France's Rolland takes gold
February 10, 2013
Sunday's race proved an upset when France's Marion Rolland, 30, finished one minute 50.00 seconds, edging out Italy's Nadia Fanchini who had been in the lead, but then fell slightly behind, crossing the finish line 0.16 seconds later.
Germany's Maria Höfl-Riesch took bronze, her second medal in the World Championship.
"I don't have goosebumps, [but] my heart's racing and I'm shaking. It's really an insane race," Höfl-Riesch said following the race.
The race had begun with several crashes, including by Germany's Veronique Hronek.
The German ski star - who won last year's World Cup and two gold medals at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver - took home gold on Friday in the super-combined event, but showed little disappointment at placing third.
"I'm super happy and there's no reason to complain about anything," she said.
Rolland's gold was her major medal at a major championship, a significant improvement after her well-remembered fall at the 2010 Winter Olympics, just seconds into the race.
kms/hc (AFP, AP, Reuters, dpa)