Lenzerheide, Switzerland – World Champion and Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety, of Park City, Utah, became the first American to win three Audi FIS Alpine World Cup giant slalom titles as wet snow canceled Friday’s final.n”It’s just bad luck, but it’s definitely good that they canceled it when it’s going to be bad weather conditions,” Ligety said of the scuttled final GS. “You’d hate to win or lose a title based on flukey race conditions.”

Ligety’s dominating winter included winning the first three races of the season at Beaver Creek, Colo., Val d’Isere, France and Alta Badia, Italy. He then went on to capture the giant slalom World Championship title in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany and podium in what turned out to be the season’s last giant slalom in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia.

Ligety also took home the GS Crystal Globe in 2008 and 2010. He said that his performance this season bested that with which he won the title last winter.

“I didn’t ski all that well last season and still was able to win the title. This year I definitely did it in the fashion that I’m more proud of,” Ligety said. “Winning the World Championships was pretty huge. It was a good feeling being able to win under that kind of pressure.”

Final World Cup Giant Slalom Standings
1. Ted Ligety, Park City, UT – 383
2. Aksel Lund Svindal, Norway – 306
3. Cyprien Richard, France – 303