KOR | 1:29.34 | 1:29.34 | ||
| 66 | 97 | 160091 | PAPAMICHAEL Constantinos | 1993 | CYP | 1:30.51 | 1:30.51 | ||
| 67 | 92 | 60237 | GREEFS Sam | 1995 | BEL | 1:31.07 | 1:31.07 | ||
| 68 | 93 | 360041 | YNGLAND Kim | 1984 | LUX | 1:31.34 | 1:31.34 | ||
| 69 | 96 | 310403 | MINIC Mladen | 1993 | MNE | 1:32.04 | 1:32.04 | ||
| 70 | 94 | 210024 | BABIKOV Dmitriy | 1990 | UZB | 1:35.18 | 1:35.18 | ||
| 71 | 88 | 280030 | VANDEPUT Virgile | 1994 | ISR | 1:38.16 | 1:38.16 | ||
| 72 | 90 | 740022 | NERSISYAN Arsen | 1987 | ARM | 1:38.55 | 1:38.55 |
About the Author: Hank McKee
In memoriam: The veteran of the staff, McKee started with Ski Racing in 1980. Over the seasons, he covered virtually every aspect of the sport, from the pro tours to junior racing, freestyle and World Cup alpine competition. He wrote the first national stories for many U.S. team stars, and was still around to report on their retirements. “Longevity has its rewards,” he said, “but it’s a slow process.”
