Tina Maze With New Gold Medal!
Published on 10 february 2015Maze's amazing run at the championships continued with a dominant display in the event combining downhill and slalom runs.
Upholding her status as top favourite for the gold, she repeated her winning form from Thursday's downhill race to outpace the competition and set up an almost unbeatable position ahead of the slalom run.
Knowing she has an edge in the slalom over the other top downhill racers, Maze nearly took it too cautiously in the upper part to allow the slalom specialists to edge at her lead, but then quickly stepped on the gas pedal.
Clocking a combined time of 2:33.37, the 31-year-old double Olympic champion from Sochi finished 0.22 seconds ahead of the second-placed Nicole Hosp of Austria. Michaela Kirchgasser was 0.35 seconds adrift in third.
After the race, Maze admitted to feeling some pressure coming into the slalom run because of her status as the clear favourite following the downhill leg. "If I failed to win, it would have been ridiculous," she told public broadcaster RTV Slovenija.
Her coach Andrea Massi told the broadcaster the aggressive snow surface in Vail was a factor in Maze's decision to be more cautious in the early goings of the twisting slalom, before steadying the ship in the lower part.
Maze's run was enough to push her main challenger in recent days Anna Fenninger off of the podium and make her the only competitor with a perfect medals haul - three from three, including two gold.
And if it were not for three-hundredths of a second in the super-G, all three would be gold.
The five-time Slovenian sportswoman of the year has now increased her medals haul at major competitions, Olympics and World Championships, to 13.
In addition to four Olympic medals (two gold, two silver), she has won nine medals at World Championships (four gold and five silver).
Maze will be aiming for a fourth medal in Vail in Thursday's giant slalom, her favourite event.
Source: SloveniaTimes
Photo sources: Zimbio, Mercury
