The Latest: Cochran-Siegle keeps up family tradition
ARE, Sweden (AP) — The Latest from the skiing world championships (all times local):
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5:55 p.m.
Chilean skier Henrik von Appen appears to have avoided a serious injury after his crash in the Alpine combined at the world championships.
Von Appen could be heard screaming loudly after skidding on an icy section on the downhill leg and landing on his left side on top of his skies. He slid down into the safety nets and was tended to by medical staff for about 10 minutes.
His brother, Sven, says Henrik von Appen will undergo an MRI scan on his knee but added that doctors do not think anything is broken.
Sven von Appen also competed in the Alpine combined.
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4:50 p.m.
Alexis Pinturault earned his first major individual gold medal by winning the Alpine combined at the world championships.
The French skier produced the second-fastest slalom leg to rise from 24th place after the downhill portion and win by 0.24 seconds.
Stefan Hadalin of Slovenia was second and Marco Schwarz of Austria took bronze, 0.46 behind Pinturault.
One of three Olympic medals won by Pinturault was silver in the combined in Pyeongchang last year. At the worlds, he won gold in the team event in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 2017 and bronze in giant slalom in Beaver Creek, Colorado, in 2015.
The winner of the event is determined by adding the times from one high-speed downhill run and one shorter slalom leg.
Results were not official yet as lower-ranked skiers were still coming down the course.
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3 p.m.
With Lindsey Vonn retired and Mikaela Shiffrin resting up for her final races, the U.S. Ski Team will not enter a squad in Tuesday’s team event.
U.S. Alpine director Jesse Hunt says in a statement to The Associated Press that the team is “maximizing our opportunity for success here in Are” and for the upcoming junior worlds in Val Di Fassa, Italy, next week.
Hunt says “we are training our younger athletes and committed to developing them in dual format events, so we can be in a position to contend for a medal” at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
The U.S. was knocked out in the first round by Britain in the team event at last year’s Pyeongchang Olympics, and also got beat by Canada in the opening round at the 2017 worlds in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
The team event involves men and women racing 1-on-1 in parallel runs.
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1:40 p.m.
Chilean skier Henrik von Appen has crashed in the downhill portion of the Alpine combined.
The 24-year-old Von Appen skidded on an icy section about a third of the way down the course and landed on his left side on top of his skies, before sliding down into the safety nets. Medical staff tended to him.
Von Appen could be heard screaming loudly after he crashed. It wasn’t immediately clear what type of injury he may have sustained.
The race restarted after a delay of 20 minutes with the final 13 entrants in the field.
Von Appen was Chile’s flag-bearer at opening ceremony of 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics.
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1:20 p.m.
Ryan Cochran-Siegle kept up a family tradition by getting in contention for a medal at the skiing world championships after placing second after the downhill portion of the Alpine combined.
The 26-year-old American was 0.03 seconds behind Dominik Paris, who already won the super-G at the championships. Aleksandar Aamodt Kilde was 0.38 behind Paris in third place, ahead of the slalom leg of the event.
Cochran-Siegle is from the “Skiing Cochrans” family. His mother, Barbara Ann, won the slalom at the 1972 Olympics and her siblings — Bob, Marilyn and Lindy — also represented the United States in World Cup, world championship and Olympic events.
Several of Ryan Cochran-Siegle’s cousins also have skied at national-team level. The family’s involvement in skiing stemmed from the decision of his grandparents to build a ski area — of about 300 vertical feet — at their property in Richmond, Vermont, in the 1960s.
Of the slalom specialists, Marco Schwarz is best placed at 1.25 seconds off the lead. Defending champion Luca Aerni is 0.02 ahead of Schwarz and favorite Alexis Pinturault was 1.52 behind Paris.
Results were not official yet as lower-ranked skiers were still coming down the course.
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11:35 a.m.
The Alpine combined race at the skiing world championships has been delayed by an hour because of strong winds.
The downhill leg of the two-discipline event will now start at 12 p.m. local time (1100 GMT) and the course has been shortened.
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11:25 a.m.
The post-Lindsey Vonn era begins with the men’s Alpine combined at the skiing world championships.
Vonn was scheduled to leave Sweden on Monday to begin a new chapter in her life — a day after winning a bronze medal in the downhill in the final race of her career.
Her absence leaves a void in the sport that could be filled by American teammate Mikaela Shiffrin, who was expected to return to the central Swedish resort Monday ahead of the giant slalom and slalom events at the end of the week. She skipped town in recent days, recuperating and training across the border in Norway after winning the super-G on Tuesday.
There’s also a hole in men’s skiing following the retirement of Aksel Lund Svindal, the Norwegian who won a silver medal Saturday in downhill in his last race.
The men’s schedule continues with Luca Aerni bidding to successfully defend the combined title he won in St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 2017.
Alexis Pinturault of France is the favorite.
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