Page 23 - ARUBA TODAY
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SPORTS A23
Friday 29 December 2017
Shiffrin beats Holdener, Hansdotter for World Cup slalom win
LIENZ, Austria (AP) — Olym- From left, second placed Switzerland’s Wendy Holdener, first placed United States’ Mikaela Shiffrin land, last month.
pic champion Mikaela Shif- Vlhova had a costly mis-
frin mastered a tricky sla- and third placed Sweden’s Frida Hansdotter celebrate at the end of the final run of an alpine ski, take in her final run and
lom course on Thursday to shared fifth place with Es-
cruise to her 36th career women’s World Cup slalom, in Lienz, Austria, Thursday, Dec. 28, 2017. telle Alphand, daughter
World Cup win. of former ski racer Luc Al-
Backed by a huge 1.14-sec- Associated Press phand. Now starting for
ond lead from the opening Sweden, Alphand posted
leg, the defending over- aggressive, it can be dif- Holdener led the race be- ings to a massive 391 points the fastest second-run time
all World Cup champion and earned her first career
avoided risks and posted ficult to find the timing. But fore Shiffrin, the last starter over second-place Viktoria top-10 result.
only the 11th-fastest time in Hours before her smart fi-
the final run but still comfort- I felt really comfortable,” as winner of the opening Rebensburg. The German nal leg, Shiffrin had an out-
ably beat second-place standing opening run on
Wendy Holdener of Switzer- Shiffrin said. run, denied her a victory skier does not compete in a course set by one of her
land by 0.89 seconds. coaches, Jeff Lackey.
Frida Hansdotter of Sweden The American used a well- once again. The Swiss skier slaloms but will start in Fri- “I was really loose. And I
was 1.22 behind in third, didn’t have any mistakes or
and Bernadette Schild of controlled run and lost bits has 12 podium finishes in day’s GS on the same hill. anything, so for sure I really
Austria was a further 0.55 had a fast run,” said Shiffrin,
behind in fourth. of her advantage from the slalom but is still awaiting Shiffrin also went further who holds the record for
“It was a wild ride,” Shiffrin the biggest winning margin
said about her second run opening leg at every split her first win. ahead in the discipline in a women’s World Cup
on the Schlossberg course, slalom since beating the
where she earned her first time but never saw her “I was angry about not fin- standings, 75 points clear field by 3.07 seconds in As-
career podium six years pen, Colorado, two years
ago. “There were a couple lead put in danger. ishing my previous slalom in of Petra Vlhova of Slovakia. ago.
of weak spots but there Shiffrin didn’t think that her
were definitely some spots “There are spots where Killington a month ago, so Shiffrin has won 18 of the coach placing the gates
that were really fast.” was a big advantage for
Initially a GS was planned you can let it go and spots I am satisfied now,” Hold- last 23 slaloms she compet- her.
but organizers swapped “When my coaches set a
that race with Friday’s sla- where you have to keep ener said. ed in, but she was beaten course, I say, ‘Don’t tell me,
lom because of weather I don’t want to know your
conditions as overnight in mind not to throw it all The win stretched Shiffrin’s by Vlhova in the season- set, I don’t want to know
snowfall forced course what you are doing’,”
workers to move fresh snow away,” Shiffrin said. lead in the overall stand- opening slalom in Levi, Fin- Shiffrin said. “Actually, this
out of the race line. course was really straight in
“With these conditions, the the fall line and pretty high
snow is so wet, it’s actually speed and that’s normally
really good, but it is very not my advantage.”q
Comanche wins Sydney-Hobart, Wild Oats XI stripped of title
HOBART, Australia (AP) — It was only the third time in Comanche. Mark Richards, LDV Comanche, right, trails Wild Oats XI as they enter open
Super maxi LDV Comanche the event’s 73-race history the skipper aboard Wild water during the start of the Sydney Hobart yacht race in Sydney,
was awarded line honors in that a yacht lost line honors Oats XI, said he and the Tuesday, Dec. 26, 2017.
the Sydney to Hobart yacht due to a penalty. yacht’s crew accepted the
race on Thursday after its In 1990, Rothmans received jury’s findings and penalty. Associated Press
protest against Wild Oats a time penalty for breach- “Not very often do you
XI was upheld over an inci- ing advertising rules. In smash a Sydney to Hobart
dent early in the race. 1983, Nirvana failed to give record and then get it tak-
Wild Oats XI was found to Condor sufficient sea room; en away from you, but it’s
have breached race rules Nirvana crossed the line first happened to us today,”
over a tacking move at the but was later disqualified he said. “We’re very dis-
start on Tuesday in Sydney and Condor was declared appointed but we have to
Harbour. The eight-time the winner. Wild Oats XI cop it on the chin.”
winner was penalized one had crossed the finish line LDV Comanche skipper
hour after lengthy delibera- in record-breaking time and owner Jim Cooney
tions by a five-person inter- but was only 26 minutes, described the decision as
national jury in Hobart. 34 seconds ahead of LDV “fair.”q
