Maria Riesch of Germany shows the trophy of the alpine ski, Women’s World Cup slalom discipline title, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Saturday, March 13, 2010. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS/Elvis Piazzi)
GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany - Olympic champion Maria Riesch of Germany won her second straight slalom World Cup title with a third-place finish in the final race of the season on Saturday.
Marlies Schild of Austria won the race by a big margin, with teammate Kathrin Zettel placing second.
But Riesch’s third place was enough to give her the slalom title with 493 points, just three ahead of Zettel.
"It was not a very good day on the slope for me," Riesch said. "The first run was not good at all and in the second I never managed to release the hand brake. I was really very, very lucky to get the title."
Riesch, who also won the combined gold medal at the Olympics, could have lost the title if Zettel had won.
Schild, the Olympic silver medallist , had a comfortable lead after the first run on the Gudiberg course and increased it to a massive 1.20 seconds over Zettel, despite the latter having the fastest second heat. Schild clocked an aggregate time of 1:49.57. Riesch was 1.90 seconds behind in third.
Brigitte Acton of Mont-Tremblant, Que., was the top Canadian, finishing 15th.
Schild’s 21st slalom career victory, meanwhile, moved her into a tie with Erika Hess of Switzerland in second place on the all-time list for slalom wins. Vreni Schneider of Switzerland had 34. Schild also has two other wins.
"This is exactly the way I wanted to finish the season, with a win, especially on this difficult course," Schild said.
"To do well on a course so icy and steep and to excel in these conditions was a big boost in my comeback season. I did much more than I expected with three victories and Olympic silver," she said.
Schild, who won the slalom titles in 2007 and 2008, missed the entire last season after breaking her left leg in a training run crash.
Riesch finished second in the overall standings this season behind good friend Lindsey Vonn of the United States. Vonn clinched her third straight title by winning Friday’s super-G race and then decided to skip the final event. She watched the race in the finish area.
Riesch’s slalom title and Felix Neureuther’s victory in the men’s slalom earlier set the stage for a massive party in the German resort that will stage next year’s world championships. Riesch and Neureuther come from Partenkirchen.
Riesch’s sister Susanne, who was third in the first run and one place above her sister, fell in the second, as she did at the Olympics. Until her crash, she was fast and could have knocked her sister off the podium and ended her slalom title hopes.
"I am sorry about the crash of my sister but on the other hand it was probably decisive for my title," Maria Riesch said.
"It’s really good to get the second podium in four days," said Riesch, who won the final downhill race earlier in the week.
