Kildow and Mancuso third and fourth in World Junior Championship GS

Kildow and Mancuso third and fourth in World Junior Championship GS{mosimage}U.S. skier Lindsey Kildow collected her second medal at the FIS Alpine World Junior Championships on Saturday, finishing third in the giant slalom.

The winner, by a longshot, was Maria Riesch of Germany. Tall and self-composed, Riesch has had four World Cup podiums this season, including back-to-back wins in Haus. Riesch won by 1.28 seconds over runner-up Jessica Walter of Liechtenstein.

Kildow had been second in the downhill and fourth in the super G earlier in the week-long event, held this season in Maribor, Slovenia.

“You can see now we’re showing her consistency,” said Patrick Riml, the U.S. Ski Team’s head women’s coach. “For tomorrow we have two girls in contention for the combined.”

That would be Kildow and teammate Julia Mancuso, who finished fourth in the GS. Had Mancuso finished just 0.03 seconds faster, she could have landed on the podium and collected her seventh World Junior Championship medal, tying the all-time record.

“Maria skied so well I don’t think anybody could have reached her,” said Riml said of Riesch. “She won the second run here at Maribor in the World Cup two weeks ago.”

As the women’s race finished up, the men got ready to race for the slalom championship under the lights. The Americans have a healthy lead in the race for the Marc Hodler Cup, awarded to the nation with the best cumulative record for the week.

World Junior Championships

Maribor, Slovenia

February 14, 2004

Women’s Giant Slalom

1. Maria Riesch, Germany, 2:21.39

2. Jessica Walter, Liechtenstein, 2:22.67

3. Lindsey Kildow, Vail, Colo./Ski & Snowboard Club Vail/U.S. B Team, 2:22.91

4. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, Calif./Squaw Valley Ski Team/U.S. A Team, 2:22.94

5. Sarka Zahrobska, Czech Republic, 2:24.00

Also:

20. Stacey Cook, Truckee, Calif./Mammoth Mountain Ski Team/U.S. C Team, 2:26.46

22. Kaylin Richardson, Edina, Minn./Team Gilboa/U.S. B Team, 2:26.54

26. Resi Stiegler, Jackson Hole, Wyo./Jackson Hole Ski Team/U.S. B Team, 2:27.31

35. Caitlin Ciccone, Littleton, N.H./Burke Mountain Academy/U.S. Development Team, 2:28.45