Vonn takes Garmisch downhill for 77th win

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany — US ski queen Lindsey Vonn announced her return to form on Saturday, after nearly a year out with injury, with victory in the downhill at Garmisch, her 77th World Cup win. Vonn, sidelined after fracturing her arm last year, surged down the icy Kandahar course in one minute 43.41 to claim victory. Swiss star Lara Gut, last season’s overall World Cup winner, finished second at 0.15sec behind with Germany’s Viktoria Rebensburg third at 0.48. The 32-year-old Vonn chalked up her 77th World Cup victory, edging her closer to Ingemar Stenmark’s all-time record of 86 wins. Vonn made her return to competition last week when she had to be content with a disappointing 13th at Altenmarkt, Austria. But there was no stopping the American in the Bavarian Alps as she flew out of the start gate and consistently picked up speed down the course. The four-time overall World Cup winner also won last year’s downhill in Garmisch and has now won seven times in the Bavarian Alps, either in super-G, downhill or slalom. Vonn broke her right arm in a training fall at Copper Mountain in Colorado last November. It was the latest in a line of serious injuries to beset Vonn, which had kept her out of racing since February 2016. Vonn can chalk up a second win in Garmisch in Sunday’s super-G, which starts at 1200 (1100 GMT). Her downhill victory is perfect timing ahead of the world skiing championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland, from Feb. 6-19.

Mayer wins super-G in Kitzbuehel

Matthias Mayer finally managed to get over last season’s horrifying downhill crash, giving the host country a winning start to the traditional Hahnenkamm races on Friday. The Olympic downhill champion wore a protective air bag system but still broke two vertebrae as his body slammed on an ice slope in Italy 13 months ago. “When I returned this season, the crash was still in my head,” Mayer said. “I didn’t dare to race to the fullest. I was happy to be back but I wasn’t racing. Today was the first time that those thoughts were not there. It’s a huge step forward for me.” Under crisp blue skies and on a fast course where racers reached speeds of up to 140 kph (87 mph), Mayer’s gutsy run of 1 minute, 11.25 seconds beat Christof Innerhofer of Italy by 0.09 seconds. Beat Feuz of Switzerland was 0.44 behind in third. In the final super-G ahead of next month’s world championships, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde missed the podium by 0.02 seconds in fourth. Norwegian teammate Aksel Lund Svindal, who won the race last year, underwent knee surgery this week and has ended his season. The win is Mayer’s fourth, but the first since he won two races in as many days in another Austrian resort, Saalbach, in February 2015. Innerhofer also got back to his best following an injury. The Italian hurt his lower left leg in last month’s combined event on home snow in Santa Caterina Valfurva. “It’s incredible,” said Innerhofer, who skipped Thursday’s second downhill training to get extra rest. “I have been sitting on the couch for three weeks, watching all the others race. But I had a good training run and I was really relaxed before the start today. My joy at the finish was immense.” — AFP