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SPORTS Wednesday 8 February

Vonn skis out, Schmidhofer wins super-G at ski worlds

GRAHAM DUNBAR land, starting immediately to my pole now,” she said,
AP Sports Writer before Schmidhofer, was adding that not to attach it
ST. MORITZ, Switzerland (AP) third, 0.36 behind. was “too big of a risk.”
— In a surprising start to the “It was surprising for me After bad weather wiped
world ski championships, and I enjoyed the day,” out Monday’s planned
Lindsey Vonn failed to fin- said Schmidhofer, who training session, all racers
ish the super-G on Tuesday doubted she would win were getting a first good
and Nicole Schmidhofer with Vonn and others yet to look at the course — and
won a race for the first time. start. “I thought, ‘Yes,’ this in a super-G race which re-
Vonn arrived in St. Moritz could be a medal, but not wards the ability to adapt
with a women’s record 77 a gold medal.” at speed to an unfamiliar
career wins in World Cup Like Vonn, Olympic super- gate-setting.
races. The 27-year-old G champion Anna Veith Schmidhofer did just that
Schmidhofer had zero. of Austria also failed to and was the first to clock
Still, Vonn struggled to grip complete the undulating 100 kph (62 mph) at the
her right ski pole — a linger- course. fastest point of the course.
ing problem since breaking Both Gut and Vonn pre- The result repeated a 2007
her right upper arm in No- pared in less than ideal junior worlds race, when
vember — and seemed un- shape after crashing at the Schmidhofer edged Wei-
easy before taking a too- previous World Cup races rather for gold in super-G.
straight line and went off in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. In their careers, both have
the course midway down. Gut, who won three had season-ending knee
“I feel like (my hand) is straight super-G races to surgeries after crashes at
strong enough, then I’m start the World Cup season, the classic Cortina course.
in the course and I don’t slumped in the finish area “We both had a tough way
know where my pole is,” and shook her head after to go. It wasn’t easy for us,”
said Vonn, who last won a seeing she trailed then- said Weirather, who missed
gold medal at the world leader Weirather’s time. the past two Olympics be-
championships in 2009. “It was my first run after my cause of injuries.
Schmidhofer had only one crash, so I’m happy I didn’t Weirather, also 27, won her
runner-up finish since join- forget how to ski,” said Gut, first career championship
ing the World Cup circuit in who now has five world medal at the same venue
2007, and even that super- championship medals but where Hanni Wenzel, her United States’s Lindsey Vonn fails to finish a women’s super-G,
at the Alpine Ski World Championships, in St. Moritz, Switzerland,
G result was four years ago. no titles. mother and an Alpine ski Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017.
After crossing the finish line, Vonn plans to change great, won slalom gold at Associated Press
the Austrian leaned back equipment tactics for the the 1974 worlds.
and screamed in joy when combined event sched- “Everywhere I go, my mom While Vonn and six others Simader’s first world cham-
she saw she was 0.33 sec- uled on Friday and her sig- has already won so it’s in a 46-racer lineup did not pionship race was a big
onds faster than second- nature downhill event on nothing new,” joked Wei- finish, 18-year-old Sabrina step on her path to starting
place Tina Weirather of Sunday. rather, who did win a World Simader of Kenya came in the 2018 Olympic down-
Liechtenstein. Pre-race fa- “I am definitely going to Cup finals super-G in St. safely down in 39th place, hill in Pyeonchang, South
vorite Lara Gut of Switzer- have to duct tape my hand Moritz last March. 8.68 seconds behind. Korea.q

Dibaba breaks world record for

women’s 2,000 on indoor track

SABADELL, Spain (AP) — best set by Gabriela Szabo an outright world record”
Genzebe Dibaba of Ethio- in 1998 by almost seven since it is faster than Sonia
pia broke the women’s seconds. The 2,000 indoors O’Sullivan’s outdoor mark
2,000-meter world record isn’t considered an of- of 5:25.36. At 25 years old,
at the indoor Miting Inter- ficial world record event Dibaba owns the outdoor
national de Catalunya in by the IAAF, but athletics’ world record in 1,500, as
Spain on Tuesday. governing body said in a well as the indoor record
In this Sunday, March 20, 2016 file photo, Ethiopia’s Genzebe Dibaba’s time of 5:23.75 statement that Dibaba’s for 1,500, mile, 2,000, 3,000,
Dibaba reacts after she won the women’s 3000-meter run final bettered the world indoor time can be “classed as two miles and 5,000.q
during the World Indoor Athletics Championships in Portland, Or
e. Associated Press.