SCHLADMING,
Austria (AP) -Marion Rolland of France beat all the favorites to win
the world downhill title on Sunday, mastering an icy course that left
most of her rivals struggling to find the right race line.
Rolland,
who has yet to win a World Cup race after 15 top-10 finishes in
downhill, earned her first medal at a major championship after charging
down the 3.05-kilometer (1.9-mile) Streicher course in 1 minute, 50.00
seconds.
Nadia Fanchini of Italy trailed
Rolland by 0.16 in second. Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany, who won the
super-combined title Friday, came 0.70 back in third.
"As
a child I wanted to become a world champion one day," Rolland said.
"Now it has become reality but it still feels like a dream."
The
30-year-old Rolland was sidelined with injuries several times during
her career, and saw the world title as a reward for fighting back.
"This
is life, you have to believe to reach your goals one day," said
Rolland, who fell four seconds into her run in the 2010 Vancouver
Olympics downhill. "I wanted this medal today. I told myself before the
start, `Go fast, then you'll get it."'
Going
fast is exactly what Rolland did when she started as the final racer of
the elite group. She beat then-leader Fanchini at every intermediate
time.
In the finish area, French TV station
TF2 showed Rolland her winning run. Commentator Carole Montillet, the
2002 Olympic downhill champion, shrieked when Rolland crossed the line,
saying "it's not possible! It's unbelievable!"
Rolland
was weeping as she talked about having "more difficult moments than
nice ones" in her career. "It's mind boggling," she said. "I don't have
the words. It's fantastic."
Rolland earned
France's third medal of the worlds, after silver for Gauthier de
Tessieres in the men's super-G and bronze for David Poisson in the
downhill.
"I saw the men going really fast and I thought, I can go that fast as well," she said.
Rolland got her two career World Cup podiums on the same course during the World Cup finals in Schladming last year.
Fanchini,
who won bronze in downhill at the 2009 worlds, was the second starter.
She skied the turning middle part better than all the favorites, giving
her more speed for the finish section. She led the race until Rolland
wearing bib No. 22 came down.
Fanchini won
bronze in downhill at the 2009 worlds in Val d'Isere, France, but then
injured both her knees in a crash two weeks before the 2010 Vancouver
Olympics. Then as she was still working her way back, she tore the ACL
in her left knee again ahead of the World Cup race in Cortina d'Ampezzo
in January 2011.
She only began training
again after last season and at one point it seemed like she would be
confined to giant slalom because her injuries wouldn't allow her to race
the speed events.
"I can't believe it,"
Fanchini said. "I never gave up even when the challenge seemed almost
too great. You've always got to believe in yourself. ... This medal is
huge for me. Didier Cuche (the recently retired downhill standout)
brought me luck when he signed my helmet. He wrote, `Race for gold."'
Nadia's older sister Elena Fanchini finished ninth.
Former
overall champion Hoefl-Riesch, who won just one race on the World Cup
circuit this season, has now made her second podium this week.
"It's
fantastic to win a second medal," the German said. "I tried to risk
everything. There were a lot of rolls and bumps. I am a bit lucky to
come 0.04 in front of (fourth-placed Nadja Kamer). The course was OK,
but visibility was changing a lot. You have to take how it comes. I am
super happy."
After a cold night, the course was icier than during the training runs and the downhill portion of Friday's super-combined.
The frozen bumps caused many racers problems, leading to several crashes and delays.
Stefanie
Moser, the third starter, flew into the safety netting while racing at
110 kph (68 mph). The Austrian's right ski came off after the binding
broke on one of the icy bumps. She got up quickly and appeared unhurt.
Dominique Gisin of Switzerland also avoided injury after a nasty crash that also left her in the netting.
Defending
champion Elisabeth Goergl of Austria came 1.48 back in tenth, and
super-G champion Tina Maze missed out on a third medal after placing
seventh, trailing Rolland by 1.21.
The
Slovenian, who is likely to win the overall World Cup title this season,
led Fanchini by 0.43 at one stage but was pushed wide in the middle
section.
"I totally missed the race today,"
Maze said. "Until the middle part, I was attacking. I don't know what
happened. I wasn't concentrated enough, I didn't have enough power. It
was just tough to come down."
Lindsey Vonn left the championships Tuesday after an ugly crash in super-G that damaged her right knee and ended her season.
With
five straight World Cup titles, the 2010 Olympic champion has dominated
women's downhill racing. Vonn won gold at the 2009 worlds and silver in
2007 and 2011, and she also won three of five downhill events this
season.
Teammates Julia Mancuso in fifth and Stacey Cook in sixth were the highest-ranked Americans.
"I
had a solid run," said Mancuso, who also lost her lead in the middle
section. "I got a little knocked by the terrain ... I got pushed wide, I
saw Tina Maze got pushed wide. I didn't see Fanchini's run but Marion
she just stayed on line the whole way and I think that was really
important today."
Mancuso, who bronze in
super-G, called champion Rolland "one of the fun girls. The French girls
are always smiling. She's funny. They're relaxed - the classic French
downhill attitude."
Cook led Fanchini by 0.92 at the second split and was the last racer in sixth to finish within a second of the winning time.
"I
don't know where I lost it and I am a little frustrated," Cook said.
"It's good to be fast in parts, I know I just need to put it all
together."
The next race at the world championships is the men's super-combined on Monday.
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