Sochi, Russia – Austrian riders Marion Kreiner and Andreas Prommegger (AUT) on Thursday won the Olympic parallel giant slalom test which was staged in Sochi. By winning the season’s third FIS Snowboard World Cup in the “Extreme Park” Rosa Khutor, the two race boarders earned their home country its first double win since the PGS on Dec. 15, 2012 in Telluride, Colo.
The women’s final saw the top two qualifiers competing against each other as Kreiner, the 2010 Olympic Bronze medalist, beat German snowboarder Amelie Kober by only four hundredths of a second to take home her career’s third World Cup win and take the lead in the PGS and Parallel Overall World Cup rankings.
“I worked hard to be on the podium again. It’s even better to come out first. It’s a super feeling which I enjoy,” said Kreiner. “It’s nice to win again. Being in the World Cup lead, too, is the icing on the cake. I’m just happy.”
The small final saw Canadian Ariane Lavigne edging out Kazakhstan’s Valeriya Tsoy for third place, her first career medal.
“It was a big day for me. Just being there in the finals was an achievement,” said Lavigne, 28, of Montreal, Quebec. “Then winning a few heats and getting to the end, it was a great experience. My goal was top 16 at first but then the ultimate goal was podium, which I did, so it was two big achievements today.”
On the men’s side, Prommegger, the new PGS World Cup and Parallel Overall World Cup leader, successfully pushed fellow Austrian Ingemar Walder into second place. While Prommegger brought home his season’s third victory and 11th overall, Walder celebrated the best result of his career. Slovenia’s Rok Flander crossed the finish line ahead of Kaspar Fluetsch of Switzerland in the battle for third.
“It’s unbelievable. We did five World Cup races so far and I won three of them. It’s a nice quota,” said Prommegger. “I’m feeling good and I have a good run in the World Cup although it was tough today. I’m really tired right now and did win my last runs just with my head.”
Prommegger now sits in the top seat in the race for the PGS Crystal Globe (2,400) and the Parallel Overall World Cup title (3,560). However, Italian Roland Fischnaller is close behind with 3,390 points in the overall hunt.
“The World Cup lead is a nice side aspect but nothing more,” Prommegger acknowledged. “Fisch (Roland Fischnaller) had a small mistake in the first round today but is normally pretty strong. So I guess we will see a close battle again until the very last race.”
OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Snowboard World Cup
Sochi, Russia – Feb. 14, 2013
Parallel Giant Slalom
Men
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation | Points |
| 1 | 2 | PROMMEGGER Andreas | 1980 | AUT | 1000.00 |
| 2 | 5 | WALDER Ingemar | 1978 | AUT | 800.00 |
| 3 | 18 | FLANDER Rok | 1979 | SLO | 600.00 |
| 4 | 10 | FLUETSCH Kaspar | 1986 | SUI | 500.00 |
| 5 | 12 | KOSIR Zan | 1984 | SLO | 450.00 |
| 6 | 8 | MATHIES Lukas | 1991 | AUT | 400.00 |
| 7 | 9 | SCHOCH Philipp | 1979 | SUI | 360.00 |
| 8 | 13 | MARGUC Rok | 1986 | SLO | 320.00 |
| 9 | 6 | FISCHNALLER Roland | 1980 | ITA | 290.00 |
| 10 | 4 | SCHOCH Simon | 1978 | SUI | 260.00 |
Women
| Rank | Bib | Name | Year | Nation | Points |
| 1 | 15 | KREINER Marion | 1981 | AUT | 1000.00 |
| 2 | 16 | KOBER Amelie | 1987 | GER | 800.00 |
| 3 | 32 | LAVIGNE Ariane | 1984 | CAN | 600.00 |
| 4 | 36 | TSOY Valeriya | 1988 | KAZ | 500.00 |
| 5 | 14 | KUMMER Patrizia | 1987 | SUI | 450.00 |
| 6 | 18 | LEDECKA Ester | 1995 | CZE | 400.00 |
| 7 | 25 | JOERG Selina | 1988 | GER | 360.00 |
| 8 | 3 | SAUERBREIJ Nicolien | 1979 | NED | 320.00 |
| 9 | 9 | TAKEUCHI Tomoka | 1983 | JPN | 290.00 |
| 10 | 12 | TUDEGESHEVA Ekaterina | 1987 | RUS | 260.00 |