Lindsey Vonn wins World Cup super-G race, seals season title heading into Olympics

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Vonn wins World Cup super-G race, season title

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland — Lindsey Vonn won a super-G race Sunday, clinching the discipline title in the final World Cup race before the Vancouver Olympics.

The 25-year-old American timed 1 minute, 1.77 seconds on the Corviglia piste for her ninth win of the season and third in super-G.

“I did everything that I came here to do,” said Vonn, the two-time defending overall champion. “I wanted to finish the last race before the Olympics strong to have that self-confidence.”

Marie Marchand-Arvier of France and Austria’s Andrea Fischbacher, who crashed in Saturday’s downhill, tied for second, trailing Vonn by 0.17 seconds on a course shortened by strong winds higher up the mountain.

Marchand-Arvier got her best result since taking silver in super-G behind Vonn at last year’s world championships.

“It’s a very good way to prepare for the Olympics,” Marchand-Arvier said.

With the victory, Vonn extended her lead in the overall standings to 137 points over Maria Riesch of Germany who finished 11th Sunday.

Vonn said she skied aggressively Sunday to “take revenge on the hill” after a disappointing fifth-place finish Saturday, when she lost her first World Cup downhill of the season after hitting a hole in the snow and losing too much speed.

Vonn, a big tennis fan, revealed that minutes before racing she watched live television coverage of her friend Roger Federer defeating Andy Murray in the Australian Open final.

“He was playing really well, and I didn’t want to go down to the start,” she joked. “Roger’s friends are here supporting me. It was a pretty cool day.”

Her first career win at St. Moritz was her 31st in World Cup races, lifting her into a tie for 7th on the all-time list with Erika Hess of Switzerland.

In a season marred by serious injuries, Nadia Fanchini was the latest victim of a nasty crash. The 23-year-old Italian’s ski caught an edge, sending her tumbling forward through a control gate into a rolling fall. No details of her injuries were immediately available.

Fanchini won a bronze in downhill at last year’s world championships and was expected to challenge for an Olympic medal.

The women race next on Feb. 14 at Whistler Mountain for the gold medal in super-combined.