SCHLADMING, Austria (Feb. 12) - A near capacity crowd was on hand Tuesday night to cheer the host country of Austria to victory in the FIS Alpine Ski World Championships Team Event. The powerhouse slalom skiing Swedes edged the U.S. Ski Team in the quarter final and went on to earn the silver medal with Germany in bronze. David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, CO), who was strong in the Moscow City Event before World Championships, led the U.S. squad by winning all of his duels.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The U.S. Ski Team was edged in the second round of the Nations Team Event by Sweden who went on to win silver.
- David Chodounsky (Crested Butte, CO) won each of his duels. Tim Jitloff (Reno, NV), Stacey Cook (Mammoth Mountain, CA) and Laurenne Ross (Bend, OR) also represented the U.S. Ski Team.
- Austria brought the home country crowd to a roar with their first gold medal of the championships while the U.S. finished in a four-way tie for fifth.
- Germany captured bronze with a nail biting victory over Canada.
- The event was a parallel slalom with four athletes from each nation competing head-to-head. The fastest team moved on to the next round.
- Racing action now shifts to tech events with the women's giant slalom on Feb. 14 followed by the men's GS on Friday with Ted Ligety (Park City, UT) seeking to defend his 2011 title with a third gold medal in Schladming.
- The U.S. Ski Team is currently leading the medal table with two gold medals from Ligety and a bronze in super G from Julia Mancuso (Squaw Valley, CA).
QUOTES
David Chodounsky
Moscow was my first time in an event like this. I've raced like this before just for fun, racing ski club when I was little back home. I skied the best I could. We got to the quarterfinals, but couldn't quite pull it off against Sweden. They're really strong.
I have a few days now to train, rest and get ready for the slalom that will close the championships on Sunday.
Laurenne Ross
I had tons of fun. I've never done a team event before, so it was really exciting and actually a little but nerve wracking with all of these people. I'm not sure how many fans are here. It feels like a billion. The energy is really awesome in these team events. I had a really good time. I hope I can keep participating in them.
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