Schladming, Austria – German Maria Hoefl-Riesch, an Olympic super combined gold medalist,  captured gold in Friday’s super combined for her first medal of the 2013 FIS Alpine Ski World Championships in Schladming. Slovenia’s Tina Maze, the overall World Cup leader, earned silver with Austrian Nicole Hosp taking home the bronze medal.

“This is absolutely crazy!” Hoefl-Riesch, a double World Champion and double Olympic gold medalist who until Friday’s race had only reached the podium twice this season, told the German television after the race.

“I am not satisfied with my slalom run,” said a disappointed Maze. “I held back and showed too much respect. My downhill was pretty good though. Second place and a silver medal is still a super result.”

Despite a significant mistake in the downhill portion of the race, Worlds super G bronze medalist Julia Mancuso, of Squaw Valley, Calif., clicked with her best slalom performance of the season to finish eighth. Teammates Laurenne Ross, of Bend, Ore., was 11th and Mammoth Lakes, Calif.’s Stacey Cook 18th. Leanne Smith, of N. Conway, N.H., was 12th after the downhill, but opted to skip the slalom in order to prep for Sunday’s downhill.

“I knew it was going to be a really big fight for the gold medal today,” Mancuso acknowledged. “Both courses were in perfect condition. I had a mistake in the downhill, so I wasn’t expecting much. I was just trying to get some more practice on this downhill and on my slalom skis.”

OFFICIAL RESULTS
2013 FIS Alpine Ski World Championships
Schladming, Austria – Feb. 8, 2013
Women’s Super Combined