Zwiesel: Schild back on top after clutch SL win

By Published On: March 11th, 2007Comments Off on Zwiesel: Schild back on top after clutch SL win

Marlies Schild of Austria won a women’s slalom World Cup race Sunday to pull ahead in the overall standings. Julia Mancuso of the United States, who was second overall going into the race, finished 24th in her weakest discipline.
    Schild, who has already won the slalom season title, clocked 1 minute, 36.67 seconds for the two runs. She beat Anna Ottosson of Sweden and Sarka Zahrobska of the Czech Republic, who tied for second, 2.23 seconds behind.
    By picking up 100 points for the victory, Schild jumped from third to first overall with 1,302 points. After a poor first run, Nicole Hosp of Austria finished 11th to drop to second in the standings with 1,267 points. Mancuso is third with 1,251 points. Click here to see the latest women's overall standings.


ZWIESEL, Germany — Marlies Schild of Austria won her seventh women’s slalom World Cup race of the season on Sunday to pull ahead in the overall standings.
    Julia Mancuso of the United States, who was second overall going into the race, finished 24th in her weakest discipline. Click here to see the latest women's overall standings.
   Schild, who has already won the slalom season title, clocked the best times in both runs for a total of 1 minute, 36.67 seconds.
    “There’s no secret. It’s important that I have a good feeling early in the run,” Schild said.
    Slalom world champion Sarka Zahrobska of the Czech Republic and Anna Ottosson of Sweden tied for second, 2.23 seconds behind Schild.
    Zahrobska, who beat Schild for the gold medal in the slalom at the world championships, finished on the podium for the second time this season. She was second in the slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.
    “I don’t think I really had to confirm anything. I’m happy about going from ninth in the first run to second in the end,” Zahrobska said.
    Ottosson, who is retiring after the season, collected her first World Cup podium finish since her second place in the giant slalom in Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, Austria, in March 2002.
    “Marlies had a great race today. She’s not unbeatable, but she showed she’s the queen of the slalom this season,” Ottosson said.
    By picking up 100 points for the victory, Schild jumped from third to first overall with 1,302 points. After a poor first run, Nicole Hosp of Austria finished 11th to drop to second in the standings with 1,287 points.
    Mancuso is third with 1,251 points and Renate Goetschl, who did not race Sunday, is fourth with 1,200 points.
    “I’m not really calculating at all. There are four more races, so we’ll just have to see,” Schild said of the overall title.
    Sweden’s Therese Borsson, who is the only skier other than Schild to win a World Cup slalom race this season, was seventh.
    The last giant slalom race is at the World Cup Finals, which start Thursday in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
    “I’m excited about the Finals. I’m still ready to race, rock ’n’ roll. It’s cool to be the American in the fight. It’s boring when it’s only Austrians,” Mancuso said.
    Italy’s Nicole Gius came in fourth and Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen was fifth after a mistake at the end of her second run. She had clocked the second-fastest time in the morning.

Schild closes in on Kostelic's mark
    This eighth season win — Schild won a super combined event in December at Reiteralm — propelled the girlfriend of Benjamin Raich atop the overall standings.
    Only Croatia’s Janica Kostelic has done better than Schild on the World Cup scene with a total of eight consecutive wins during the 2000-01 season which ended with her first overall World Cup victory. The Austrian is aiming to equal that record next week in Lenzerheide at the World Cup Finals.
    “I’ll of course do my best to win again next week but for the moment I’m just happy to have skied so well today,” Schild said. “I was not so pleased two weeks ago by the way I won the slalom in Sierra Nevada, I didn’t fully attack in the second run because I wanted to be assured to win the slalom standings and I didn’t take all risks.”
    “But today I charged in both runs and searched for more speed after each gate. I felt confident and I like the slope here, which was pretty demanding. It’s nice to win with such a margin, of course, but the most important is to have the feeling of having given my best in both runs.”
    Schild is the fourth skier to take over the lead in the overall World Cup standings in two weeks. Mancuso and Goetschl were in command last week and Hosp after Saturday’s giant slalom. Yet she knows that she might have a hard time to keep this “hot seat” after the next race, a downhill, planned in Lenzerheide on Wednesday.
    “I guess we have to wait the very last day to know the name of the overall winner. Until then each of each will try as hard as possible to score a maximum of points,” she said. “I hope to raise my level in the other specialty, but it certainly will be difficult for me to stay ahead after the next speed events.”
    Ottosson was delighted to have reached her first podium in slalom a few days prior her retirement. The 30-year-old skier from Oestersund who captured Olympic bronze last year in giant slalom at Sestriere won a giant slalom in Cortina d’Ampezzo seven years ago, but she never excelled in slalom.
    “It was one of my last opportunities, so I fought hard today, especially in the second run after making a big mistake,” she explained. “It’s a good feeling to leave the tour with such a result. I’ll give my best to get another podium next week in Switzerland but I guess it will be even harder. So many good skiers will also be doing the same to score big points in the various standings.”
    Zahrobska reached her third World Cup podium this season, equalling her best World Cup performance from Kranjska Gora. She clocked the ninth-best time in the first leg but found her rhythm in the afternoon. “There were many Czech fans here today and I also wanted to achieve a good race for them,” she said. “It’s good to reach another podium today. My season has been really outstanding so far. I still have a lot to improve in the coming years to ski as well as Schild during the entire season.”
    Hosp, who clocked the third-best time in the second leg, scored a total of 104 points during the weekend to stay ahead of her main rival in the battle for the crystal globe — Mancuso. The Austrian giant slalom world champion is the skier with the most potential to score top-three finishes in all specialties next week in Switzerland.

Richardson makes Finals
    Kaylin Richardson worked her way up to 19th and qualified for World Cup Finals this week in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, while Mancuso finished 24th and Resi Stiegler didn't finish her f
irst run after a slalom pole smacked her in the face.
    U.S. tech coach Chris Knight said the first run was “robotic” and “un-rhythmical” but things were better on the second run. Richardson qualified 30th in the first run, so she skied No. 1 after the break in the flip-30 format and laid down the seventh-fastest run to earn her spot in World Cup Finals.
    “She didn’t have a great first run, certainly not what Kaylin’s capable of, but it was good to see her qualify,” he said, “and then she took advantage of that good second-run start and moved up nicely. She’s got some confidence going and she’s getting her touch back in slalom after a spell of speed races before and after World Championships.”
    Mancuso had some problems on the bottom of her second run, which cost her. “It got flat and turny at the bottom and she wasn’t quick enough on her feet down there; she went too straight,” according to Knight.
    Stiegler was challenging Schild’s first-run time “when she got struck in the face by a gate and that disrupted her rhythm and vision, and she went out. But until that point Resi was the only one at the intermediate [timing point] who was close to Schild,” Knight said.
    World Cup Finals get under way Wednesday with downhills for men and women, followed by super G’s Thursday and a team event Friday with tech races on the weekend. Finals are limited to the top 25 in each discipline plus junior world champions; Mancuso will be joined by Stiegler and Richardson in the slalom.

— Patrick Lang and USSA contributed to this report


THE SCOOP
By Hank McKee

Equipment
Women's slalom, Zwiesel, Germany, March 11, 2007

Skier,skis/boots/bindings
1 Schild, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
2 Zahrobska, Head/Head/Tyrolia
2 Ottosson, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
4 Gius, Fischer/Fischer/Fischer
5 Poutiainen, Volkl/Tecnica/Marker
6 Zuzulova, Rossignol/Rossignol/Rossignol
7 Borssen, Atomic/Atomic/Atomic
8 DeLeymarie, Dynastar/Lange/Look
9 Bergmann-Schmuderer, Head/Nordica/Tyrolia
10 Riesch, Head/Lange/Tyrolia

Women's slalom, Zwiesel, Germany, March 11, 2007. … It is the 31st race of the women's 37-race World Cup schedule. … It is the eighth of nine scheduled slaloms. … With cancellations, four women's races remain, one each in DH, SG, SL and GS, at Lenzerheide at World Cup Finals.
    It is the 15th career World Cup win for Marlies Schild. … The 13th in slalom. … It is her eighth win of the season. … Seventh in slalom. … She has been in the top three of every slalom this season, including a silver medal at World Championships. … She passes Benjamin Raich for the most slalom wins by an Austrian.
    It is the third career World Cup podium for Sarka Zahrobska, all in slalom and all this season. … Her podiums are the only ones tallied for the Czech Republic. … Olga Charvatova did earn four podiums, including a win, for Czechoslovakia in the mid-1980's.
    It is the sixth career World Cup podium for Anna Ottosson. … Her first in slalom, with the others coming in GS. … It is her first podium of the season, the previous most recent from March 9, 2002, in GS at Flachau.
It is the 13th career World Cup scoring result for Kaylin Richardson. … The 12th of the season. … It is her third-best slalom result after an eighth at Kranjska Gora Jan. 7 and 17th at Spindleruv Mlyn on Dec. 22, 2005. … It is the 16th-best of 21 career slalom results for Julia Mancuso. … Her fourth-best of four this season.
    Marlies Schild had already won the World Cup slalom title, but extends her lead dramatically to 760-365 over Sarka Zahrobska. … Therese Borssen (7th in race) is third at 360. … Resi Stiegler (DNF 1st run) is the top North American on the slalom rankings, in 16th with 117pts. One slalom remains to be contested. … Schild regains the lead of the overall standings 1,302-1,287 over Nicole Hosp (11th in race). … Julia Mancuso (24th in race) holds third at 1,251 and Renate Goetschl (did not race) is fourth at 1,200. … Four races remain. … The winning margin is 2.23 seconds, the fourth-largest in history for a women's slalom after Florence Steurer over Anne Famose by 3.00 seconds at Abetone March 3, 1968; Lisa-Marie Morerod over Rosi Mittermaier by 2.96 seconds at Aprica Dec. 11, 1975; and Michelle Jacot over Gertrude Gabl by 2.61 seconds at Oberstaufen, Jan. 9, 1971.

Zwiesel women's World Cup slalom results

Rank Bib FIS Code Name Year Nation Run 1 Run 2 Total Time FIS Points
 1  4  55590 SCHILD Marlies  1981  AUT   46.65  50.02  1:36.67  0.00
 2  16  505187 OTTOSSON Anna  1976  SWE   47.62  51.28  1:38.90  14.07
 2  3  155415 ZAHROBSKA Sarka  1985  CZE   48.27  50.63  1:38.90  14.07
 4  24  295435 GIUS Nicole  1980  ITA 

 47.79  51.41  1:39.20  15.96
 5  5  185140 POUTIAINEN Tanja  1980  FIN   47.56  51.68  1:39.24  16.22
 6  13  705287 ZUZULOVA Veronika  1984  SVK   48.11  51.31  1:39.42  17.35
 7  2  505610 BORSSEN Therese  1984  SWE   47.66  51.80  1:39.46  17.61
 8  15  195912 DE LEYMARIE Florine  1981  FRA   48.46  51.38  1:39.84  20.00
 9  8  205636 BERGMANN-SCHMUDERER Monika  1978  GER   48.76  51.19  1:39.95  20.70
 10  31  206001 RIESCH Maria  1984  GER   49.57  50.67  1:40.24  22.53
 11  6  55690 HOSP Nicole  1983  AUT   49.70  50.65  1:40.35  23.22
 12  32  55576 GOERGL Elisabeth  1981  AUT   49.95  50.47  1:40.42  23.66
 12  22  425771 LOESETH Nina  1989  NOR   48.68  51.74  1:40.42  23.66
 14  37  205993 HOELZL Kathrin  1984  GER   49.36  51.46  1:40.82  26.19
 15  9  205115 GERG Annemarie  1975  GER   49.39  51.79  1:41.18  28.46
 16  47  296008 MERIGHETTI Daniela  1981  ITA   49.05  52.31  1:41.36  29.59
 17  19  195215 VIDAL Vanessa  1974  FRA   49.76  51.61  1:41.37  29.66
 18  30  515733 BONJOUR Aline  1985  SUI   49.39  52.18  1:41.57  30.92
 19  26  537626 RICHARDSON Kaylin L  1984  USA   50.05  51.56  1:41.61  31.17
 20  40  425458 VIKEN Line  1981  NOR   50.01  51.72  1:41.73  31.93
 21  33  425629 LOESETH Lene  1986  NOR   49.78  52.02  1:41.80  32.37
 22  23  185271 LEINONEN Sanni  1989  FIN   49.46  52.35  1:41.81  32.43
 23  35  425432 MUELLER Anne Marie  1980  NOR   49.62  52.22  1:41.84  32.62
 24  17  537545 MANCUSO Julia  1984  USA   49.91  52.02  1:41.93  33.19
 25  20  295265 CERESA Annalisa  1978  ITA   49.10  52.87  1:41.97  33.44
 26  48  206099 PERNER Nina  1986  GER   49.86  52.20  1:42.06  34.01
 27  42  155047 ZAKOURILOVA Petra  1978  CZE   49.73  52.49  1:42.22  35.02

Did not finish 1st run:
ROMAR Tii-Maria (FIN), LINDELL-VIKARBY Jessica (SWE), BARTHET Anne-Sophie (FRA), KLUS Aleksandra (POL), FERNSEBNER Carolin (GER), ZEISER Daniela (AUT), NIGG Marina (LIE), ROBNIK Petra (SLO), KOBAL Ana (SLO), PERSYN Karen (BEL), DAUTHERIVES Claire (FRA), GINI Sandra (SUI), COSTAZZA Chiara (ITA), KIRCHGASSER Michaela (AUT), STIEGLER Resi (USA)

Did not finish 2nd run:
PIETILAE-HOLMNER Maria (SWE), PAERSON Anja (SWE)

Disqualified 1st run:
AUBERT Sandrine (FRA)

Disqualified 2nd run:
JELUSIC Ana (CRO)

Did not qualify 1st run:
BERTRAND Marion (FRA), LOLOVIC Jelena (SRB), GRAND Rabea (SUI), SANTON Aurelie (FRA), KURFUERSTOVA Eva (CZE), HULTDIN Malin (SWE), CHMELAR Fanny (GER), HANSDOTTER Frida (SWE), KARASINSKA Katarzyna (POL), MOELGG Manuela (ITA)

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