Buck Hill ski kids Vonn, Ankeny score big in World Cup races

It was her 72nd win on the World Cup circuit and a record-equalling 36th in the downhill, matching the onlooking Austrian Annemarie Moser-Proell, who previously held the record of overall wins (62).

ALTENMARKT-ZAUCHENSEE, Austria (AP) – Lindsey Vonn built a commanding lead in the first run of a women’s World Cup downhill on Saturday, while overall leader Lara Gut failed to finish.

American skier Lindsey Vonn won her record-tying 36th women’s World Cup downhill Saturday in Altenmarkt, Austria. The current overall leader, Lara Gut, did not finish her opening run and scored no points.

Along with Gut, Viktoria Rebensburg had also threatened to outdo Vonn, but a costly late error left the German nearly two seconds off the pace in 11th. Austria’s Cornelia Huetter finished third, 1.66 seconds behind Vonn. The title was her 73rd World Cup win, leaving her only 13 shy of Ingemar Stenmark’s all-time record of 86. It was the hardest moment in my career, I lost so much time, I lost the Olympics. In the overall standings, Vonn trails Gut by 158 points.

The last super-G Vonn didn’t win was in Bankso, Bulgaria, in March past year, as she placed third behind victor Anna Fenninger and runner-up Tina Maze.

Lindsey Vonn gives the thumbs up after moving atop the leaderboard during Sunday’s super G.

“I just had a bad feeling after (not finishing the downhill in) Val d’Isere”, she said.

Yurkiw called racing against Vonn “a constant challenge”.

In truth, Vonn had the victory all but tied up thanks to a near flawless first run on the bumpy course which put her way ahead of the field and enabled her to take less risks on the second outing. “The bottom part of this course is the most important part”.

“I am very happy”.

The next women’s World Cup event is a night slalom in nearby Flachau on Tuesday.

It’s the second time in her career since 2009 that Vonn is on a four-race winning streak.

By the dawn’s early light on a narrow, winding course, Austrian fans saw 58 racers start Sunday’s super G at Altenmarkt-Zauchensee, and they looked on as an American won for the second day in a row.