Meissnitzer

The Austrians had an off day in the women's giant slalom on an icy, cold day high in the Colorado Rockies—they only took the gold and the bronze. Norwegian Andrine Flemmen ruined the Austrian's podium stranglehold by taking 2nd, finishing just .30 seconds behind the winner, Alexandra Meissnitzer.

"I was kind of pissed the past few days. Today I skied as aggressive as I ever had. I made a mistake in the first run, so I really skied hard in the second run..." — Alexandra Meissnitzer

Austrian veteran Anita Wachter, whom Meissnitzer called the Queen of Skiing, returned from a career-threatening knee injury to take the bronze. It was just another day at the races for the women from Austria, who've won nine out of 12 medals so far through four events in the 1999 World Alpine Ski Championships.

"It was a perfect day," said Meissnitzer, whose second gold at Vail obviously skewed her perception. Thursday's weather was the worst it's been during the two-week Worlds, with temperatures hovering in the high teens and a cold, snowy wind blowing down the course.

For Meissnitzer, hounded by allegations made by the German team that she's racing on "special skis" that somehow give her an advantage, it was another sunny day in paradise.

She absolutely ripped the second of two runs down Vail's International course, skiing with the wild abandon of her compatriot Hermann Maier, who will try for his third gold in tomorrow's men's giant slalom on Vail's Giant Steps run.

"The second run, the visibility was getting worse. I knew that was good for me because with Anita and her injury, she would be skiing more conservatively," said Meissnitzer, who was 4th in the women's downhill. "I was kind of pissed the past few days. Today I skied as aggressive as I ever had. I made a mistake in the first run, so I really skied hard in the second run."

The big story of the day was the return of Wachter, an Austrian team veteran who turns 32 today. Racing since 1985, Wachter has never missed a Worlds. She missed her first Olympics last year after blowing out her knee. For Wachter, the bronze tasted as sweet as any of her 16 World Cup victories, her three Olympic medals or her overall title in 1993.

"When I came through the finish I was a little bit disappointed. My big goal was to win a medal. After I was injured, many people didn't think that I had it in me to come back," said Wachter, who was fastest in the first run.

With snow falling heavily when she busted out of the gate, Wachter skied a conservative second run, losing a lot of time in the middle and lower sections of the course.

"Today's medal is very important for me," said Wachter, just one of a few athletes who skied in Vail's first Worlds in 1989. "If I look at racing 10 years ago, it looks very different. Now I can enjoy it much more because I know skiing is not the most important thing in life. When I lost when I was younger, I used to cry."

Crying with joy was Norway's Flemmen, who ripped the second run with the second-fastest time to take the silver.

"I like this condition here, when it's hard and difficult. This is good for me when the light is flat. I'm used to that from skiing in Norway," she said.

Tough course conditions took their toll on the field. Flat light and an icy course knocked out 35 of 76 starters. America's top medal hope, Kristina Koznick, had a great day, even though she didn't even finish.

Koznick, the only American coming into the World Alpine Ski Championships with a World Cup win under her belt, raced in Thursday's giant slalom just to get her ski feet under her in preparation for Saturday's slalom on Vail's International course.

"I really thought I would do better, but the thing is that it is so fast for me," said Koznick, who skied out of the second run and didn't finish. "I haven't even skied GS, so that's the fastest I've gone in probably like three or four years."

Koznick, a winner of a slalom race earlier this season, normally doesn't race the giant slalom, but women's coach George Capaul said Koznick was given the start to get the pre-race jitters out of her system before she races the slalom this weekend.

"This was just to get the nerves out, to have a good time and to be nervous in the start gate instead of waiting for one day," she said. "I plan to ski GS next year all the time, but right now, this was just for nerves."

Caroline Lalive, from Steamboat Springs, CO, skied out in the first run and didn't finish, while Kirsten Clark was the top American in 22nd at 2 minutes, 12.67 seconds. Aspen's Alex Shaffer, racing in her first Worlds, finished 27th at 2:15.31.

Men's GS Tomorrow: Triple Sweep for Maier?
Austria's Hermann Maier is hoping to do tomorrow what he didn't do a year ago in Nagano.

At the 1998 Winter Olympics, Maier won the super-G and giant slalom but didn't win the downhill when he took a horrendous spill seen around the world. So far during the 1999 World Alpine Ski Championships, the "Herminator" is on track to complete the triple sweep. He tied for the men's super-G gold and won a dramatic downhill gold medal last weekend on the Birds of Prey course at Beaver Creek.

He enters today's men's giant slalom race on the Giant Steps at Vail Mountain as the man to beat.

"I want to win three gold medals. I came wanting to win three golds," said Maier, who enters the race in second place in the World Cup giant slalom standings. "I'm having so much fun. I hope it continues."

Breathing down Maier's neck is a host of skiers in what should be one of the most exciting and competitive races in the two-week Worlds. So far through six races in the World Cup giant slalom season, there's been a different winner each week except when Maier won twice.

American Bode Miller, ranked 19th in World Cup giant slalom standings, will be the US favorite. Although he skied to a breakthrough 4th place in a slalom at Wengen, Switzerland, last month, Miller's specialty is the giant slalom. Always an aggressive and exciting skier to watch, Miller, the reigning US GS national champion, is feeling good despite going down hard in a spill in the men's combined downhill earlier this week.

Crested Butte's Casey Puckett, with three top-30 finishes in the GS this season, could do well if he decides to race.

— Andrew Hood, Mountain Zone Correspondent