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Fischbacher bags Super-G gold

Fischbacher bags Super-G gold

02/20/2010 08:52:53 PM

Austria's Andrea Fischbacher swept to the gold medal in the Olympic Super-G and denied American star Lindsey Vonn a speed event double on Whistler Mountain.

Vonn, who won gold in the downhill, led when she clocked one minute 20.88 seconds and must have hoped a double was within her grasp.

But Fischbacher negotiated the tricky Franz's Run course superbly to post what turned out to be a winning time of 1:20.14 and secure Austria's first alpine gold medal of the Games.

Slovenia Tina Maze also bettered Vonn's time, completing her run in 1:20.63 to secure a surprise silver and ensure Vonn had to settle for a bronze.

Vonn, who fell in the slalom leg of the super-combined, still has two opportunities to add to her medal tally in the giant slalom and slalom.

Fischbacher was reduced to tears after finishing fourth in the downhill only three hundredths of a second behind team-mate Elisabeth Goergl.

But there were tears of joy this time as she secured Olympic gold and turned the tables on Vonn, having finished second behind the American in the final Super-G ahead of the Games at St Moritz.

Fischbacher revealed she had been confident of beating Vonn.

"I was just thinking if I make a really good run and do my best I can beat her," she said.

"Everything was perfect and I skied really fast. It was a dream."

"Yes, there was some pressure (from the Austrian media) but I just swallowed it and skied."

Vonn said: "I really attacked. I skied all those difficult sections really well. After I got passed those sections I kind of eased off the gas pedal."

Meanwhile, Switzerland's Simon Ammann rose above the protests over his ski bindings to strike gold in the large hill event and become the first ski jumper to win four individual Olympic titles.

An Austrian protest over Ammann's bindings was rejected and Ammann delivered the longest jump in both rounds - leaps of 144.7m and 138.0m - for a points total of 283.6.

Poland's Adam Malsyz (269.4) took the silver medal and Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer (262.2) claimed the bronze - to repeat the one-two-three finish in the normal hill jump earlier in the Games.

Ammann also pulled off a gold medal double in Salt Lake City eight years ago at the age of 20 but could not repeat that success in Turin.

The Austrian team had claimed that Ammann's bindings violated regulations and gave him an unfair edge over his rivals due to improved aerodynamics but the International Ski Federation threw out the protest.

 
Photograph Copyright : Getty Images

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