Alpine skiing-Goggia crashes out in Zauchensee downhill, Gut-Behrami wins

Jan 15 (Reuters) – Switzerland’s Lara Gut-Behrami claimed victory in the women’s World Cup downhill in Zauchensee in Austria, but reigning Olympic champion Sofia Goggia suffered a scare in a heavy crash on Saturday.

The 30-year-old Gut-Behrami seized her chance to top a downhill podium for the first time this season, clocking 1:45.78 to beat Germany’s Kira Weidle by one tenth of a second.

Austria’s Ramona Siebenhofer finished third, 0.44 slower.

There was a sharp intake of breath when Goggia, the dominant racer in women’s World Cup downhill and favourite to retain her title at the Beijing Olympics next month, lost control.

After a perfect first half of her run, Goggia looked on course to claim an eighth successive World Cup downhill victory. But she came to grief as she approached a tight turn and crashed heavily, hitting the red safety netting at high speed.

Thankfully, after gathering herself she sat up and gave a brief thumbs up before clambering to her feet, although she appeared winded after the impact.

Goggia, who had won her last seven World Cup downhills and leads the overall standings, was able to ski down to the finish area. (Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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