Anja Paerson wins World Cup super-combi; Lindsey Vonn finishes 3rd in Switzerland

Paerson wins WCup super-combi; Vonn 3rd

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland — Anja Paerson won a World Cup super-combined event for her first victory of the season, while Lindsey Vonn finished third to extend her lead in the overall standings.

Paerson clocked 2 minutes, 00.54 seconds Friday in the combined super-G and slalom runs on the Corviglia piste.

The Swede celebrated her 41st career World Cup win — fourth on the all-time list — with her trademark belly slide in the finish area.

Michaela Kirchgasser of Austria was second, 0.43 behind, and Vonn trailed by 0.92 after being second fastest in the super-G.

Vonn collected 60 World Cup points to build a 116-point lead over Germany’s Maria Riesch.

Riesch skied out near the end of her super-G run when she misjudged her line and skied wide left of a gate approaching a tight left-hand turn. She stood beside the course with her head bowed over her skis reflecting on her mistake.

Paerson, who won back-to-back overall titles in 2004 and ‘05, moved up to third, trailing two-time defending champion Vonn by 330.

Paerson was eighth after the super-G with 0.82 to make up on the 25-year-old American, but delivered the fastest slalom run. The Olympic slalom champion also won the St. Moritz super-combi last season.

The first-run standings were overturned as the speed specialists could not match the technical experts in the afternoon.

Morning leader Andrea Fischbacher of Austria finished 12th, while Julia Mancuso of the U.S. dropped from third to 14th after the slalom.

Kirchgasser was runner-up after being 12th in the first leg, while fellow Austrian Elisabeth Goergl placed fourth after trailing in 23rd-fastest in super-G.

Racing was completed on a bright day but the super-G run was interrupted when late starter Georgia Simmerling crashed at the same gate Riesch missed.

The 20-year-old Canadian appeared to strike the gate with her left shoulder and face and slid off course into safety nets.

Simmerling was airlifted to a hospital, and details of her injuries were not immediately available.