Carlo Janka of Switzerland has won the final downhill ski race of the season to take the overall World Cup lead with just three other ski contests remaining.
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Janka, who won gold in the giant slalom at the Olympics last month, edged Mario Scheiber of Austria by two-hundredths of a second on Wednesday in Garmisch, Germany. Patrick Küng, also from Switzerland, tied for third place with Canada’s Erik Guay, 0.07 seconds behind.
In women’s downhill action, Maria Riesch of Germany won on her home hill, beating Lindsey Vonn of the United States by nearly half a second. Anja Pärson of Sweden took third. Among the Swiss racers, Nadja Kamer placed fourth while Fabienne Suter and Nadia Styger tied for seventh, 1.22 seconds behind Riesch.
For Janka, the win propels the 23 year old into the overall World Cup lead by 54 points. The skier from Obersaxon in canton Graubünden now has 1,073 points in the overall standings. Benjamin Raich of Austria is in second place overall with 1,019 points.
Swiss skier Didier Cuche finished eighth in Garmisch, 0.19 seconds behind Janka. That puts the racer from Neuchâtel in third place overall with 878 points. Cuche is the overall World Cup winner in the downhill.
The third-place tie for Küng marks the first time that the 26 year old has made the podium in his 20 World Cup races. Didier Défago, who won the Olympic downhill, finished 13th.
The men’s World Cup ski racing season ends on Sunday.
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