Vonn 6th in combined

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland — Lindsey Vonn was sixth-fastest in the downhill portion of the combined race at the World Skiing Championships Friday, with Sofia Goggia of Italy in the lead. There was drama ahead of the afternoon slalom run, when third-placed Lara Gut of Switzerland crashed in training and was airlifted to a hospital in St. Moritz. Swiss team spokesman Jerome Krieg told The Associated Press there was no immediate report of Gut’s possible injuries. Gut, the defending overall World Cup champion, was seeking to add a combined medal to her bronze from super-G on Tuesday. Vonn trailed at each time check on a course shortened by forecast poor weather on higher sections. She finished 0.85 seconds behind Goggia, and 0.18 behind American teammate Laurenne Ross, who was fifth. Vonn taped her right ski pole to her glove to combat handling problems that have persisted since she broke her right upper arm in November. Goggia, who has never completed a World Cup slalom, was 0.12 faster than Ilka Stuhec of Slovenia. Stuhec won the only World Cup combined event this season. Gut had been 0.43 behind, and Swiss teammate Wendy Holdener, who has six top-3 slalom finishes this season, was seventh, with 0.94 to make up on Goggia. The shorter downhill leg seemed to tip the advantage toward the slalom specialists for this afternoon’s second run. Holdener, who is third in the season-long World Cup slalom standings, punched the air after crossing the finish line and seeing her time. The home team also placed Michelle Gisin in fourth place, with a 0.57 gap to close on Goggia. Gisin and Goggia took the podium places behind Stuhec in the combined in December in Val d’Isere, France. Gisin’s older sister Dominique took gold in the 2014 Olympic downhill, in a tie with Tina Maze of Slovenia. — AFP