Ski Racing - March 26, 2012

WORLD CUP

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SCHLADMING

Women’s Discipline Standings

Overall

Lindsey Vonn (USA), 1,980

Tina Maze (SLO), 1,402

Maria Hoefl-Riesch (GER), 1,227

Downhill

Lindsey Vonn (USA), 690

Tina Weirather (LIE), 400

Elisabeth Goergl (AUT), 384

Super G

Lindsey Vonn (USA), 453

Julia Mancuso (USA, 381

Anna Fenninger (AUT), 369

Kirchgasser leads strong Austrian showing on home snow

The Austrian squad was a little sleepy in the speed events but came to life with a win in the team event (Switzerland second, Sweden third). The men got it going with a podium sweep in the GS (see the story in this issue). That same day, Michaela Kirchgasser, one of only three women other than fellow Austrian Marlies Schild to win a slalom this season, had the crowd of 30,000 dancing thanks to her win in the slalom.

“It’s amazing; I don’t know what to say,” said an overwhelmed Kirchgasser in the finish area over the deafening sound of blaring bullhorns. “It’s awesome; I didn’t believe because the first run was not the best, but then I really rocked it down. I’m only 20 minutes from my hometown and the crowd is terrific.” Schild finished third for her eighth podium of the season after taking wins in the first five slaloms of the season and sealing her fourth slalom title.

With two more Austrian podiums from Mario Matt (third in the slalom) and Anna Fenninger (second on the GS), the home team garnered more hardware than any other nation — and plans to do the same thing at the same place at next season’s world championships.

Stiegler Bit by the Injury Bug Yet Again
The U.S. Ski Team’s perennial comeback kid, Resi Stiegler, 26, received an-
other blow when she fell during her small-final heat in the World Cup Finals
parallel slalom team event . Stiegler’s fans watching on TV or online around
the world winced in disbelief when she grabbed her left knee in pain after the
fall and was carried off the course by coaches.
Stiegler returned to the U.S., where doctors at Vail Valley Medical Center per-
formed and MRI and discovered damage to her ACL and meniscus.
An upbeat Stiegler let her supporters know about the extent of her injury via a
Facebook post the following Monday.
“Ok so going in for surgery tomorrow going to fix ACL and meniscus and check
on bone damage and hope for no other surprises,” wrote an optimistic Stiegler.
“I’m feeling awesome and this is way easier than any of my other spills so wish
me luck and I’ll be back banging down ur door in no time!”
Stiegler, who earned her first World Cup podium just two weeks before her lat-
est fall, had missed the majority of the previous three seasons with injuries, in-
cluding a broken left forearm and right shinbone, torn ligaments in her right knee,
a broken foot and fractures in her left tibia and femur.