Winter sports: Vonn wins 4th straight World Cup downhill
By ERIC WILLEMSEN
Associated Press Writer
HAUS IM ENNSTAL, Austria � Lindsey Vonn won her fourth straight World Cup downhill Saturday and second in two days, overcoming poor visibility because of increasing snowfall.
She sped down the shortened Krummholz course in 1 minute, 9.12 seconds to beat Nadja Kamer of Switzerland by 0.14 seconds and extend her lead in the overall standings. Ingrid Jacquemod of France was another 0.02 back in third.
�I am very surprised to win the downhill today,� said Vonn, who started 21st. �I knew I had to make a perfect run. First, I thought I had to be aggressive, but then I realized that the weather was getting worse.�
Vonn was in control all the way and finished strongly to beat Kamer, who started first and under better conditions. This was Kamer�s first top-three finish in a World Cup race.
�Maybe I was lucky as well with start No. 1,� she said. �I never believed I could win as I knew that Lindsey would be faster.�
In addition to Vonn, the U.S. had a ninth-place finish from Stacey Cook while Julia Mancuso was 11th.
Jacquemod, who was 23rd in Friday�s downhill, likened the race to a sprint.
�It was a challenge, and I like challenges,� she said.
The race was postponed several times because of fog and organizers lowered the start of the race to the point normally used for super-G starts.
Vonn�s main rival, Maria Riesch, finished seventh, 0.46 off the winning time. Vonn has 794 points to lead the German by 99 points. Austria�s Kathrin Zettel is third with 569.
�I can�t be satisfied finishing seventh but it�s not the end of the world,� Riesch said. �Lowering the start made it a pretty short course, which was not a benefit for me.�
Anja Paerson finished fifth, 0.40 behind Vonn, and is fourth in the standings with 471 points. She was second in Friday�s downhill.
A women�s super-G in Haus im Ennstal is scheduled for Sunday.