International Capsules: Abbott wins 2nd U.S. title, Vancouver Games up next
SPOKANE, Wash. — Any other year, those medals around the necks of Jeremy Abbott, Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir would be their most prized possession.
This year, though, the American flag tops them.
Abbott, Lysacek and Weir are on their way to the Vancouver Olympics, giving the United States its strongest team since Brian Boitano’s days. The three have had a stranglehold on the national title since 2004 and, with Abbott winning his second straight Sunday, each has won it multiple times. Lysacek is the reigning world champion, Abbott won last year’s Grand Prix final and Weir was the bronze medalist at the 2008 worlds.
Having just one of them would be a bonanza for most countries.
"Very strong," Lysacek said when asked to assess the team. "I’m very honored to be part of this team and stand next to these two guys. Of the six, seven, eight, nine, 10 incredible men that competed tonight, we came out on top.
"We’re going to work really hard, and we’re going to do really well."
And better, Lysacek and Weir promised, than they did Sunday.
This was the deepest men’s field in years at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, and it figured to be a dogfight to make the Olympic team. But Abbott, Lysacek and Weir broke away from the pack in Friday’s short program, and it likely would have taken a total collapse to knock one of them out.
That didn’t happen. While Lysacek and Weir both had flawed programs, Abbott provided a fitting end to the competition with a stirring performance. He showed off his entire arsenal of jumps, doing them with a grace and ease that comes with knowing you are well-trained for this moment.
He opened up his program with a quadruple toe loop jump, landing it more easily than some guys do triples, and also did a triple axel-triple toe combination. With Lysacek falling on his quad attempt, those jumps might have been enough to put Abbott at the top. But he tossed off a triple lutz-triple toe-double loop combo for good measure.
Abbott’s classical program wasn’t as entertaining as his "A Day in the Life" short program, but he brought the house down with his final spin. It was so tight and centered, it had to have drilled a hole in the middle of the ice and the fans were on their feet before he stopped whirling.
His score of 263.66 points was 25 more than Lysacek — a landslide for those of you still confused by skating’s new judging system.
"My goal was to be on the team and continue to peak at the right time and improve on each performance, and I feel I’ve stuck to that plan," Abbott said. "Winning is just the icing on the cake, and I’m so honored to represent the United States as the national champion."
His performance was a bit of redemption, too. After winning the title last year, he imploded with dismal performances at Four Continents and the world championships. That prompted him to make a coaching change last May, a decision many questioned because it was coming so close to the Olympics. When he got off to a slow start this season, the doubters grew.
But the move was about more than skating. Abbott grew as a person, too, and his newfound confidence is what made all the difference Sunday.
"Everyone has doubt in themselves, but I used to believe it," Abbott said. "That little nagging voice in the back of my head that told me I couldn’t do it, I’d believe it. I’m learning I can quiet that voice and tell it to shut up."
Lysacek didn’t have his usual flair, looking more like he was doing a test run than a true performance. Which, in some ways, it was.
The United States’ best hope for an Olympic gold medal since Brian Boitano won in ‘88, Lysacek made significant upgrades to his programs after winning last month’s Grand Prix final in hopes of improving his technical score. All but assured a place in Vancouver, he was more concerned with seeing how those changes worked here than the final results.
"I have mixed feelings. I’m so, so honored to be a part of a second Olympic team, and I’m saving my Olympic skate for that night," Lysacek said.
Good thing. Lysacek fell on his quadruple toe, one of the jumps he just added, and did a very crooked double loop. He also had to fight to save the landing of his triple axel-double toe combination, and his footwork seemed to lack in energy.
Lysacek knew it wasn’t his best — certainly not the majestic performance he had here in 2007 to win his first national title — sticking out his tongue in Mr. Yuk fashion when he finished. As he skated off the ice, he detoured to check the tracings of his quad attempt, slapping his hands together.
"He knows he’s much better than that," coach Frank Carroll said.
Lysacek agreed.
"What happened here is absolutely no reflection of what I’m going to be like at the Olympics," he promised.
Weir said much the same thing after a tentative, one-dimensional performance. He was actually fifth in the free skate, but finished third overall because of the cushion he’d built in the short program.
"This was a performance I gave to make the Olympic team," he said. "That was my goal. My goal wasn’t to be the national champion."
A fixture at the top of the national and international scene, Weir was considered a lock to be in Vancouver until his lackluster performance at last year’s U.S. championships. He was so bad, he didn’t make the world team, the first time since 2003 he was on the sidelines. With worlds in his own country, no less.
He was so devastated he actually considered quitting, only bouncing back after a pep talk from his mother, and it was clear Sunday just how much a second trip to the Olympics means to him. The colorful, quirky and always entertaining Weir was flat, popping his second triple axel into a single and stepping out of the landing of his triple-triple combination. Only his final footwork segment got the crowd going.
"I have very mixed feelings about my performance tonight. There’s lots of things I can be proud of and, of course, mistakes I’m not so happy about," Weir said. "I’m saving that perfect, amazing clean performance (for Vancouver).
"My costume looked pretty," he added, "so I’m happy about that."
Ehh. Weir redesigned his costume after the Grand Prix final, and it was disappointingly tame, with only sparkles and a touch of fur — white fox, for you fashionistas — to glam it up. His idol, Lady Gaga, would definitely not approve.
"It was fluffy," Weir said. "I looked very special. I looked like I dressed up for this event, which is what I wanted."
No, he wanted a shot at Olympic gold. And now he, Abbott and Lysacek will have it.
"I think the three of us will represent the United States extremely well," Abbott said, "and I think it’s going to be very, very exciting."
Heeeere’s Johnny! Weir’s reality show making debut
SPOKANE, Wash. — Those who can’t get enough of Johnny Weir and his antics, don’t worry. He’s not going to leave you hanging until the Vancouver Olympics.
Weir’s reality show, "Be Good Johnny Weir" premieres Monday night on the Sundance Channel. The eight-part series, which chronicles the ups and downs of an elite athlete, is a follow-up to this summer’s "Pop Star on Ice" documentary.
"It’s about me," Weir said, a touch incredulous, when asked why people should watch it. "No, it’s a real athlete show. It’s not a fluff piece, nothing is pre-scripted. ... It’s the real life of what it takes to be a figure skater."
And a fashionista and a costume designer and a guy who gives skating color (as if it needed any more).
It’s Weir’s skating ability that first drew him attention. He’s one of the most lyrical and expressive skaters around, someone who can make simple crossovers look like a work of art, and he has been a fixture on the national and international scene for the better part of the decade. He won three straight titles from 2004-06, and was the world bronze medalist in 2008.
But it’s his "personality" that has given him cult status. He says whatever is on his mind, regardless of how controversial or quirky it might be. He has likened his costumes to "a Care Bear on acid" and "an icicle on coke," and he attributed his rough free skate at the Turin Olympics to not feeling his "aura. Inside I was black."
His costumes are often, to put it politely, garish. Though the one he had Sunday, which was redesigned after last month’s Grand Prix final, was surprisingly subdued. Sure, there sparkles and a puff of white fur on the left shoulder — fox, to be exact — but there was no bird, no laces, not even very much mesh.
"I thought it was lovely," Weir said. "It was fluffy. I looked very special. I looked like I dressed up for this event, which is what I wanted."
Weir was then asked if he’s hoping to get a spot on Bravo’s "Launch My Line" show.
"I don’t know that I want to be a reality show maven and go on every single one that would possibly have me," he said.
Ah yes, back to his show.
A camera crew has been following Weir since last season, chronicling his day-to-day life. Yes, there are some shopping trips and some glamorous events. But most of the show will be devoted to his real life: the long hours of training and preparation that it takes to become an Olympic athlete.
"I rarely see friends, I rarely see family. I go to train, I come home, I eat my dinner, I go to bed and I get up the next morning and do it again," he said. "I’m doing what a real athlete should be doing."
The eight-episode show was designed to trace Weir’s journey to the Olympics. By finishing third overall Sunday, he earned a spot on his second Olympic team.
"So it’s good to have a good series finale now," Weir joked before turning serious. "First and foremost is skating, and everything else comes second. I’m going to Vancouver for a medal; I’m not going just to compete."
-- Nancy Armour
Chan wins third straight Canadian championship
LONDON, Ontario — Patrick Chan won his third straight Canadian figure skating title Sunday with a performance that left plenty of room for improvement at the Vancouver Olympics.
The reigning world silver medallist scored 177.88 points for his free program to "Phantasia" from Andrew Lloyd Webber’s "Phantom of the Opera," and 268.02 overall, despite skipping the second jump on an opening combination and touching his hand down on a triple toe loop.
"I feel awesome," Chan said with a wide grin. "I’m really taken aback with everything that’s happened here. With all the hardship that I had this season I was able to come through with a good performance here, and to get to put that jacket on, you start realizing, I’m really going to the Olympics."
Chan appears headed in the right direction after a few tumultuous months that included a bout of the flu, a torn calf muscle that left him playing catch-up, and then news just a month before the Olympics that Don Laws was quitting as his coach.
"I think we set him on a good path," Chan’s coach and choreographer Lori Nichol said. "He’s been working hard, he’s been working smart, and I think tonight showed the progress of that, and there’s a lot of work to do."
Vaughn Chipeur won the silver with 222.10 points, and Kevin Reynolds moved up from fifth place to win bronze after landing a pair of quads that earned him 216.49 points.
Chipeur and the 19-year-old Chan will fill Canada’s two spots to Vancouver next month.
"Just really humbled and I’m really happy with the way I performed," Chan said.
Also on the team are ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Jessica Dube and partner Bryce Davison, and 24-year-old Joannie Rochette, who will lead the charge to the podium in a sport in which Canada has won a medal in every Winter Games going back to 1984.
Canada has two entries in each of the four disciplines in Vancouver. The Canadian silver medallists that are also Olympic bound — most of which will be reaching their peak in 2014 — are Cynthia Phaneuf and Chipeur in women’s and men’s singles, Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier in dance, and Anabelle Langlois and Cody Hay in pairs.
"I think everyone is ready for Vancouver, and even here, the decision was tough in a couple of events, it is so close," said Rochette, who was fifth at the Grand Prix final last month. "We have more depth now, and that’s why I think the top athletes are getting stronger and stronger."
Both the pairs and ice dance events came down to the wire, with less than a point deciding silver and bronze in the dance.
"It’s a sad thing that we only have two entries in every event, but you know what? It also brought the best out of everyone," said Langlois, the team’s oldest member at 28. "How the skating has gone this weekend, we know that people have been fighting and training all year for it, so I know we have fighters and nobody’s going to just go for the experience."
Because of the team’s youthfulness, Mike Slipchuk, Skate Canada’s high performance director, assembled the support staff for Vancouver with experience as a key requirement.
The Olympic skating begins Feb. 14 in Vancouver.
"Every member of our staff — medical, media, team leaders — have multiple Games experience, because I felt that would be very crucial, especially at home," Slipchuk said. "I didn’t want to go into a Games with someone who has never led a team at an Olympic Games with and with skaters that had never been there."
Cycling
Armstrong fronts up in criterium
ADELAIDE, Australia — Lance Armstrong said criteriums weren't his strong point, then he undermined that claim by taking a daring, leading role in Sunday's 31-mile prelude to cycling's Tour Down Under.
The seven-time Tour de France champion promised a conservative approach before the race, saying he would sit in the pack and stay out of trouble, but shelved that script and headed a breakaway that led the race for 11 of 30 laps.
Armstrong was joined by 2006 Tour de France champion Oscar Pereiro in a five-man breakaway that led the race from the 17th lap, dwindling to three riders before being caught by the peleton two laps from the finish.
New Zealander Greg Henderson went on to win the race, beating Team Sky teammate Chris Sutton of Australia. Britain's first ProTour team was making its international debut, as was Armstrong's United States-based Team Radioshack.
Armstrong fell back to finish 62nd among 133 riders, 8 seconds behind the winner.
"Sometimes it's better to be up in a small group rather than fighting with 100 guys for every wheel and every corner," Armstrong said. "I had a small desire to be in a group like that. That one stayed away longer than we all expected."
Armstrong took a prominent role in the breakaway, leading out repeatedly and crossing the start-finish line in first place after the 19th and 22nd laps. Wearing the red and gray uniform of Team Radioshack and the yellow and black helmet of his Livestrong foundation, the Texan supported his claim that he is a better, stronger rider than when he finished 29th overall in last year's race.
"I feel good," Armstrong said. "I've been training hard and training with some intensity and I feel strong."
Armstrong stationed himself near the head of the peleton through the early stages of the race on a a tight street circuit in Adelaide's eastern parklands.
He was on hand to join a 17th-lap break that featured Spain's Pereiro, riding for the Kazakhstan-based Astana team, France's Mikael Cherel and Mathieu Perget, and Slovakia's former world junior mountainbike champion Peter Sagan.
The small group set a sapping pace, eventually opening leads of up to 13 seconds over the peleton. Pereiro took his turns in front, leading across the line after the 23rd and 27th laps with Armstrong close on his wheel.
Slowly, the peleton began to draw the leaders in and after 24 laps their lead was down to 11 seconds, then 9, then 5. On the 28th lap, the breakaway group was gathered in and first Team High Road, then Team Sky took the front.
Henderson anticipated a bunched finish and nestled near the head of the pack before timing his sprint to cross the finish line inches ahead of Sutton, winning in 1 hour, 4 minutes, 33 seconds.
The New Zealander said his teammates could not have dreamed of such a successful international debut.
"We had a team meeting before the race and our objective was just to make a presence for Team Sky," Henderson said. "One of the team said a dream start would be a win and to achieve that is unbelievable.
"To start a team off in this way is just unheard of."
The official first stage of the six-state Tour Down Under takes place Tuesday in rural South Australia rate and the race finishes Sunday.
-- Steve McMorran
Running
Olympian Flanagan wins Houston half-marathon
HOUSTON — Americans Shalane Flanagan, Antonio Vega and Brett Gotcher felt as if they took big first steps Sunday toward the 2012 Olympics in London.
Flanagan, who won the bronze medal in the 10,000 meters in Beijing, won the women's race at the Aramco Houston Half Marathon, setting a course record in her first attempt at the distance.
Vega was the overall winner of the half marathon, and Gotcher was the top American finisher and seventh overall in the Chevron Houston Marathon.
Flanagan, entered in a race longer than 10,000 meters for the first time, covered the 13.1 miles in 1 hour, 9 minutes, 41 seconds to surpass the mark of 1:10.55 Colleen De Reuck set in 2004.
"The primary goal was to win the race," Flanagan said. "Everything else was a bonus. I feel like I gave a really good effort, but I actually feel like I have more running in my legs. That's a good sign to me."
The 28-year-old Flanagan used the race as a gauge for her training as she aims for the Olympic marathon in London.
"Physically and mentally, you kind of have to callus yourself to be able to endure these kinds of distances," she said. "I showed myself today, more than anything, that I can handle it.
"I hope I have two more Olympics in me, and I would love to be able to make myself into a marathon runner before 2012. You can't rush it, though. You've got to do it right."
Flanagan previously set American records in the 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 meters. She fought off anxiety during Sunday's race, wondering if her endurance was going to hold up.
"It was a lot of fun, but a little nerve-racking in the middle of the race," she said. "I might have had a patch where I was like, 'Oooh, can I really sustain this?' But then I got into a groove and clicked the miles away. I just settled in and got comfortable."
Teshome Gelana, of Ethiopia, won the full marathon in a course-record 2:07.37. Gotcher finished in 2:10.36, an American record for the event.
Defending champion Teyba Erkesso, also from Ethiopia, won the women's marathon in 2:23.53. She beat her own course record by almost 30 seconds. Paige Higgins was the top American, finishing fourth in 2:33.22.
Gotcher, who trains in Flagstaff, Ariz., wants to run in the New York Marathon, as early as this year. Like Flanagan, Gotcher's ultimate goal is the marathon in London.
"We wanted to be very aggressive," Gotcher said. "The last three miles, it kind of caught up to me. I didn't want to have anything left, I wanted to make sure of that everything was left out on the course today and I can definitely say that's the case."
The races began under clear skies and a temperature of 42 degrees. Vega usually trains on a treadmill in frigid Minnesota, so the conditions were perfect for him.
"This was warm for me, and the best part about it was there was no ice on the pavement," Vega said. "I didn't have any goals coming in. I thought I was in shape, but it's hard to get an idea of what kind of shape you're in until you actually race. I came here, ran as hard as I could, and I had a great day."
-- Chris Duncan
Kastor wins half-marathon, Yea wins marathon
PHOENIX — Former Olympic bronze medalist Deena Kastor won the women’s half-marathon and Ethiopian Terefe Yea finished first in the men’s marathon in the Arizona Rock n’ Roll races on Sunday.
Canadian Simon Bairu also upset American record holder Ryan Hall in the men’s half-marathon, and Teyba Naser, a 23-year-old Ethiopian, was the women’s marathon winner.
"We knew Ryan would throw everything he had at me," Bairu said, "but if I could weather the early storm, I felt that I would have the mental edge in the final miles."
The top American in the men’s marathon was Jeff Eggleston, who finished sixth in his first attempt at the 26.2-mile race.
Kastor, who was the marathon bronze medalist at the 2004 Athens Games, won a race for the first time in 10 months. She broke her right foot in the 2008 Beijing Olympics marathon.
Her time was 1 hour, 9 minutes and 43 seconds. She was on pace for the American record before a headwind and lack of competition slowed her down in the second half of the race.
"This race solidifies that my training has been going well," Kastor said. "Running sub-1:10 off this training makes me excited about my next phase.
Kastor plans to run in the London Marathon in April.
Yea finished in 2:12:41, 15 seconds ahead of Kenya’s Christopher Kipyego. Yea also won the Arizona Rock n’ Roll marathon in 2007.
Naser finished in 2:30.39, just ahead of fellow Ethiopian Meseret Legese (2:33.01).
The marathon winners each received $17,500.
An estimated 32,000 runners participated in the two races, with 70 bands entertaining them along the way.
Kenya's Ndiso wins Mumbai Marathon
NEW DELHI — Dennis Ndiso has won the Mumbai Marathon to continue the dominance of Kenyan runners at the event.
Ndiso finished in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 34 seconds in humid conditions Sunday. Siraj Gena of Ethiopia was second in 2:13:58.
Bizunesh Mohammed won the women's race in 2:31:09 as Ethiopians claimed the 10 top positions. Last year's winner, Haile Kekebush, finished second and Azalech Masrecha came in third.
More than 38,000 runners participated in the 26.2-mile race.
Winter Sports
Kohn clinches 4-man Olympic bobsled spot
Mike Kohn of the United States has secured a four-man bobsled spot at the Vancouver Olympics, after finishing sixth in a World Cup race Sunday at St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Kohn's result means the Americans will have three sleds in the Olympic four-man competition, with Steven Holcomb and John Napier having already secured enough points to mathematically wrap up bids that were to be formally announced later Sunday by the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation.
Kohn earned a spot in the two-man Olympic competition on Saturday, also giving the U.S. the maximum allotment of three sleds in that discipline. The USBSF took 14 of a possible 15 Olympic start positions in bobsled and skeleton.
Kohn won a bronze medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics as a push athlete in Brian Shimer's four-man sled.
"Winning an Olympic medal was amazing, but it doesn't compare to the team camaraderie felt over these last few weeks," Kohn said. "The Olympics is about more than winning medals, and this experience is one I'll remember for the rest of my life."
Indeed, getting a third sled into the Olympics for the U.S. was a team effort.
Kohn contemplated retirement when he wasn't on the World Cup team to begin the season. He was summoned back to the top international circuit midway through the schedule, after veteran and Olympic hopeful Todd Hays retired following a training crash that left him with bleeding within his brain.
So Kohn was in a race against time, trying to get the world ranking points needed to qualify in both two- and four-man competitions. Getting plenty of help from other U.S. bobsledders — Hays included — along the way, Kohn climbed far enough in the standings to reach Vancouver.
"I can't thank Todd enough for his help and support over the last few weeks in helping our team," Kohn said. "He's been a huge part of my success."
Holcomb's USA-1 four-man sled will be pushed by Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curt Tomasevicz. Napier's USA-2 will carry Chuck Berkeley, Steve Langton and Chris Fogt, while Kohn's USA-3 will have Jamie Moriarty, Bill Schuffenhauer and Nick Cunningham aboard.
In two-man, Holcomb will be with Tomasevicz (who was with Kohn for his final World Cup push), Napier will partner with Langton, and Kohn's push athlete will be selected later by the USBSF.
"We had a very difficult decision to make regarding our men's Olympic team because of the depth of our push athletes," USBSF CEO Darrin Steele said. "In the end we went with the teams that pushed together (Sunday). You can't argue with the results because Holcomb's team is ranked first in the world, Napier's team is ranked second in the world and Kohn's team finished sixth."
Two-time defending Olympic four-man champion Andre Lange of Germany drove to his third straight World Cup gold medal Sunday, winning the two-run event at St. Moritz in 2 minutes, 10.13 seconds. Karl Angerer drove another German sled to second, just ahead of the Russian sled piloted by Alexsandr Zubkov.
Holcomb's team was fourth, and Napier's sled was 11th on Sunday.
-- Tim Reynolds
Kostelic wins World Cup slalom at Wengen
WENGEN, Switzerland — Ivica Kostelic won a World Cup slalom on the Jungfrau course for his first victory of the season on Sunday, dropping to his knees and kissing the snow after arriving in the finish area.
Kostelic maintained his first-leg lead for a two-run time of 1 minute, 40.34 seconds to collect his 10th career World Cup victory.
"I was nervous because I've never lost a race I was leading," the 30-year-old Croat said. "It's not easy holding a lead ... and I knew I was going for victory."
The 30-year-old Croat returned to action Jan. 6, less than four weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. The 2002 World Cup slalom champion is also troubled by constant back pain.
Andre Myhrer of Sweden was 0.29 back in second and Austria's Reinfried Herbst trailed Kostelic by 0.51 in third.
Ted Ligety finished eighth and Jimmy Cochran was 12th for the U.S.
Bode Miller skied out in the top half and was among 22 of 69 racers who failed to finish the first run, including two-time world champion Mario Matt of Austria and Manfred Moelgg of Italy, the 2008 World Cup slalom champion.
Herbst extended his lead in the World Cup slalom standings over Julien Lizeroux of France, who placed fifth after winning last week at Adelboden, Switzerland.
Benjamin Raich of Austria finished fourth and closed within 18 points of overall leader Carlo Janka of Switzerland, who has 757 points.
Janka watched the race on television at home in Obersaxen after winning the classic Lauberhorn downhill on Saturday.
Kostelic finished second in the season-opening slalom at Levi, Finland, in November but elected for surgery after racing in Val d'Isere, France. He has returned to form with an impressive series of races in Switzerland over the past nine days.
Kostelic skied well in the first run of Adelboden's giant slalom, which was abandoned because of thick fog, then finished third behind Lizeroux in slalom the next day.
He was sixth behind Miller in Wengen's tough super-combined on Friday, then placed 20th in the demanding Lauberhorn downhill, his weakest discipline.
"I'm surprised that my knee is still holding up pretty well," said Kostelic, who has had seven operations on his right knee and another on his left. "The doctors who went inside said they never saw a knee look so good after so many traumas."
Myhrer was fourth after the morning run, but skied the bottom half of the second run superbly to make the podium. It was his first top-three World Cup finish since winning a slalom in the 2007 season at Beaver Creek, Colo.
"I knew I was in good shape but I skied out in the last three slaloms," the 27-year-old Swede said. "It's good finally to have a result."
-- Graham Dunbar
Zettel wins World Cup slalom in Slovenia
MARIBOR, Slovenia — Kathrin Zettel of Austria has won a women's World Cup slalom for her second victory in as many days, and Maria Riesch of Germany took the overall lead from Lindsey Vonn by finishing third.
Zettel went down the Radvanje course in a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 42.98 seconds to beat Tina Maze by 0.71 seconds. The Slovenian posted the fastest second-run time to jump from ninth.
Riesch finished 1.28 seconds back, while Vonn failed to qualify for the final run. Riesch leads the American by 28 points with 13 races left.
"It's nice to be the leader but there a a lot of speed races left and Lindsey will be hard to beat again," Riesch said.
Vonn struggled throughout the first leg, losing the ideal line several times and never threatening to equal the pace of the leaders. She finished 4.55 seconds back in 46th place.
Vonn has now failed to score points in three straight races. She crashed in Tuesday's night slalom in Flachau, Austria, and in Saturday's GS in Maribor.
Vonn won three straight speed events last weekend, but has been struggling in technical events since hurting her left arm in a crash at last month's giant slalom in Lienz, Austria.
It was the first slalom title and eighth overall World Cup victory for the Zettel, who also won Saturday's giant slalom.
"I don't know what to say. I couldn't believe I was No. 1 after the second run," said Zettel, who has nine podium finishes so far this season. "For me, it's an indescribable feeling."
The Austrian missed two months of offseason training due to a knee injury.
"Just unbelievable, if you see my results now. It's wonderful," said Zettel, who earned the Golden Fox trophy as the best skier of the weekend. "I've always been dreaming about winning a slalom and now I've done it."
Marlies Schild of Austria, who led Zettel by more than a second after the opening leg, straddled a gate in the lower part of her second run.
Riesch also tops the slalom standings. She leads Zettel by 23 points with only one World Cup slalom left, the season-ending event in March at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.
-- Eric Willemsen
Moan of Norway wins Nordic combined; Demong 4th
CHAUX-NEUVE, France — Magnus Moan of Norway won a Nordic combined World Cup event Sunday, and Billy Demong of the U.S. was fourth.
Moan finished the cross-country race in 24 minutes, 10.8 seconds to edge overall leader Jason Lamy Chappuis of France by a second.
Mario Stecher of Austria was third, 13.6 seconds behind Moan. Demong, of Vermontville, N.Y., was another 1.2 seconds back.
"It was a solid race, for sure, but I was pretty tired at the finish and lost the sprint to Magnus, Jason and Mario," Demong said. "But, all-in-all it felt like a very strong day and I think it's the feeling I'm looking for going into this training period right before the Olympics."
Todd Lodwick and Johnny Spillane, both of Steamboat Springs, Colo., were 13th and 16th.
Demong finished ninth in the jumping and started 50 seconds behind the lead group. The 2009 world champion in the mass start event moved up to fourth after 2.8 kilometers. Demong drew within eight seconds of the leaders before fatigue set in.
"Bill had a great race, but Magnus caught him," U.S. coach Dave Jarrett said. "He skied with Magnus the whole race and they traded off spots. Magnus made a move at the end and Billy covered him, but at the top of the hill he was just a little bit cooked from it."
The U.S. team will gather in Utah the first week of February for a final training camp before the Vancouver Games.
"It's time for us to come home, regroup and get ready for the Olympics," Jarrett said.
Lambert, Tudegesheva win snowboard WCup GS races
NENDAZ, Switzerland — Michael Lambert of Canada has won a parallel giant slalom event for his first snowboard World Cup victory. Russia's Ekaterina Tudegesheva, the 2007 world champion, won the women's event on Sunday for her second career World Cup win.
Lambert beat Andreas Prommegger of Austria after another edging another Austrian, Benjamin Karl, in a semifinal.
Karl finished third to lead the discipline standings from world champion Jasey Jay Anderson of Canada. Lambert is third.
Tudegesheva won her final against Nicolien Sauerbreij of the Netherlands who used her runner-up points to head the standings.
Amelie Kober of Germany lost the lead after finishing ninth Sunday.
South Koreans dominate at sprint speedskating
OBIHIRO, Japan — Lee Kyou-hyuk won the men's 1,000 meter race on Sunday as South Korea dominated on the final day of the World Sprint Speedskating Championships.
Lee had a time of 1 minute, 09.60 seconds to finish first and claim the overall title. Lars Elgersma of the Netherlands was second, 0.13 seconds behind Lee, while Ronald Mulder, also of the Netherlands, was third in 1:10.36.
Lee Kang-seok won the men's 500 in 35.11 seconds, 0.06 seconds ahead of Lee Kyou-hyuk.
Germany's Jenny Wolf won the women's 500 in 38.24, 0.13 seconds ahead of South Korea's Lee Sang-hwa, who won the overall women's title.
Japan's Sayuri Yoshii won the women's 1,000 with a time of 1:17.08.
Falk beats Majdic to win women's World Cup sprint
OTEPAA, Estonia — Hanna Falk of Sweden has edged World Cup sprint leader Petra Majdic of Slovenia to win a women's 1.2-kilometer cross-country World Cup race.
Falk trailed Majdic for most of Sunday's race before finishing 0.1 seconds ahead of Majdic in 3 minutes, 6.8 seconds.
Finland's Aino Kaisa Saarinen took third, 0.9 seconds back.
In the men's 1.4-kilometer event, Emil Jonsson of Sweden won in 3:16.7. Ola Vigen Hattestad of Norway clocked the same time but his skis were marginally behind Jonsson's across the finish line.
Nikita Kriukov of Russia placed third, 0.2 seconds back.
Ammann wins World Cup event in Japan
SAPPORO, Japan — Switzerland's Simon Ammann won a World Cup ski jump event Sunday to widen his lead in the overall standings. Ammann had jumps of 139.5 and 135 meters on the Okurayama Hill for a total of 293.1 points and his fourth victory of the season.
Japan's Noriaki Kasai was second after jumps of 131 and 123 meters left him with 255.7 points. Austria's Martin Koch was third with 255.4 points. Ammann leads the overall World Cup standings with 939 points, 143 ahead of Austria's Gregor Schlierenzauer after 15 of 23 events.
Germans sweep men's luge World Cup race at home
OBERHOF, Germany — Andi Langenhan has led a German sweep of the top three places in a men's luge World Cup race, capping a perfect weekend for the home team.
Langenhan clocked 1 minute, 31.383 seconds for the two runs for a comfortable victory Saturday over Johannes Ludwig and Jan Echhorn. The Germans also swept the men's doubles and the women's singles Saturday.
Tony Benshoof of White Bear Lake, Minn., finished 11th.
Russia wins men's biathlon World Cup relay race
RUHPOLDING, Germany — Russia has won the final men's biathlon World Cup relay race before the Vancouver Olympics, easily beating Norwway and Austria.
The Russian foursome covered the 4x7.5-kilometer distance in 1 hour, 22 minutes, 29 seconds. Norway was 28.6 seconds behind in second and Austria finished third, 1:34.9 back.
The United States placed sixth, with Tim Burke having to complete a penalty round after one missed target in the third leg.
