World Alpine Skiing Championship: Seizinger leads first downhill training

Monday, Feb. 10, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

SESTRIERE, Italy -- Defending Olympic champion Katja Seizinger of Germany had the quickest training run today in preparation for the women's downhill at the World Alpine Ski Championships.

Seizinger, the defending overall World Cup champion, clocked 1 minute 41.94 seconds down the 9,728-foot Kandahar Banchetta course. Stefanie Schuster of Austria was second in 1:42.89, and Isolde Kostner of Austria was third in 1:43.23.

Most of the skiers said the course was relatively soft under bright, sunny skies, making it easier to race. It is expected to become icer and quicker as the race approaches.

Helen Ingeborg Marken of Norway was fourth in 1:43.79, followed by Michaela Dorfmeister of Austria in 1:43.95 and Regine Cavagnoud of France in 1:44.12.

The women's downhill, set for Saturday in this ski resort in the Italian Alps, has lost some of its glamor with the absence of American Picabo Street.

Street, the gold medalist at the 1996 worlds in Sierra Nevada, Spain, and the silver medalist in the 1994 Olympics, injured a knee earlier in the season.

The American, probably the world's best-known female skier, won the World Cup downhill title the last two seasons. There was talk she might attends the worlds to cheer on her teammates, but an American team spokesman said today she was not coming.

The remaining American favorite, Hilary Lindh of Juneau, Alaska, was only 25th in the training in 1:45.92. Lindh won the bronze medal a year ago in Spain and was silver medalist in downhill in the '92 Olympics.

Megan Gerety of Anchorage, Alaska, was 24th in 1:45.90 and Kristen Clark of Raymond, Maine, was 38th in 1:48.19.

In Sunday's women's giant slalom, Deborah Compagnoni of Italy skied two near-perfect runs to claim her second gold medal in this year's worlds. She won the slalom earlier.

The gold medal was Compagnoni's fifth in the Olympics or worlds, matching the total of Italian teammate Alberto Tomba. Tomba will ski later in the week in quest of two more golds in slalom and giant slalom.

Compagnoni was clocked in 2:39.19 for the two runs. Karin Roten of Switzerland won the silver in 2:39.99 and Lelia Piccard of France won the bronze in 2:40.95.

It was Roten's second medal in Sestriere. She won bronze in combined earlier.

Compagnoni, 26, won two Olympic golds in 1992 and 1994 and took the giant slalom in the '96 worlds. Her giant slalom win Sunday made her only the fourth woman to win back-to-back titles in the same discipline. She is also only the fourth woman to win two golds in the same championships.

She confirmed Sunday that she will skip this Tuesday's super-G. She never races in downhill or combined.