Nef second in Semmering slalom
Switzerland's Sonja Nef has come second in the women's world cup slalom race in Austria. The 28-year-old Appenzeller was beaten by the Croatian teenager, Janica Kostelic. Norway's Trine Bakke came third.
Thursday night’s victory was the fifth consecutive win for Kostelic. After winning the first leg of the competition, Kostelic admitted that she would have to work harder in the second race if she wanted to win the event.
“My (first) run was okay. It was an easy course although a bit bumpy at times,” Kostelic said. “My runs are always like that – in the upper section I’m trying to get as much speed as possible and then I just let my ski run.”
The evening event was extremely close, as Nef trailed Kostelic by less than one second. Kostelic finished with a time of 1 minute, 35 seconds.
Kostelic has now consolidated her position at the top of the slalom rankings, while Germany’s Martina Ertl is still leading the overall championships.
Nef has moved up from 12th place in the slalom rankings to 5th spot, and is currently lying in sixth position in the overall rankings.
Switzerland’s Marlies Oester finished Thursday’s slalom in 24th position.
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