Scandanavians Take Silver and Bronze
February 24th, 2006
By Getty Images
SESTRIERE, Italy (Feb. 24) - Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA) led both giant slalom runs Friday and won the gold medal in the final women's alpine event of the '06 Olympics. Stacey Cook (Truckee, CA) was 23rd, Sarah Schleper (Vail, CO) did not finish her second run and Lindsey Kildow (Vail, CO) did not start the race.
Mancuso won gold with a two-run combined time of 2:09.19, .67 seconds ahead of silver medalist Tanja Poutiainen of Finland, who recorded a 2:09.86. The bronze went to Swede Anna Ottosson as she clocked in with a 2:10.33.
Cook was 23rd in 2:14.44. Schleper, who sat in 12th following her first run, did not finish her second. Kildow, who had raced in four events prior to today, decided to skip the GS as she was not feeling well.
A two-time Olympian, it was Mancuso's first medal. The giant slalom was her fourth event of these Games. She led the U.S. skiers with a seventh in the downhill and a ninth in the combined, then placed 11th in the super G. She was 13th in combined at the Salt Lake City Games.
Mancuso's medal was the first gold won by a U.S. woman in the giant slalom since Debbie Armstrong won at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics (the year Mancuso was born). The last giant slalom medal won by an American woman was in 1992 when Diann Roffe took silver in Albertville. Andy Mead Lawrence won a giant slalom gold for the U.S. at the 1952 Oslo Olympics.
Reigning GS gold medalist Janica Kostelic of Croatia, who had won two medals already at the Games (gold in combined, silver in super G), did not compete due to illness and fatigue.
Swede Anja Paerson, a favorite to win along with Kostelic and the silver medalist behind Kostelic in Salt Lake City, was just .18 behind Mancuso after the first run and finished sixth in 2:10.96.
Dumping snow and fog made for near whiteout conditions in some sections of the course. A total of 11 competitors did not finish.
It was the 10th overall medal and fifth gold for American skiers and snowboarders at the Torino Olympics.
The final alpine event of the Games is the men's slalom, taking place Saturday in Sestriere. Competing for the U.S. will be Jimmy Cochran (Keene, NH), Chip Knight (Stowe, VT), Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) and Bode Miller (Bretton Woods, NH).
XX OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
Sestriere, ITA - Feb. 24, 2006
Women's Giant Slalom
1. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, Calif., 2:09.19
2. Tanja Poutiainen, Finland, 2:09.86
3. Anna Ottosson, Sweden, 2:10.33
4. Nicole Hosp, Austria, 2:10.66
5. Genevieve Simard, Canada, 2:10.73
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23. Stacey Cook, Truckee, Calif., 2:14.44
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Did not finish 2nd run:
Sarah Schleper, Vail, Colo.
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Did not start:
Lindsey Kildow, Vail, Colo.
For complete results: http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/AS/RT_ASW030102.html
