American skier Vonn 8th as Italians Karbon, Moelgg 1-2 in women’s giant slalom opening run

Karbon leads opening run of women’s giant slalom

SOELDEN, Austria — Denise Karbon and fellow Italian Manuela Moelgg are first and second after the opening run of a World Cup giant slalom race to start the ski season.

Two-time defending overall champion Lindsey Vonn of the United States was eighth, 1.78 seconds off Karbon’s pace. The second run will be held later Saturday.

Karbon clocked 1 minute, 11.52 seconds on the Rettenbach glacier. Moelgg was 0.24 seconds behind, and defending World Cup giant slalom winner Tanja Poutiainen of Finland was third, 0.62 seconds back.

Austria’s Nicole Hosp was airlifted to a local hospital after she lost control on the upper section of the course and slid downhill headfirst for about 54 yards before coming to a stop. The extent of her injuries was not immediately known.