German Riesch wins super combined gold, Vonn falls

German skier Maria Riesch captured the gold medal in the ladies’ alpine skiing – super combine on Thursday in the Vancouver Olympic Games.

Riesch finished with a combined time in slalom and downhill of two minutes and 9.14 seconds.

American Lindsey Vonn, downhill gold medalist and favourite for the event, won the first section of the super combined, However, the skier missed a gate and went down during the slalom portion of the competition, leaving her with no chance for medal.

Julia Mancuso, also of the U.S., won the silver medal with a time of 2:10.08. It was Mancuso’s second silver in Vancouver, after she finished second in the downhill event on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old athlete, who won gold in the giant slalom in Torino 2006, became the first American woman skier to win two medals in the Olympics since the 1964 Games in Innsbruck, Austria.

Swedish Anja Paerson completed the podium with a combined time of 2:10.19.

Canadian Shona Rubens, of Canmore, Alta., finished 12th, 3.44 seconds off the pace, and the 23-year-old skier was satisfied with her performance.

“A little tough in the downhill, but I think I had a pretty solid slalom run. In the end I think I’m happy with my day,” she said to the CTV.

Emily Brydon, of Fernie, B.C., ended up in 14th place, 3.62 seconds behind the pace.

About this article

By: Gustavo Garcia
Posted: Feb 18 2010 7:40 pm
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Filed under: Winter Games
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