20-year-old German skier edges out veterans in women's giant slalom

WHISTLER — Young German Viktoria Rebensburg out-skied all the veterans today to take women’s giant slalom gold at the 2010 Olympics.

Just 20 years old, Rebensburg turned in a solid second run early this morning to finish with a combined time of two minutes, 27.11 seconds. She edged Tina Maze of Slovenia by 4/100ths of a second and Elisabeth Goergl of Austria by 14/100ths.

The first run was held Wednesday, but the second had to be postponed today because of a thick fog that settled over the middle part of the course in the afternoon.

Today, the fog wasn’t as thick and it was mostly good conditions for the top 30.

While it might have been a bit of a surprise that Rebensburg was in front of such favorites as Kathrin Zettel of Austria (fifth), Kathrin Hoelzel of Germany (sixth) and Tanja Poutiainen of Finland (13th), she has been considered a rising star on the World Cup circuit since she burst onto the scene as an 18-year-old with a seventh-place finish in a giant slalom.

Last February, she was ninth in giant slalom and 10th in super G at the world championships, then a month later swept both those disciplines at the world juniors in her home country.

This season, she was top 10 in five of six World Cup giant slalom races, including a second at the last event before the Olympics.

“She won world juniors by, like, a second and a half and she has a lot of potential,” said Canadian Marie-Michele Gagnon, who is the same age as Rebensburg and has skied against her a lot in junior competition.

“She’s been doing top 10s since 17 almost. Growing up, she’s my idol almost. It’s almost funny to say that.

“But I know that I can ski to her level. I raced FIS races last year and was in front of her, so I know one day I’ll be there.”

Gagon, of Lac-Etchemin, Que., was the best of the four Canadians in the race, finishing 21st in 2:28.89. Britt Janyk of Whistler was 25th, Shona Rubens of Calgary 28th and Marie-Pier Prefontaine of Saint Sauveur, Que., 29th.

Defending Olympic champion Julia Mancuso of the U.S., who was just 18th after the first run when she needed to re-run the course after being flagged down when her teammate, Lindsey Vonn, crashed into the netting, posted the fastest time today. But her run of 1:11.24 could only move her up to eighth place with a combined time of 2:27.66.

Source: Vancouver Sun

Comments

India's swine flu death rate is increasing

Friday, August 14, 2009 MUMBAI: A 26-year-old woman died Thursday of H1N1 swine flu in the southern city of Bangalore, raising India's death toll from the virus to 20, authorities said.The death was the first reported in India's information technology capital, the Press Trust of India reported.Meanwhile in Pune, the worst-affected in India, two more victims of the virus died Thursday, raising the death toll in that western city near Mumbai to 12, the report said. The victims were an 11-month-old boy and a 75-year-old old woman.US media reported movie halls, schools and colleges were ordered closed Thursday for three days to a week in Mumbai, the commercial and financial capital of the country, as fear of the pandemic spread.Prajakata Lavangare, a spokeswoman for the government of Maharashtra state of which Mumbai is the capital, said similar orders were issued in Pune, which is also located in the state.The woman who died in Bangalore was identified only as Roopa, a teacher in...

Snake bite deaths

Monday, July 06, 2009 COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan government recorded some 33,000 snake bites in 2008, with most of the victims coming from remote villages.The Department of Government Information said in a statement that most of the snake bite cases could be fatal if neglected.The statement said snake bites are often neglected in Sri Lanka as victims do not seek treatment at hospitals where advanced medication is available. Instead, the victims rush to traditional type of treatment which could be a risk, reports Xinhua.Snake bites death at domestic level, outside hospitals, go unrecorded, said the statement.Most victims of snake bite are from the rural and remote villages where there is no electricity after dusk.Statistics show that Sri Lanka has over 90 species of snake with around 10 species possessing venom capable of killing a human being.In Sri Lanka the annual death rate due to snake bite envenoming is one of the highest in the world being 6 in 100,000 population.

Cuba's world-famous cigar festival closes in Havana

Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo...

ONE NEWS

Search This Blog