SEMMERING – Austrian Marlies Schild claimed her 26th World Cup victory when she claimed the slalom title here on Wednesday. Schild completed the two runs, the second held under floodlights, in a combined total of 1min 42.06sec, 0.32sec ahead of Germany’s Maria Riesch.
Riesch, a double Olympic champion in the slalom and combined, had rebounded from a disappointing 17th in the first run with a trail-blazing 51.20sec in the second to put her in pole. But Schild, starting last with a 2.40sec difference, delighted her adoring home fans by keeping her
cool and triumphing over Riesch. Another German, Christina Geiger, completed the podium, a further 0.20sec adrift of the Austrian’s pace. Riesch’s second place, following a similar finish in Tuesday’s giant slalom, saw her consolidate her lead atop the overall World Cup standings. The German has now amassed 738 points, with American Lindsey Vonn second on 617. In the slalom standings, Schild leads after four of ten events with 300 points ahead of Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen (250) and Riesch (240). Meanwhile, French slalom specialist Jean-Baptiste Grange has pulled out of Sunday’s parallel slalom event in Munich because
of an injured shoulder, the French Ski Federation announced on Thursday.
