Italy’s Paris pockets World Super-G gold

ARE, Sweden: In-form Italian speed skier Dominik Paris beat a host of high-class rivals including Norwegian Aksel Lund Svindal to claim super-G gold at the World Ski Championships on Wednesday.Paris, whose only previous world medal was a downhill silver in Schladming in 2013, timed 1min 24.20sec down the 2.2km-long Olympia course in bitterly cold conditions as the race lived up to its billing as one of the most unpredictable at these championships. The 29-year-old, a massive heavy metal fan whose inspiration is American band Pantera, had arrived in Are, Sweden, in prime form having notched up three World Cup victories this season - the Bormio speed double and the famed Kitzbuehel downhill for a third time - along with three other podium finishes. France’s Johan Clarey, 38, tied for silver with Austrian Vincent Kriechmayr, just 0.09sec off Paris’ winning time. The men’s super-G was touted as one of most open disciplines in Sweden, with five different winners on the World Cup circuit this season and a host of podium finishers capable of pushing for a medal. The now-injured Austrian Max Franz won in Beaver Creek, Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud in Lake Louise, Svindal in Val Gardena, Paris in Bormio and Germany’s Josef Ferstl in Kitzbuehel. But Kriechmayr heads the World Cup standings ahead of teammate Matthias Mayer, with Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde in fourth.Despite the open field, there was heartbreak for Norwegian colossus Svindal, however, who finished in 1.25:12 (+0.92). “Tough day on the course today,” Svindal said on instagram. Svindal, who is to retire after Are, has five world titles to his name, but never the super-G. After triumphing in the downhill (2007, 2013), combined (2009, 2011) and giant slalom (2007), hopes were high that the popular Norwegian could strike another gold as part of a perfect farewell from the pistes.

from The News International - Sports http://bit.ly/2BiHPiD