2012/2013 Winter Sports Thread

[Smallville22]

Figure Skating - Davis and White win back Four Continents title in Osaka

Meryl Davis and Charlie White stripped Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of their Four Continents Figure Skating Championship title in Osaka as the fierce rivalry between the ice dancers continued.
Virtue and Moir, the reigning Olympic, World and Four Continents champions, held a narrow lead over the American duo after the short dance, which opened the event in Japan.
The Canadian pairing took just a 0.44point advantage into the free dance and it didn't prove to be enough as Davis and White outperformed them to win back the Four Continents title.
Davis and White, who won the Four Continents in 2011 and 2009, produced a free dance personal best of 112.68 points to promote themselves into first place while Virtue and Moir scored 109.20.
Virtue and Moir scored 184.32 in total as they surrendered to Davis and White, who finished second to the Canadians at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics as well last year’s worlds and Four Continents.
Davis and White, who have beaten Virtue and Moir into gold at the last two Grand Prix Finals, placed first with 187.36 in total while teammates Madison Chock and Evan Bates held onto third.
Chock and Bates placed third after the short dance, and despite producing just the fifth best score of the free dance, their total of 160.42 was just enough to edge out Maia and Alex Shibutani.

 

[Smallville22]

Speed Skating World Cup

Stroetinga, Yuskov and Wust all win in Inzell

Arjan Stroetinga claimed his first men's mass start win of the season at the speed skating World Cup in Inzell to move to the top of the overall series standings for the distance.
Stroetinga, second in the first mass start of the season in Heerenveen and sixth at the second in Kolomna, upgraded to first in the third race on the calendar in Germany.
The Dutch skater crossed the line in 9:57.56minutes to deny Haralds Silovs of Latvia by 1.37seconds with Christijn Groeneveld taking third almost a second further back.
The 100 points collected for the win sees Stroetinga leapfrog Dutch teammate Groeneveld into the World Cup lead for the mass start event with 225 points to his rival’s 202.

Meanwhile in the men's 1500m, just 0.09 separated the top four with Denis Yuskov of Russia claiming his first win in the distance this season after clocking 1:46.07.
Second for Zbigniew Brodka, just 0.02 behind, saw him move to the top of the World Cup standings for the distance with previous leader Havard Bokko way down in 11th.
American Brian Hansen was third 0.07 behind Yuskov overall while the first of the Dutch skaters Koen Verweij was another 0.02 adrift for fourth.

The winning margin wasn't as close in the ladies' 3000m though as double Olympic champion Ireen Wust won by over three seconds ahead of Diane Valkenburg in second.
Just 0.10 separated Valkenburg in second and Martina Sablikova in third, with that enough to maintain the latter's lead at the top of the World Cup standings for the distance.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Championships

Gold for Tora in Pursuit

Norway’s Tora Berger shot clean in the final standing stage to win World Championship pursuit today in 28:48.4, with three penalties. Poland’s Krystyna Palka won the Silver medal, with two penalties, 18.5 seconds back; the first World Championships medal and first podium of her career. Olena Pidhrushna finished third, with two penalties, 21.5 seconds back.
Fourth went to Russia’s Olga Zaitseva, with three penalties, 23 seconds back. her teammate, Ekaterina Glazyrina was fifth, with clean shooting 45.4 seconds back. Germany’s Andrea Henkel finished sixth, also shooting clean, 49.2 seconds back.

Berger and Pidhrushna

Berger and Pidhrushna came to the first prone together, shot clean and went out with Zaitseva just behind them as she shot clean also. Pidhrushna cleaned the second prone, as did Palka, while Berger had a penalty and fell back just behind Palka as they headed towards standing.

Three Women

As they came to the first standing stage, it was Pidhrushna, Berger Palka and Zaitseva all within seven seconds. Pidhrushna had two penalties. Palka and Zaitseva also had one, but Berger missed two shots and fell back. Zaitseva now had an 3 second lead on Palka with Pidhrushna, Berger and Flatland 20 seconds back.

Berger Takes Charge

The final standing stage would, as usual decide the podium. Both Zaitseva and Palka had a single penalty, while Berger cleaned, leaving 5 seconds ahead of Palka and Zaitseva. The next person out was Flatland, who was 20 seconds behind the lead group. However Pidhrushna moved up into third with one kilometer to go and held on.

Last Stage

Berger said she was never sure of winning until late in the competition. "I never thought I would win until the last stage. I knew I had to shoot clean, but still did not think I would win. Like always, after that, I fought hard all of the way." Regarding more medals, she added with a bit of a laugh, "I will just try to do my best in every competition. After the championships, I can tell you how many medals I will win!"

Her Day for a Medal

Palka knew it would be her day to win a medal. "When I got up this morning, I knew I could win a medal. The 2K loop is easy and I know my shooting is good. In the final standing stage, I wanted to take a risk and shoot fast...bam, bam, bam, bam, bam!"

Emotions

Winning her first medal and having her first podium in the same day was a bit of a shock; finding the emotions hard to describe. "It is a really special day for me; it is hard to say what I feel I am happy and want to cry. Today was my day. I took the chance for a medal and it happened."

Happy

Pidhrushna who won the sprint yesterday commented, "I am happy now. I think I was sad after the two misses. But I said to myself that the last stage would be decisive if I shot clean; suddenly I saw two women on the track that fell and I went past them."

Lack of Experience

She explained what happened with those two missed shots. "I think the pressure maybe got to me when I missed two targets, I do not have much experience with this pressure so that is why I missed."

 

[Smallville22]

32nd European Junior Championships in Novouralsk (RUS) - Gold Medals for Sara Bachmann (ITA) and Egor Dorofeev (RUS)

Athletes from three different nations claimed the top spots in the three events. After Austria’s Christoph Regensburger/Dominik Holzknecht won the first gold medal on the first day of the 32nd European Junior Championships, Sara Bachmann won gold for Italy and Egor Dorofeev for Russia. Dorofeev became the most successful athlete of the championships with a gold medal in the singles and silver in the doubles race, followed by Christoph Regensburger with gold in doubles and bronze in singles.
Sara Bachmann stayed cool about her win: “I started great into the competition yesterday and I gave my best today. I was quite relaxed and not nervous”, she said. Her win was a close finish, as after the second run she was ranked second behind the eventual silver medallist Darija Melejeva (RUS). Bronze medallist Greta Pinggera (ITA) was not pleased, even though she worked hard for her medal. ranked only fifth after the first run, she gained one rank after the second run and finally made the podium with an excellent third run. “This title was my big goal of this season and I know that I could have won it. However, the best should win and I screwed up yesterday”, she said and seeks for the reason within herself: “I was too tense, I wanted too much, so I could not race as freely as I usually can”.
Petra Dragicevic (SLO) performed well once again and managed to place herself at the sixth position within the Russian-Italian group at the top of the result sheet.
Germany managed to place two athletes within the top ten, but had to forfeit their up-and-coming rookie Theresa Maurer, who was disqualified after the first run because of an irregularity on her sled (too steep steels).

The men’s event, in the past dominated by Italy or Austria, saw a Russian win. Egor Dorofeev could as well be one of the future stars. With three fastest run times he upset the field by a 1.6 seconds winning margin and won without any troubles. “I am deeply impressed that I managed to win a medal for Russia here”, he said. “But it was a difficult race, there was a lot of competition and very strong competition.” The strongest competition came from Austria in the name of Florian Glatzl, who gave an impressive comeback after a one year injury break. “It is an incredible feeling for me, this are my second European Junior Championships and I am on the podium”, he said full of joy. Glatzl, who originally comes from Tyrol, lives in Styria as a full time student and will graduate from high school this year. “It was difficult here, the ice is very different here than at home”, he said full of respect of the “Green cape” track. In a tight finish Christoph Regensburger defeated his double partner Dominik Holzknecht and claimed the bronze medal. “I would rather have pushed somebody else off the podium”, Regensburger said, ”but last year he was faster than me, today I am faster, this is how it goes in sports.” Regensburger competed for the last time in the junior’s class: “From now on my full focus is on the senior class and my goal is to place myself in the top field, not the middle field”.


Results:

Final Results Junior Women:

1. Sara BACHMANN (ITA), 1:03,71(1), 1:03,72(2), 1:03,54(1), 3:10,97

2. Darija MALEJEVA (RUS), 1:03,79(2), 1:03,46(1), 1:03,97(3), 3:11,22

3. Greta PINGGERA (ITA), 1:04,39(5), 1:03,84(4), 1:03,91(2), 3:12,14

4. Lubov STARIKOVA (RUS), 1:04,38(4), 1:03,81(3), 1:04,02(4), 3:12,21

5. Carmen PLANÖTSCHER (ITA), 1:04,16(3), 1:04,08(5), 1:04,07(5), 3:12,31

6. Petra DRAGICEVIC (SLO), 1:04,49(6), 1:05,05(6), 1:04,58(6), 3:14,12

7. Maria KAMAREVTSEVA (RUS), 1:05,32(7), 1:07,51(11), 1:06,27(7), 3:19,10

8. Michelle DIEPOLD (AUT), 1:08,10(12), 1:06,60(8), 1:06,71(8), 3:21,41

9. Michaela NIEMETZ (GER), 3:22,34

10. Martina ROWOLD (GER), 3:23,92


Final Results Junior Men:

1. Egor DOROFEEV (RUS), 1:01,44(1), 1:01,13(1), 1:01,34(1), 3:03,91

2. Florian GLATZL (AUT), 1:01,56(2), 1:02,09(2), 1:01,86(2), 3:05,51

3. Christoph REGENSBURGER (AUT), 1:02,10(4), 1:02,41(3), 1:01,94(3), 3:06,45

4. Dominik HOLZKNECHT (AUT), 1:01,99(3), 1:02,44(4), 1:02,06(4), 3:06,49

5. Thomas UNTERHOLZNER (ITA), 1:03,13(5), 1:02,88(7), 1:02,48(5), 3:08,49

6. Martin KERSCHBAUMER (ITA), 1:03,38(8), 1:02,64(5), 1:02,90(6), 3:08,92

7. Aleksei MARTIANOV (RUS), 1:03,58(11), 1.02,65(6), 1:02,94(7), 3:09,17

8. Dominik KIRCHMAIR (AUT), 1:03,23(6), 1:02,99(8), 1:03,09(8), 3:09,31

9. Anatolii TALALOV (RUS), 1:03,42(9), 1:03,10(10), 1:04,34(10), 3:10,86

 

[Smallville22]

Ice Hockey - Austria pip Germany to Sochi as Latvia, Slovenia qualify

Germany's men's ice hockey team failed to qualify for the Winter Olympics for the first time on Sunday when they were pipped to a 2014 Games spot by neighbours Austria, who were joined by Latvia and Slovenia.

The Germans, who have qualified for every Olympic ice hockey tournament apart from bans in 1920, 1924 and 1948 due to the two world wars, won 3-2 in overtime against Austria but they needed a regular time victory to go through.
After Slovenia secured their first Olympics slot on Friday, Latvia became the last team to qualify for Sochi after winning Group E on home ice in Riga.
For Austria it will be their first participation since the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
"What we accomplished is absolutely unbelievable. I am so happy for the team that showed such character," said Austria coach Manny Viveiros.
Austria's Markus Peintner, who scored their crucial 2-2 equaliser in the third period, heaped praise on his nation's goaltender Bernhard Starkbaum.
"Germany were better, we have to be admit that. Starkbaum kept us in the game. But as underdogs we did not give up and now we are over the moon," said Peintner.
Germany, whose "hearts are in pain" according to their ice hockey federation general secretary Franz Reindl, were stunned after their streak of 16 consecutive Games' appearances was ended.
"Having to listen to the national anthem after having failed to qualify is the worst thing I have experienced," said defender Felix Petermann.
After Latvia comfortably beat Britain 6-2 and squeezed past Kazakhstan 3-2 in the earlier rounds, they lost 3-2 to France in overtime on Sunday but still topped the group, a point ahead of the Kazakhs.
"I'm really proud of the leadership and the maturity of some of our players that played in this game," said Latvia head coach Ted Nolan.
"In a tournament like this it's not like a seven game series, it's a one shot deal and you either win or go home."
Latvia captain Sandis Ozolins, who won the Stanley Cup in 1996, said the tiny Baltic nation's power and togetherness had been the key.
"I don't really know how (we did it). We're a small country but we've got a lot of strength. We can really respond and play hard when we have to, and it's an honour to play with this group," said Ozolins.
Slovenia, who upset more fancied Belarus and Denmark 4-2 and 2-1 respectively to seal their qualification on Friday, crushed Ukraine 6-1 on Sunday to win Group F.
Ranked 18th by the world ice hockey federation, Slovenia will take on world champions Russia, Slovakia and the United States in Sochi next February after being drawn in Group A.
Austria have been drawn in Group B, along with 2010 Olympic champions Canada, Finland and Norway, while Latvia will face Sweden, Switzerland and Czech Republic in Group C.

Germany's women provided some cheer for their nation by bagging one of two spots up for grabs. They will be joined by Japan, who beat Denmark 5-0 to make it to the Olympics for only the second time.
"We didn't know much about the other teams coming into the tournament, but all we ever asked from the team was to play their best," said Japan head coach Yuji Iizuka.
Japan's women last appeared on home soil in Nagano 1998. They will face Germany, Sweden and Russia in Group B, while holders Canada, the United States, Finland and Switzerland have been drawn in Group A.

 

[Smallville22]

Figure Skating - Figure skater McCorkell determined to reach second Olympics

Having seen Team GB's summer athletes have their time in the sun at the London 2012 Olympics, figure skater Jenna McCorkell insists it is time the winter ones followed in their footsteps.
The opening ceremony for the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics is now less than a year away and all eyes will be on the British team in Russia, which should include McCorkell, as they look to carry on the feel-good factor.
McCorkell battled through injury to claim her tenth ladies' title at the British Championships in December and last month chose to compete at the European Championships where she placed 21st.
Should the 26-year-old, who is from Coleraine in Northern Ireland, make the team for Sochi 2014 she will be appearing at her second Winter Olympics, having competed at Vancouver 2010 finishing 29th.
And McCorkell admitted that she will be doing all she can to build on Britain's success at London 2012, where they won 65 medals including 29 golds, if she takes to the ice in Russia next year.
"I am so excited that the Sochi Olympics are just a year away," she said. "It is no time at all really and it feels like just yesterday that we were in Sheffield for the 2012 Europeans.
"I hope to be able to get there and it will be on my mind for some time now. Vancouver was an amazing experience and I think your first Olympics will always stick with you but every Olympics is special and to do two would be amazing.
"Having seen what went on in the summer I was gripped like everyone else but at the same time you missed not being a part of it.
"So hopefully we can build on our summer success in Sochi and give Britain something to be proud of when it comes to winter sports too."

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing - Successful knee surgery for Vonn

American Lindsey Vonn has had her knee repaired after shredding two ligaments in a crash at Schladming last week.
The US Ski Team confirmed that the operation was a success, while Dr William Sterett, who performed the surgery, is optimistic that the 28-year-old can make a full recovery.
"She will do everything in her power to return as quickly as possible to competitive skiing," Sterett said.
Vonn's season was ended by the horror crash during the women's Super-G race at the World Championships in Schladming.
She is aiming to defend her Olympic gold medal in downhill in next year's Games at Sochi.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Championships - Baumann ahead at halfway stage of Super Combined

Romed Baumann gave Austrian fans cause for cheer when he topped the downhill stage of the World Championships in Schladming.
The Austrian's time of 2:01.38 was good enough to give him the lead at halfway, but the winner of the individual downhill, Aksel Lund Svindal, lurks in second place, 0.14 seconds adrift.
Christian Innerhofer of Italy was third, with Adrien Theaux, Dominik Paris, Ted Ligety and Matthias Mayer all within a second of the leaidng time.
The Super Combined final concludes with the slalom this evening.

 

[Smallville22]

Short Track - Christie pleased with World Cup efforts

Elise Christie hailed two career-best short track speed skating World Cup performances in her weaker 1500m and 500m events at the final round of the season in Dresden.
Christie chose to concentrate on the 1500m and 500m in Germany having wrapped up the World Cup title for the 1000m with a round to spare after the Olympic test event in Sochi.
The 22-year-old did so in order to develop her all-round ability and it certainly proved to be a good decision as she romped to gold in the 1500m on the first day in Dresden.
That marked Christie's best-ever World Cup performance in the distance having claim gold in the 1000m in Nagoya earlier in the season and at the Moscow leg last term.
Christie, the European 1000m and 1500m champion, wasn't done there however and set a British record of 43.748seconds in the 500m on the way to the quarter-finals and ranking 11th overall.
And, with the World Championships in Hungary in March the final event of what has been a remarkable season so far for Christie, she admitted she couldn't have been happier with her efforts in Dresden.
"I'm pretty happy with gold in the 1500m. I have to work harder in it because it's not my event," said Christie, who finished as the overall runner-up at the European Championships last month.
"But I raced better in it than I have done before so I'm pleased and I'm happy with a British record. I've not had that before so it was nice to get it."

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Championships

Ligety wins super-combined gold

American Ted Ligety won the super-combined gold medal at the alpine skiing world championships in Austria.
Seven years after winning the discipline's Olympic crown in Sestriere, Ligety proved he was more versatile than ever, clinching victory in a combined time of two minutes 56.96 seconds.
Ligety, who won the super-G last week, will also be the hot favourite in the defence of his giant slalom crown on Friday as he bids for a formidable hat-trick.
His performance was all the more spectacular as he had never won either a super-G or a super-combined in the World Cup before the world championships and the 28-year-old from Salt Lake City could even be a threat in Sunday's slalom.
On the steep and icy slalom course at the bottom of the Planai piste, home of a famous floodlit slalom on the World Cup circuit, Ligety adopted a dangerous strategy.
"I took all the risks after my great downhill run. I knew I had a chance but I was looking to ski smart also, it was easy to ski out as the run was so tough," he told reporters.
"I have huge routine being on the tour for nine years, so I can handle pressure well and these worlds have been pretty exciting for me so far," he added.
He promised more excitement in the week ahead.
"My slalom has not been so satisfying in recent seasons but this performance will encourage me to keep fighting hard to improve my level in that specialty too," Ligety said.
"Now I'm looking forward to another great race in the GS. There will only be one possible tactics then - charge as hard as possible."
Ivica Kostelic was the favourite after winning Kitzbuehel's classic combined for the fourth time shortly before the worlds, but the Croatian played it too safe in the slalom run.
"I didn't find a good rhythm today and I had a bad feeling going through that run. It was bad skiing," he said after finishing second, 1.15 seconds behind the American.
"I did not deserved to be on the podium after such a bad slalom run following that great downhill leg," he added.
Romed Baumann cheered the Austrian camp by snatching the bronze, 0.02 seconds behind Kostelic, only the host country's second medal after six events.
"There was lots of pressure on me this evening and I needed some time to really ski the aggressive skiing I was hoping for," he said.
"I felt that I needed to push harder in the lower part - especially after hearing the speaker and the crowd pushing me. This bronze medal of course means a lot to me and also to my team."
Downhill world champion and title-holder Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway straddled a gate halfway down after looking on course for a podium spot.
French favourite Alexis Pinturault skied by far the fastest slalom run but a disastrous downhill leg left him sixth in the final standings.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon - Flatland and Zaitseva refuse to blame each other

Ann Kristin Flatland and Olga Zaitseva have both refused to blame each other for their disastrous crash in the women's pursuit at the Biathlon World Championships in Nove Mesto.
The pair, locked in a duel for second place, came together on the final lap of the race, ending both their hopes of securing a medal.
Poland’s Krystyna Palka and Olena Pidhrushna of Ukraine took advantage to take silver and bronze respectively, with Norway's Tora Berger claiming gold ahead of the drama.
Yet neither Flatland nor Zaitseva pointed the finger of blame following the incident, even though Flatland did apologise immediately after the race.
”I don’t know what have happened," Norway's Flatland said. "We were racing side by side and suddenly I felt, I lost control of my ski. There has been a lot of ice, it was very steep. Skis were on the edge. I think those things happen: we both fell.
"I apologise, we were both fighting for a medal. It’s biathlon."
Russian Zaitseva said: "Flatland came to me after the race and she have apologised about the incident. She said that she is very sorry. I understand her and I don’t want to blame her.
"It was a situation that nothing can be done. This fall had deprived both us from the medals. What can I do? Fourth place is my final place now and that’s it."

 

[Smallville22]

Ski Jumping - Freitag tops Klingenthal qualifying

Richard Freitag wins the qualifying event for the Wednesday's World Cup ski jumping event in Klingenthal, Germany.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Championships

Austria win team event at Worlds

Hosts Austria won the mixed team event ahead of Sweden at the alpine skiing World Championships in Schladming.
The home team convincingly beat Sweden 4-0 in the final, a boost to the nation after their team largely disappointed with just two bronzes in the first six events.
"It wasn't easy, the whole country was watching the Austrian team," slalom star Marcel Hirscher said.
"We tried to give 100 per cent and I think all of us did a pretty good job. Everyone's celebrating and that's perfect."
Germany took bronze from Canada after Fritz Dopfer beat Philip Brown by one hundredth of a second in the final race of their play-off.

Results:

1. Austria N.Hosp/M.Kirchgasser/C.Thalmann/M.Hirscher/M.Mathis/P.Schoerghofer

2. Sweden N.Eklund/F.Hansdotter/M.Pietilae-Holmner/J.Byggmark/M.Hargin/A.Myhrer

3. Germany L.Duerr/M.Hoefl-Riesch/V.Hronek/F.Dopfer/S.Luitz/F.Neureuther

4. Canada M.Gagnon/E.Mielzynski/B.Phelan/E.Terwiel/P.Brown/M.Janyk

5. Slovenia A.Bucik/A.Drev/I.Stuhec/Z.Kranjec/M.Kuerner/M.Zerak

5. France A.Barthet/A.Marmottan/T.Worley/T.Mermillod Blondin/S.Missillier/S.Theolier

5. U.S. S.Cook/L.Ross/M.Shiffrin/W.Brandenburg/D.Chodounsky/T.Jitloff

5. Czech Republic M.Dubovska/K.Paulathova/V.Volopichova/O.Bank/O.Berndt/F.Trejbal

9. Italy C.Costazza/E.Curtoni/D.Karbon/M.Marsaglia/R.Nani/D.Simoncelli

9. Switzerland M.Gisin/W.Holdener/R.Kopp/G.Caviezel/R.Schmidiger/M.Vogel

9. Norway M.Loseth/N.Loseth/L.Haugen/H.Kristoffersen

9. Finland N.Halme/T.Poutiainen/M.Soppela/V.Malmstrom/E.Pirinen/M.Sandell

9. Croatia A.Komsic/S.Novoselic/S.Trsinski/I.Kostelic/D.Samsal/F.Zubcic

9. Slovakia V.Velez Zuzulova/P.Vlhova/M.Falat/A.Zampa/A.Zampa

9. Liechtenstein A.Buehler/J.Frick/M.Nigg/N.Gauer/S.Heeb/M.Pfiffner

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing - Schild 'will defend' slalom world title

Austria's Marlies Schild will defend her slalom world title in Schladming on Saturday, two months after a serious knee injury.
"Thumbs up! Marlies will be at the start in Schladming," the women's ski team said on their Facebook page.
"It's a great gift to be able to go," Schild herself said.
The 31-year-old skier, winner of 33 slaloms, had looked almost certain to miss the defence of the world crown she won in Garmisch-Partenkirchen two years ago when she tore knee ligaments ahead of a World Cup slalom in Are, Sweden, on December 20.
Her recovery was swifter than expected, however, and she made it back on to her skis in the week before the Alpine ski world championships began on February 5.

 

[Slaughtersun]

Alpine Skiing World Championships

Austria win team event at Worlds

1. Austria N.Hosp/M.Kirchgasser/C.Thalmann/M.Hirscher/M.Mathis/P.Schoerghofer

Yes yes yessss!!!

Austria's Marlies Schild will defend her slalom world title in Schladming on Saturday, two months after a serious knee injury.

The miracle on snow.

 

[Smallville22]

Ski Jumping World Cup

Hvala collects maiden victory in Klingenthal

Slovenian ski jumper Jaka Hvala claimed his first World Cup victory as he won the large hill event in Klingenthal, Germany.
His previous best finish on the World Cup circuit was a fifth place in Engelberg last December.
But the 19-year-old blew that out of the water as he scored 259.5 points to claim the win, becoming the youngest man to win a World Cup event since Gregor Schlierenzauer won at Planica in 2009.
Taku Takeuchi was second - a personal-best finish for the Japanese jumper.
Schlierenzauer had to make do with third in Germany, his 78th World Cup podium finish.
However the Austrian further extended his lead atop the overall World Cup standings as nearest challenger Anders Bardal could only manage 22nd.
Schlierenzauer has now amassed 1260 points with Bardal second on 766.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Championships

Berger storms to third gold in Nove Mesto

Norway's Tora Berger claimed her third gold medal of the Biathlon World Championships in style as she comfortably defender her 15km individual title in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic.
The last 11 women's 15km World Championships races had seen 11 different winners but Berger was in no mood to loosen her grip on the crown she won in Ruhpolding.
The Olympic champion put on a masterclass to collect her third gold of the competition – having already topped the podium in the 10km pursuit and mixed relay event – extending her lead atop the World Cup standings in the process.
Berger was perfect with the rifle to cross the line in 44:52.5 minutes, almost a minute ahead of her nearest challenger Andrea Henkel who finished in 45:45.2.
Despite finishing second best there was still plenty for Henkel to celebrate as her silver was the first for Germany at this year’s Championships.
Completing the podium in third was Ukraine’s Valj Semerenko who claimed her maiden individual World Championships medal.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Championships

Worley wins giant slalom gold in Schladming

Tessa Worley gave France their second gold medal of Alpine skiing World Championships when she upset favourite and titleholder Tina Maze to win the giant slalom.
Worley finished more than one second ahead of Maze, who has dominated this year's skiing season and has already won gold in the super-G and silver in the super combined in Schladming.
Austria's Anna Fenninger was third, partly making up for the disappointment of crashing when she defended her super combined title earlier in the championships.
Slovenian Maze, the overall World Cup leader this season, paid for a disappointing first run which left her more than one second behind Worley and in fourth place.
Worley, who has an Australian father, thrived on the steep, icy course as she added to the gold won by Marion Rolland for France in the women's downhill.
"It was a really hard and tough course," she said. "I felt very confident because I know I ski really well on difficult slopes, so I wanted to push hard and not make any mistakes.
"The French team has been doing so well and that gave me great momentum, and this huge crowd created a great atmosphere."
Maze admitted she struggled on the first run.
"I had no feeling, it was a bit of a nightmare," she said. "I couldn't find my line and my body was tired, too. I felt a lot of pain in my muscles.
"It has been an intense time here and in the World Cup season and the snow is hard here as well.
"I was lucky to find some positive energy between runs and in the second run, I found the determination I needed.
"I managed to relax down the final part of the course and I have no problem with the silver."
After failing to finish in the super combined and super-G and managing 11th in the downhill, Fenninger was happy with her performance even though it left the host nation still without an individual gold medal.
"After the previous disappointing races, I didn't believe in my chances any more, so I decided I would just enjoy my skiing, have fun and not think about the results," she said.
"I had two solid runs, what helped the most was to hear the encouragement of the crowd."

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Championships

Fourcade finally wins world title in Nove Mesto

Martin Fourcade claimed the only individual gold medal missing from his collection at the World Championship in Nove Mesto and with it finally his first of the 2013 edition.
The 24-year-old had to make do with silver in the first two individual events in the Czech Republic, the 10km sprint and 12.5km pursuit, behind Norwegian Emil Hegle Svendsen.
He also had to settle for second behind Svendsen and the Norwegian mixed relay team in the opening event of the World Championships having won triple gold last year in Ruhpolding.
However with Svendsen pulling out of the third individual event in Nove Mesto, the 20km, with a sore throat Fourcade had his chance and he ensured it wouldn’t be taken from him.
The 20km individual is the only world title Fourcade hasn't won after taking the sprint, pursuit and mass start crowns last year with the Frenchman winning by over 20 seconds.
Fourcade led for all but a few kilometres after the first shoot in the Czech Republic with no one able to better him as American Tim Burke claimed silver and Fredrik Lindstrom bronze.
Racing into the lead after the start, Fourcade fell to second behind Henrik L'Abee-Lund after his first trip to the range but was up to first by nearly nine seconds after the second.
That was cut to less than five by Lukas Hofer after the third shoot, despite Fourcade going clear once again, however the Frenchman proceeded to drastically extend it thereafter.
He may have missed his one and only target on his last trip to the range but by then his lead was 21.5seconds with Fourcade extending it to 23.5 by the finish.
Burke and Lindstrom was forced into an agonising wait until their silver and bronze medals were confirmed but they eventually were with the rest of the field unable to catch up.
Lindstrom was just over ten second shy of Burke in second and 33.7 behind Fourcade overall with Ondrej Moravec of the Czech Republic fourth on his own snow in Nove Mesto.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Championships

Ligety well ahead after giant slalom first run

American Ted Ligety was set for a third gold medal at the Alpine skiing world championships following an excellent first run in the giant slalom on Friday.
The defending champion charged down the course in one minute 13.14 seconds with Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal taking second place 1.30 behind.
Ligety, who has already won the super combined and super-G events, would become the first man to win three golds at the world championships since Frenchman Jean-Claude Killy in 1968.
Overall world Cup leader Marcel Hirscher of Austria, who has been struggling in Schladming, managed third place, one hundredth of a second behind Svindal.
"I had a strong run, I didn't take all risks but I certainly going for it," Ligety told reporters.
"It was really challenging, the most important was to keep the ski under great control as it was easy to make a mistake on that icy snow."