Schladming, Austria – Park City, Utah’s Ted Ligety was golden again on Monday, winning the super combined for his second title at the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships currently underway in Schladming.

“I just tried to ski as smart as I could. I tried to have a solid run the whole way down and not make too many mistakes,” Ligety said. “Seeing the green light at the bottom was a really sweet feeling.”

Sixth after the downhill and well ahead of most slalom specialists like Ivica Kostelic of Croatia and Austria’s Benni Raich, Ligety nailed the second fastest slalom run to take the gold medal, his career fourth and third gold, and second from these World Championships after a surprise win in the super G.

“I was charging the whole way and kept it clean, so I’m pretty happy to be only seven tenths back,” Ligety said after the downhill portion of Monday’s super combined. “I’m in a good position. I’d like to have more time on Ivica and Benni, but I feel like I’m in a place where I can easily take those downhill guys if I have a good run. It’s going to be those slalom guys who are going to challenge.

“The downhill here is so much different than the super G. It’s technical, but it doesn’t have the normal flow. It’s been pretty difficult for me to figure out,” Ligety admitted. “It’s a good slalom hill for the more slalom specialized guys. This is going to be a tall task for those downhill guys who don’t normally ski slalom.”

Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, the winner of Saturday’s World Championship downhill, was ahead of Ligety at a downhill split but failed to finish.

“Today is awesome. It’s definitely somewhat of a surprise,” said Ligety, who had struggled in earlier combined events this season, going out in both Wengen and Kitzbuehel. “I haven’t really had success in super combined in years, so to finally get a win again—the last time I won in the Olympics in 2006—it’s a long time coming.”

Ligety’s U.S. teammates Tommy Biesemeyer, of Keene, N.Y., went out in the slalom and Ryan Cochran-Siegle, of Starksboro, Vt. and Spokane, Wash.’s Will Brandenburg went out in the downhill.

The World Championship Nation’s Team Event is set for Tuesday evening. Ligety captured gold in giant slalom in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, two years ago, and will be going for a third gold in giant slalom later this week.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Alpine Ski World Championships
Schladming, Austria – Feb. 11, 2013
Men’s Super Combined