Maribor, Slovenia (Saturday, January 25, 2003) - Sweden's Anja Paerson took a huge first-run lead and padded it in the second run Saturday to win a World Cup giant slalom by 1.22 seconds over Nicole Hosp of Austria. Top American was Sarah Schleper (Vail, CO) in 24th place.

Paerson took a commanding 1.5-second lead in the first run, helping her successfully keep her competitors at bay despite her 31st start in the second run. She finished first (two minutes, 24.63) in both the race and with many of the fans as she hammed it up in the finish. Austria’s Nicole Hosp didn’t disappoint her nation’s fans who made their way to Maribor for the race - she finished in second with a time of 2:25.85. Martina Ertl of Germany was third in 2:26.26.

Thousands of Croatian fans were out to cheer Janica Kostelic, who will be honored with an award of the European Journalists’ Association for the best sportswoman in Europe in 2002 at a ceremony in downtown Maribor on Saturday evening. She finished the giant slalom in 17th-place. Many more Croatians are expected to be in attendance to support Kostelic at Sunday’s slalom event, as Maribor is located near the Croatian border.

Skies were cloudy with temperatures in the low 30s. Contrary to forecast predictions, the weather didn’t quite dip below freezing long enough to freeze up the Maribor course, creating a very bumpy ride for late starters in the first run. Only three racers who started outside the top seed qualified for the second run.

On a course where start positions were everything, Canada’s Genevieve Simard and Britt Janyk turned their mid-20 bibs into top-15 finishes.

Simard was the day’s top Canadian finisher. She posted the fastest time in the second run to finish ninth. Saturday’s results followed Simard’s 13th-place finish at Cortina last week - her two best results in the giant slalom this season.

“I feel it’s finally coming together,” said Simard at the finish. “Being 20th all the time, I have to be honest, I was getting a little bitter. I needed to snap out of it and start feeling less bitter. Confidence is everything. I was really fired up in the start. I was confident and inspired, so it’s easy to race when you feel that way.”

Her teammate Janyk, who started 25th, posted the fastest Canadian time in the first run. She ended the day in 12th place, only tenths of a second outside the top 10.

“I’m really, really satisfied with my day,” said Janyk. “I didn’t qualify last weekend at Cortina. It’s because I was sick, but still, it made me unsure about this weekend. This builds my racing confidence.”


FIS WORLD CUP 2002/2003
Maribor, SLO - 25.01.2003
Women’s giant slalom

Rank Name, Nation, Run 1, Run 2, Total time
1. PAERSON Anja, SWE, 1:11.27, 1:13.36, 2:24.63
2. HOSP Nicole, AUT, 1:12.77, 1:13.08, 2:25.85
3. ERTL Martina, GER, 1:12.80, 1:13.46, 2:26.26
4. DORFMEISTER Michaela, AUT, 1:12.62, 1:13.71, 2:26.33
5. PUTZER Karen, ITA, 1:12.77, 1:13.75, 2:26.52
6. POUTIAINEN Tanja, FIN, 1:13.27, 1:13.27, 2:26.54
7. MAZE Tina, SLO, 1:13.17, 1:13.38, 2:26.55
8. RIENDA CONTRERAS Maria Jose, SPA, 1:12.98, 1:13.64, 2:26.62
9. SIMARD Genevieve, Val-Morin, Que., 1:13.61, 1:13.08, 2:26.69
10. ROHREGGER Eveline, AUT, 1:13.11, 1:13.62, 2:26.73
11. NEF Sonja, SUI, 1:12.40, 1:14.45, 2:26.85
12. JANYK Britt, Whistler, B.C., 1:13.22, 1:13.76, 2:26.98
13. KARBON Denise, ITA, 1:13.40, 1:13.61, 2:27.01
14. HEEB-BATLINER Birgit, LIE, 1:13.15, 1:14.00, 2:27.15
15. MEISSNITZER Alexandra, AUT, 1:12.92, 1:14.26, 2:27.18
16. FLEMMEN Andrine, NOR, 1:13.82, 1:13.53, 2:27.35
17. KOSTELIC Janica, CRO, 1:13.47, 1:13.89, 2:27.36
18. NILSEN Stina Hofgard, NOR, 1:13.98, 1:13.75, 2:27.73
19. MONTILLET Carole, FRA, 1:13.79, 1:14.03, 2:27.82
20. OBERMOSER Brigitte, AUT, 1:12.85, 1:15.00, 2:27.85
21. BERGER Silvia, AUT, 1:13.78, 1:14.16, 2:27.94
22. OTTOSSON Anna, SWE, 1:14.17, 1:13.81, 2:27.98
23. FORSYTH Allison, Nanaimo, B.C., 1:13.53, 1:14.48, 2:28.01
24. SCHLEPER Sarah, USA, 1:14.34, 1:13.71, 2:28.05
25. BACHMANN Silke, ITA, 1:14.25, 1:13.99, 2:28.24
26. AUFDENBLATTEN Fraenzi, SUI, 1:14.23, 1:14.05, 2:28.28
27. GOETSCHL Renate, AUT, 1:14.60, 1:14.43, 2:29.03
28. PLANATSCHER Maddalena, ITA, 1:15.37, 1:14.07, 2:29.44
29. CLARK Kirsten L, USA, 1:14.55, 1:14.91, 2:29.46
30. KOZNICK Kristina, USA, 1:15.37, 1:14.25, 2:29.62
31. MOELGG Manuela, ITA, 1:14.72, 1:18.10, 2:32.82

Did not start 1st run:
SCHILD Marlies (AUT)

Did not finish 1st run:
LALIVE Caroline (USA), RIESCH Maria (GER), STYGER Nadia (SUI), KURFUERSTOVA Eva (CZE), BLAGOULIAK Tatiana (RUS)

Did not qualify 1st run:
KUMMER Lilian (SUI), REY BELLET Corinne (SUI), DOVZAN Alenka (SLO), LINDELL-VIKARBY Jessica (SWE), GOERGL Elisabeth (AUT), GIUS Nicole (ITA), PASCAL Christel (FRA), HOELZL Kathrin (GER), KLEON Barbara (ITA), STIEGLER Resi (USA), HARGIN Janette (SWE), LECHNER Martina (AUT), DICHT Erika (SUI), OESTER Marlies (SUI), GERG Annemarie (GER), GALINDO SANTOLARIA Ana (SPA), HEREGGER Selina (AUT), VIERIN Sonia (ITA), GERG Hilde (GER), HRSTKOVA Lucie (CZE), KNAPP Monika (ITA), PELTIER Audrey (FRA), JELUSIC Ana (CRO), EKMAN Susanne (SWE), LAZIER Laurence (FRA), BRYDON Emily (Fernie, B.C.), FLEISS Nika (CRO), DREV Ana (SLO), VIKEN Line (NOR), LOLOVIC Jelena (JUG), KOBAL Ana (SLO), SOELLING Sophie (DAN), REPCINOVA Kristina (SVK)

World Cup Standings

Women's Overall (23 races)
1. Janica Kostelic, Croatia – 1,262 points
2. Karen Putzer, Italy, 790
3. Dorfmeister, 697
4. Paerson, 660
5. Carole Montillet, France, 610
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9. Clark, 485
14. Lalive, 308
20. Schleper, 249
23. Jonna Mendes, Heavenly, CA, 213
43. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA, 135
50. Koznick, 107
63. Libby Ludlow, Bellevue, WA, 44
70T. Katie Monahan, Aspen, CO, 39
88. Stiegler, 24
103T. Bryna McCarty, Concord, VT, 6

Women's GS (7 races)
1. Putzer, 384
2. Paerson, 369
3. Sonja Nef, Switzerland, 329
4. Kostelic, 303
5. Hosp, 272
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23. Schleper, 90
24. Lalive, 67
29. Clark, 46
33. Koznick, 31