Italy edges Switzerland to win team parallel event at world alpine ski championship
Defending champion U.S. 4th; Women's super-G opens individual competition Thursday
Italy beat Switzerland to win the mixed team parallel event that opened the world alpine ski championship on Tuesday in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria.
Thomas Tumler was slow out of the gate in the decisive heat of the final and couldn't catch Italy's Alex Vinatzer. The final ended 2-2 and Italy won with an advantage of 0.45 seconds in total time.
It could be the start of a big championship for Italy, which has Federica Brignone and Sofia Goggia in top form and among the favourites in multiple events.
"It's a good start because we invest a lot," Italian team leader Max Carca said. "We have a lot of expectations from the girls side."
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The defending champion United States lost a chance for a medal when Isaiah Nelson lost control toward the end of the fourth and decisive run of the bronze-medal race, handing the medal to Sweden and leaving the Americans in fourth.
Live streaming coverage through the 13-day world alpine ski championship will be available on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.
Host Austria, which had a first-round bye, was eliminated immediately by Sweden while Canada did not enter a team.
In the final, Giorgia Collomb beat Wendy Holdener before Luca Aerni equalized for Switzerland by beating Filippo Della Vite. Then Delphine Darbellay put Switzerland ahead when Lara Della Mea made a series of errors. But Vinatzer, who recently finished second in a World Cup slalom in Kitzbuehel, secured the title.
The women's super-G featuring Brignone, Goggia and Lindsey Vonn on Thursday is the first individual event of the championship.
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