Goggia earns fifth downhill win as Wellinger claims Planica medals

Sofia Goggia all but wrapped up her fourth FIS Alpine Ski World Cup downhill title with a fifth season win as Marco Odermatt, Clément Noël and German ski jumper Andreas Wellinger also impressed in World Cup and World Championships action.
Goggia came into the Crans Montana stop with four 2022/2023 FIS Alpine Ski World Cup downhill victories already to her name, despite picking up finger injuries that could have ended her season early.
The Italian posted a time of 1:26.81 on Sunday with compatriot Federica Brignone 0.15s off in second place and France’s Laura Gauche third 0.41s as Kiwi Alice Robinson finished a creditable 11th.
Goggia’s fifth downhill victory of the season leaves her 179 points clear of Slovenian Ilka Štuhec in the standings with just two races left, all but ensuring a fourth downhill crystal globe for the Bergamo native.
Odermatt finished just 0.03s off Austrian winner Marco Schwarz in the Palisades Tahoe giant slalom with Norwegian Rasmus Windingstad third, compatriot Henrik Kristoffersen fourth, Frenchman Alexis Pinturault seventh, Swiss Loïc Meillard 11th and Italian Alex Vinatzer 25th.
In Sunday’s men’s slalom, Frenchman Noël led by 0.07s after the first run but slipped down to joint third after the second run behind Norwegian duo Alexander Steen Olsen and Timon Haugan.
Meanwhile Kristoffersen finished fifth, Pinturault 12th, Meillard 21st and Vinatzer 28th with Norway’s Lucas Braathen 32 points ahead of compatriot Kristoffersen with just the final Soldeu slalom title race left.
The GS result leaves Odermatt 100 points clear of Kristoffersen in the giant slalom standings with three races left and 386 points ahead of Norway’s Aleksander Aamodt Kilde in the overall title race.
Elsewhere, Wellinger opened the 2023 FIS Ski Jumping World Championships with an impressive Planica silver medal behind Polish champion Piotr Zyla as Wellinger’s compatriot Karl Geiger got bronze.
On Sunday, Wellinger teamed up with Geiger, Selina Freitag and Katharina Althaus to hold their nerve and win gold in the Mixed Team HS100 event as Norway claimed silver and Slovenia earned bronze.