08 March 2003 - 16:52 Palander, Schoenfelder share first place at World Cup (AP)

SHIGAKOGEN, Japan (AP) _ Finland's Kalle Palander and Austria's Rainer Schoenfelder finished in a dead heat Saturday to share first place in a World Cup slalom race. Palander, who was second behind Schoenfelder after the first run, posted a time of 49.97 seconds in his second race for a two-run combined total time of 1:41.14 and his fourth straight World Cup slalom victory this season.

Kalle Palander

Italy's Giorgio Rocca was third in 1:41.58. "It's great to win the fourth title," said Palander. "The hill was in good condition but the visibility was bad because of the snow so it's amazing they were able to maintain the course so well."
Saturday's race marked the first time a men's slalom has ended in a dead heat but Palander said he has no trouble sharing the win.
"It's something new," said Palander. "But it doesn't bother me at all. I know I'm happy and I'm sure Rainer is too."

Rainer Schoenfelder

With Palander leading after his second run, Schoenfelder posted a time of 50.05 seconds to pull even. The victory allowed Palander to move into first place in the overall slalom standings, 34 points ahead of Croatia's Ivica Kostelic.
"My condition wasn't that good today," said Schoenfelder. "But the result was great. I was 13th in Korea and first here so I like skiing in Japan."

Giorgio Rocca

Kostelic finished fourth with a time of 1:42.25 while Japan's Akira Sasaki gave the host nation a boost with a sixth-place finish in 1:42.71.
Palander won two men's slalom events in the Austrian cities of Kitzbuehel and Schladming in January and also won last week in Yongpyong, South Korea.
American Bode Miller crashed out on his first run, seriously damaging his bid to capture the overall World Cup title. Miller lost his balance early in Saturday's race and did not finish.
Friday's giant slalom race was canceled due to poor weather and visibility was not good for Saturday's race, which was delayed by one hour.
Miller trails Austria's Stephan Eberharter by 93 points in the overall standings, but failed to close the gap in Japan.

Kiminobu Kimura

Shigakogen is the second-to-last event of the 2002-2003 World Cup circuit. The final is scheduled for March 12-16 in Lillehammer, Norway, the site of the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Miller, who is second in the giant slalom standings, has struggled in the slalom this season. He finished on the podium only once in the slalom, a second place in Bormio. Other than that, he crashed out or went off course four times, and twice finished out of the top 10.
Eberharter did not take part in Saturday's slalom and heads to Norway where he'll compete in the speed events, his strongest disciplines.

AP, 08.03.2003