SANTA CATERINA, Italy, 7 January 2005 — Austria’s Michaela Dorfmeister stormed to a comfortable victory in an Alpine skiing World Cup downhill race yesterday. The 31-year-old finished 0.40 seconds clear of her rivals on the demanding Deborah Compagnoni piste with a time of one minute 41.66 seconds, according to provisional results.
American 20-year-old Lindsey Kildow of the United States finished second in 1:42.06 with Germany’s Hilde Gerg third in 1:42.19.
The race was one of two re-scheduled downhills being held yesterday and today at Santa Caterina, which will stage some races at the world championships starting on Jan. 29.
The two original races in Val d’Isere, France were called off in December due to high winds. Dorfmeister, who had not won a World Cup downhill since her victory at Innsbruck in March 2003, showed she has rediscovered the form that made her the World Cup downhill champion that year with a scintillating run in windy conditions.
The competitors had only one training run on the meandering course on Wednesday and several complained after yesterday’s race that it featured too many turns.
Dorfmeister, though, has won eight World Cup giant slaloms and she showed superb technique on a course slowed slightly by a morning snow flurry. Rising US star Kildow, who won a downhill at Lake Louise, Alberta in December, paid for being a little too aggressive which caused her to lose time exiting several turns, especially towards the end of her run.
Gerg, the World Cup downhill leader going into the race, maintained her consistency this season by adding another podium finish to her first and third placings in the two downhills at Lake Louise. Austrian Renate Goetschl, fastest in Wednesday’s practice, never recovered from an early mistake and had to settle for fourth place just ahead of France’s Carole Montillet-Carles.
Hoellwarth Shatters Ahonen Dream of Four Hills Sweep
In Bischofshofen, Austria, Janne Ahonen of Finland was denied a rare Grand Slam of victories by Austrian Martin Hoellwarth but handily claimed his third overall title at the 53rd edition of the ski jumping Four Hills Tour.
Hoellwarth, 30, got his eighth career victory, but the first at the Four Hills with 135 meters and 137.5 meters meters for 277.0 points.
Ahonen jumped 132m and 140.5m for 271.0 points as he suffered only his second season defeat and the first at this year’s Four Hills after winning the first three stops in Oberstdorf, Garmisch- Partenkirchen and Innsbruck.
Japanese teenager Daiki Ito got a career-best third place finish with 127m and a stunning hill record 143m in the second round for 269.5 points. Ahonen, whose earlier success came in 1999 and 2003, tied (East) German Helmut Recknagel and Bjorn Wirkola on three overall titles at the prestigious Four Hills Tour. German Jens Weissflog is the record winner with four trophies.
The Finn was the eighth man to win at the first three stops, but yesterday’s outcome left German Sven Hannawald as the only man to win a Grand Slam, in 2002.
