Eberharter Wins Swiss Giant Slalom

St. Moritz, Switzerland Feb. 3, 2002 (AP by Erica Bulman)–Stephan Eberharter of Austria won a World Cup giant slalom Sunday, showing he will pose threats in several events at the Olympics.

American speed specialist Bode Miller finished fourth. He flew in from the United States specifically for this race but did not seem his usual attacking self.

Eberharter, the overall World Cup leader, won a downhill Saturday to clinch the title in that discipline.

On Sunday, he covered the two runs of the long and steep Corviglia-Suvretta course in 2 minutes, 32.66 seconds, edging Switzerland’s Didier Cuche by 0.02 seconds.

“It’s another great day for me,” Eberharter said. “I was lucky to win by such a small margin.”

Austria’s Hans Knauss was third in 2:33.04, his first top-three finish in three years. Miller, who won a giant slalom in Val d’Isere, France, this season, was timed in 2:33.32.

Discipline leader Frederic Covili of France dropped from eighth to 18th after nearly veering off course midway down the second run.

This was Eberharter’s fourth career victory in the discipline, his previous one in 1999. He finished second and third in the season’s two opening giant slaloms.

Eberharter is within reach of the World Cup giant slalom title with one race left this season and 100 points still up for grabs.

Covili leads the rankings with 426 points, with Cuche trailing by 46 points and Eberharter by 64. In all, five skiers will be vying for the title.

“I stand a chance for the GS title but I’m not the only one,” Eberharter said. “The last race will be a great showdown.”

The winner of eight speed races this season _ five in the downhill and three in the super-G _ Eberharter holds a comfortable lead in the overall standings with 1,392 points.

Norway’s Kjetil Andre Aamodt is second at 936. He skipped the races in St. Moritz to rest for the Olympics, which start Friday in Salt Lake City. Miller is third at 870 points.

Copyright © 2000 The Associated Press