Difficult day for Nef

Nef is ranked fourth in the World Cup in women's alpine skiing Keystone

Switzerland's Sonja Nef had a disappointing 11th place finish in the women's giant slalom at the World Cup competition in Cortina, Italy, on Sunday.

The race marked Nef’s worst performance in fifteen months. Fellow Swiss teammate, Corinne Rey-Bellet, also performed poorly, finishing 22nd in the race.

Norwegian Stina Nilsen claimed her first World Cup win on the giant slalom.

Another Norwegian, Andrine Flemmen took second place just .60 of a second behind the winning time of 2:44.37.

Nilsen said she had joked with her teammate, Flemmen, about the possibility that both might win.

“It is incredible but it has happened,” she said.

Nilsen added that the race signalled that Norway would be a major contender at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games next month.

Sonja Nef is ranked overall at number four in the World Cup in women’s alpine skiing following Sunday’s giant slalom competition.

swissinfo with agencies