World Cup Finals: Mikaela Shiffrin gets best of Tina Maze for Slalom title, but Maze wins 3 titles

March 17:  Slovenian superstar Tina Maze may have clinched the World Cup Giant Slalom season crown in January, but that didn’t stop her from winning the final race of the season on Sunday (March 17) in Lenzerheide. The victory means Maze brought home three titles — Giant Slalom, Super G and Overall — while also setting the season record for overall points with 2,414 and for total podiums (24). Read more.

March 16: There is NO way an 18-year-old should be able to do what Mikaela Shiffrin did this season. Not only did she ski well enough all season to be in the hunt for the slalom season title going into the season’s final race, she was able to battle through the intense pressure to not only win the race but get the best of Tina Maze, who had a record-setting season. See how she did it with an amazing second run. Read more.

Weather 2, Ski Racing 0. That’s the score after heavy snow overnight and strong winds during the men’s Super G forced cancellation Thursday (March 14) of that race and the women’s competition in Lenzerheide at the World Cup Finals.

As a result,  Aksel Lund Svindal earned his second Cup title (adding Super G to Downhill) and Tina Maze added a third to her previous crowns in Overall and Giant Slalom. It was a reversal of fortune for Maze, who was virtually assured the Downhill season crown before fog canceled that race on Wednesday. The World Cup does not make up races at the Finals.

The cancellation was a disappointment for Julia Mancuso, who had a chance to catch Maze with a good showing (she trailed the Slovenian 420-365).  Here’s where to find 

Tina Maze wins World Cup Super Combined, clinches Overall title after Maria Hoefl-Riesch skis off course

Tina Maze resumed her World Cup dominance with victory in Super Combined on Sunday in Meribel, France.

The Slovenian won the morning downhill by a large enough margin that it removed much of the mystery from the subsequent slalom run. She has now won both Super Combined races this season.

Maze now has 1,844 World Cup points, which gives her an unassailable lead in the Overall competition (more than 1,000 points with nine races left over Maria Hoefl-Riesch) and a great shot at being the first woman to crack the 2,000-point barrier in a season. Points standings.

Austrian Nicole Hosp earned second, while her teammate Michaela Kirchgasser took third. Hoefl-Riesch, who won the Super Combined at the World Championships, was third in downhill but skied off course in slalom. Read more.

Julia Mancuso raced

World Championships results, from Ted Ligety to Mikaela Shiffrin, Marcel Hirscher to Tina Maze

Here are complete results for the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships, which were jam-packed with great performances, as well as the frightening crash of Lindsey Vonn in Super G that ended her season.

The home country Austrians claimed the most overall medals (6) during the events held in the town of Schladming. The Americans were second with 5 medals, but claimed the most Gold meals (4)  thanks to Ted Ligety’s astonishing string of victories (Super G, Super Combined and Giant Slalom) and precocious teen Mikaela Shiffrin’s win in Slalom. Julia Mancuso took bronze in Super G.

Slovenian star Tina Maze, who has been dominating

Marion Rolland wins Downhill gold at Worlds, Maria Hoefl-Riesch claims bronze

Maria Hoefl Riesch

Marion Rolland of France made the big headlines by winning the Women’s Downhill on Sunday (Feb. 10) at the 42nd FIS Alpine Ski World Championships  in Schladming, Austria.

But there’s a pretty potent headline lower on the podium as well: Maria Hoefl-Riesch claimed her second medal of the championships with a bronze. Nadia Fanchini of Italy earned the silver medal. Read more.

Hoefl-Riesch won the overall title two seasons ago, but looked outclassed last season during Lindsey Vonn’s historic pursuit of 2,000 points. So far this season, even though she stands second overall, the talented German skier has been overshadowed by Tina Maze’s brilliant season and Vonn’s well-chronicled ups and downs. But it’s been a different story in Austria, where she won gold in Super Combined before Sunday’s bronze. (Maze, by the way, finished a respectable seventh.)

America’s talented speed  skiers  were solid, but fell short of the podium, with Julia Mancuso finishing fifth, followed by Stacey Cook (6th), Leanne Smith (12th), and Alice McKennis (17th).

FIND COMPLETE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS HERE.

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The latest on Lindsey Vonn’s injury, surgery, return to World Cup and Winter Olympics

Here’s the latest news on Lindsey Vonn in the wake of her season-ending crash in the Super G at the World Championships and subsequent rehab.

TAKE THE SURVEY: Do you think Vonn will win a medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics? Click here to take survey.

Most recently: 

• The Daily Mail reported that Lindsey Vonn stayed with Tiger Woods on his yacht Privacy while the golfer was playing (and winning) the WGC-Cadillac Championship on March 10 in Florida.  Read more.

Previous headlines:

• A former ski champion interviewed by the Denver Post said Vonn was injured precisely because she was being aggressive. More.
• Everyone is wondering if Vonn can heal fast enough to be ready for the Winter Olympics. Read one doctor’s opinion.
• Did Lindsey catch a ride home on Tiger Woods’ jet? See for yourself.
• Vonn had successful surgery in Vail on Feb. 10. The four-time world champ posted a post-op photo and also posted an Instagram photo of herself exercising. Want to see what Lindsey’s injured knee looks like? She posted a photo.
• Lindsey’s sister, Laura Kildow, is blogging about Lindsey’s recovery. Read about the race-day accident here.
• Tune in to Today on Monday, Feb. 25, when Lindsey gives her first interview since the crash.
• Lindsey told reporters on Feb. 22, in her first availability since the crash, that in some ways the injury makes her an “underdog.” Read the story in the Denver Post.
• Lindsey told reporters on Feb. 22 that the Super G course was unsafe and the race should have been postponed and that the injury makes her an “underdog.” Read the story in the Denver Post.
• On Feb. 25 Lindsey told Matt Lauer of Today that she never thought her career would be ended by the injury. Watch the video.

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Tina Maze wins Super G at Worlds as Lindsey Vonn suffers season-ending knee injury

UPDATE, Feb. 6: Here’s what Lindsey Vonn had to say to her fans via Facebook the day after her crash in the World Championships. The quote.

Feb. 5: Tina Maze continued her spectacular season with a win in Super G at the 42nd FIS Alpine Ski World Championships on Tuesday (Feb. 5) while Lindsey Vonn saw her injury-plagued season ended after she suffered a major knee injury. (Watch video of the crash here.)

The Slovenian star, who is dominating the women’s circuit this season, was able to add a second Worlds gold to her collection by staying focused on a day when snow and fog caused numerous course delays. It wasn’t all bad news for the American team: Julia Mancuso came up with another strong performance on a big platform, racing to third behind Switzerland’s Lara Gut. (Read more.)

For Vonn, it was a painful and disappointing end to a season that saw her hospitalized by an intestinal infection during November. Although she was able to return and win several races, the American took a health break of a couple of weeks to work on the conditioning lost during the illness in the hopes it would help her at Worlds. Now she faces an arduous rehabilitation leading up to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.

FIND COMPLETE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS RESULTS HERE.

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Let the World Championships of alpine skiing begin!

The Austrian town of Schladming hosts the 42nd FIS Alpine Ski World Championships.

Universal Sports and NBC will broadcast all of the races from Schladming on a delayed basis. Check your local listings for channels. Here’s the competition and broadcast schedule (all times Eastern Standard) for Worlds:

• Feb. 5: Women’s super G: Tina Maze wins as Lindsey Vonn suffers knee injury. (The latest on Lindsey)
• Feb. 6: Men’s super G: Ted Ligety surprises the field for the victory.
• Feb. 8: Women’s super combined: Maria Hoefl-Riesch wins with a strong slalom run.
• Feb. 9: Men’s downhill: Aksel Lund Svindall dominates for the win.
• Feb. 10: Women’s downhill: Marion Rolland claims the win, Maria Hoefl-Roesch makes a second podium.
• Feb. 11: Men’s Super Combined: Ted Ligety won his second gold medal of the championships.
• Feb. 14: Women’s Giant Slalom: Tessa Worley of France took the victory over Tina Maze, with with rising American star Mikaela Shiffrin sixth.
• Feb. 15: Men’s Giant Slalom: Ted Ligety wins a record third gold medal at the championships.
• Feb. 16: Women’s slalom: Mikaela Shiffrin continued her amazing season with Gold.
• Feb. 17: Men’s slalom: Marcel Hirscher delighted the home country faith with the win.

Here’s where to find starting lists and complete results.

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Reports: Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods dating

UPDATE: Perhaps owing to increased media interest, Lindsey Vonn announced she will have bodyguards with her at the World Championships in Austria. Read more.

JAN. 25: Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods are dating.

That’s the word from HollywoodLife.com, which is reporting that previous rumors about the two are true (Read the story).

Apparently, the two met because Tiger is an active skier. Previously, Vonn denied the two were dating when asked by the Denver Post. Before that, rumors linked Vonn to football player Tim Tebow.

Don’t hold your breath for the superstars to confirm the romance: Vonn’s publicist told The Los Angeles Times that the skier’s focus was “solely on competing” on the World Cup circuit while the golfer’s publicist offered no comment.

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Lindsey Vonn wins World Cup Downhill, Tina Maze places second

UPDATE, Jan. 20: Another day, another podium for Tina Maze, who placed third in the Super G at Cortina d’Ampezzo in Italy. The race, marked by heavy snow that made many runs an adventure for the later starters,  was won by Viktoria Rebensburg. Three Americans reached the top 10:  Julia Mancuso (5th),  Leanne Smith (6th) and  Lindsey Vonn (7th). Read more.

Jan. 19:  Now THAT’S why Lindsey Vonn took time off. The American bolted to victory Saturday in a World Cup Downhill at Cortina d’Ampezzo, flashing the form that won the overall title last season but had been limited by illness of late.

And while Vonn has said she doesn’t expect to catch current overall leader Tina Maze, the Slovenian made sure of that by finishing second, just .43 behind, her best result in the event this season. Leanne Smith, Vonn’s teammate, added another World Cup podium to her career by running third, .89 back. Read more.

Other Americans finished well, too: Julia Mancuso (9th) Alice McKennis (11th), Stacey Cook (15th) and Laurenne Ross (27th).

The women will conclude the weekend’s events with a Super G on Sunday (Jan. 20).

Here’s where to find full results for the downhill as well as the latest results in the overall standings.

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Mikaela Shiffrin wins her third World Cup slalom as Maria Hoefl-Riesch makes a second-run mistake

Mikaela Shiffrin

Mikaela Shiffrin did it AGAIN, winning her third World Cup Slalom this season on Tuesday (Jan. 15) in a night race at Flachau, Austria.

SkiRacing.com points out the achievements of the 17-year-old from Colorado keep piling up. In addition to her three wins this season (an American record for her age), she has been on all 10 slalom podiums this season and leads the discipline. Even more compelling: her career wins to date equal the number by the likes of fellow Americans Bill Johnson and Hilary Lindh, among others.

Shiffrin skied well, but still looked like the second-place finisher until leader Maria Hoefl-Riesch made a second-run mistake and didn’t finish. Read more.

Overall points leader Tina Maze finished fifth while defending champ Lindsey Vonn skipped the race to focus on upcoming speed events. Here’s where to find the latest standings in the overall race, in which Shiffrin now stands fourth.

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