ARE, 23 February 2004 — Sweden’s Anja Paerson tightened her grip on the overall World Cup title with victory in a giant slalom race yesterday. Paerson, already crowned slalom and giant slalom champion, was 10th after a disappointing first leg but delighted the home fans with an aggressive second run to win in a combined time of two minutes 15.64 seconds. Spain’s Maria Jose Rienda Contreras claimed her best World Cup finish with second in 2:16.17 and Austrian Elisabeth Goergl was third 0.73 seconds behind Paerson.
Paerson leads Renate Goetschl, winner of Saturday’s super-G, by 123 points at the top of the overall standings after the Austrian failed to qualify for the second run of the giant slalom. The 22-year-old technical specialist should all but seal the overall title next weekend with two slalom races being held in Levi, Finland. She has been beaten only once in the discipline this season.
The season ends with the World Cup finals at Sestriere, Italy in March. “This is one of my greatest victories this season”, said Paerson.
Ackermann Wins Again but Manninen Stays in Command
In Lieberc, Czech Republic, Ronny Ackermann of Germany got back on winning track yesterday in Nordic combined skiing, but his sixth season win likely came too late to deny Finland’s Hannu Manninen the overall World Cup title. Ackermann led the way after the ski-jumping portion with 123.5 and 129 meters and never looked back to win the 15-kilometers cross-country race in 37 minutes 41.5 seconds. Manninen produced another extraordinary skiing show as he almost made up a 2:10-minute deficit, climbing from 15th place to second a mere 10.0 seconds behind Ackermann. Compatriot Samppa Lajunen, the three-time Olympic champion, was third, 10.3 seconds behind.
