02 March 2003 - 19:10 Dorfmeister wins downhill at World Cup

INNSBRUCK, Austria (AP) _ Michaela Dorfmeister won a World Cup downhill race Saturday, leading Austria to a 1-2 finish and moving to first place in the discipline's standings. Dorfmeister completed the Patscherkofel course in 1 minute, 31.51 seconds, edging young teammate Katja Wirth by 0.45 seconds. Hilde Gerg of Germany finished third, 0.54 seconds behind.

Michaela Dorfmeister

American skier Caroline Lalive crashed after passing the finish line and sustained severe injuries to her back and right knee.
Lalive either tore her ligaments or broke her right leg, according to Austrian ski team medical chief Brigitte Auer. Lalive was taken to the Innsbruck University clinic
immediately for further medical checks.

Michaela Dorfmeister

Dorfmeister, the defending super-G world champion, profited from the rising temperatures as she is known on the circuit as an excellent glider, while her biggest
rivals, American Kirsten Clark, Carole Montillet of France and Austria's Renate Goetschl, prefer icier slopes.
"It was four degrees warmer today than on Friday which was an advantage for me. I was three seconds faster than in training," Dorfmeister said after her 16th career win.
"Thanks to my waxing team my ski was so incredibly fast, I was happy not to have made any major mistake."

Austrian youngster Katja Wirth, who had previously only won one point in the downhill after finishing 30th in Lake Louise, Canada, came a surprise second.
Wirth's self-confidence was boosted by back-to-back wins in the European Cup series in January and although a mistake on the final jump cost the 23-year-old her first World Cup triumph, she was still delighted.
"I am all excited, it is a real surprise to me. I was quite successful in the European Cup series, winning the downhill.
"It gave me a lot of self-confidence and I had nothing to lose, so I thought, I will just let the skis race on an dsee how it goes," she said.
Gerg finished third despite racing with a torn cruciate ligament.
"I am super happy to race that well again after my injuries. My knee still hurts, but it's getting better."
The podium finish convinced the 27-year-old to continue her career in the next season.
"This result shows that I can compete at the top when I am fit and that's definitely worth going on," the 1998 Olympic slalom champion said.

Katja Wirth, Michaela Dorfmeister and Hilde Gerg

Dorfmeister took the lead in the downhill standings with 332 points after 7 races. Reigning Olympic downhill champion Carole Montillet of France dropped from first to second place with 281 points after finishing seventh.
Renate Goetschl of Austria, who won Friday's super-G, finished fourth in the downhill and moved to third place in the standings with 268 points. 

AP, 01.03.2003