07 FEB 2001 > Women's Slalom
Teenager Paerson Takes Slalom Gold
Slalom Results

As many races so far at these World Championships, the women's slalom ended with a big surprise.

Anja Paerson celebrated an unexpected triumph in a dramatic night race here in St. Anton. Prior to this victory, she had not won a single race since her first success at Mammoth Mountain, California, in December 1998.

The 19-year-old Swede, already in the lead after the first run, won the gold medal 61/100 of a second ahead of France's Christelle Saioni.

"Janica Kostelic seemed unbeatable for me."

Hedde Bernsten of Norway, a former freestyle world class skier and World Champion in telemark, was 3rd.

This next-to-last women's competition was especially demanding due to bad course conditions. Many of those favored to win had problems. Among them were experts such as as Slovenia's Spela Pretnar, the 2000 slalom World Cup champion, who skied out in the first run, as did America's Sarah Schleper.

Among the defeated champions, Croatia's Janica Kostelic, undefeated in the slalom World Cup this season, finished 5th after clocking the third-best time in the first leg. Kristina Koznick finished 8th, a very disappointing result for the US skier who was close to the podium after the first run.

A multiple junior world champion in recent years, Paerson walks in the footsteps of her elder teammate Pernilla Wiberg, who claimed six gold medals including the slalom title in 1996. Paerson, who hasn't reached a podium in slalom this season, has also been inspired by Ingemar Stenmark, who was born Tarnaby in northern Sweden, the same village as Paerson.

Stenmark watched from the finish line. He was the best skier in the world from 1975 to 1989, winning a total of 86 World Cup races and five gold medals from 1978 to 1982. Paerson's father was one of Stenmark's former trainers, and he has also coached his daughter to be a leading champion.

Paerson, who has four consecutive giant slalom podiums so far this season, has struggled in slalom in past months. She finished 5th in Sestriere in December, but she trained hard in the recent weeks to regain her momentum.

"I was totally down at Semmering after failing to qualify for the GS. It was my worse result for a long time, and it obliged me to change my attitude," Paerson said at the press conference. "I had to be tougher with myself."

"I built up my form in January, focusing totally on the World Championships without letting myself be distracted by some slow runs on the World Cup tour. I wanted to win a medal here, but I didn't expect to win gold in slalom. Janica Kostelic seemed unbeatable for me. I lost sometimes five seconds behind her in some races. But here, she was not as efficient as usual. She may have felt too much pressure."

For once, Paerson increased her lead over Saoini in the second run. In past seasons, she failed several time to win races after leading in first runs, most recently last December in Sestriere, where she clocked the fastest in the first GS run.

"I would have never forgiven myself to have missed such a great opportunity, and I gave my best in the second run," she said. "I didn't care about the bad course and the bumps. I just cared about turning well around the gates and keeping a good pace. I pushed myself as hard as I could. What emotion, when I saw the No. 1 appear next to my name of the timing board at the finish line. It was crazy. I have been fighting so hard for this – but I want more."

Anya believes she has the potential to fight one day for the Overall World Cup title, won three times by Stenmark and once by Wiberg – her two idols. "They are so great, and I admire them a lot," she admitted. "I have known Ingemar for 15 years, and I listen carefully to him when he talks to me, even when he just says hello!"

Saioni, runner up last winter in the slalom World Cup standings, reached her main goal of the season with this silver medal. This is the best French result in a slalom since 1996 when Patricia Chauvet finished 2nd in Sierra Nevada, Spain.

The main surprise came from Croatia's Janica Kostelic. The 19-year-old skier from Zagreb never caught her rhythm this time, but she didn't really seemed to care about it. "The course conditions were terrible, and I could not attack" Kostelic said. "It's not a big deal for me. This 5th place is fine. I would have signed for it at the season start before my first win. I'm looking to return on the World Cup tour next week".

International Ski Federation President Gianfranco Kasper also criticized the course conditions and regretted that the race was not fair for all the contenders.

Kostelic, current leader in the Overall World Cup standings, did not show any signs of disappointment. After her failure in the combined event, she insisted once more that there are many things more important in life than victories and defeats.

The Croatian, who injured her knee last season, was even able to smile at the finish area when she told to her fans and friends that it was not a big deal for her to lose this race.

USA's Koznick could not show the same serenity after the race. The US skier cried in her father's arms following a weak second run. In the first leg, she was 4th, not far from Kostelic. But she could not raise her level in the second run.

"It's really hard to miss such a chance. I'm quite depressed," she said. She missed the podium by almost two seconds after her slow second run.

Since Caroline Lalive, who crashed in the downhill, is mot racing on Friday, Sarah Schleper is the last US women to have a serious chance for a medal in the GS.

Switzerland's Sonja Nef, a five-time winner this season, is favored to win that last women's race, but this may not help her in these unpredictable World Championships in St Anton.

— Manuèle Lang, World Cup Correspondent

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