Vonn Tumbles, and Pays the Price in World Cup Standings

Swiss ski jumper Simon Ammann has Innsbruck in his sights, soaring during the third competition at the Four Hills tournament. Austria's Wolfgang Loitzl won the leg. (By Matthias Schrader -- Associated Press)

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Monday, January 5, 2009; Page E02

With the finish and the victory in sight, Lindsey Vonn made a costly error.

The 24-year-old American crashed just five gates before the finish yesterday on the icy Crveni Spust slalom course in Zagreb, Croatia, losing a likely victory and the overall lead in the World Cup standings.

Maria Riesch of Germany finished in a combined time of 1 minute 58.69 seconds to win her third straight slalom and take the lead in the standings.

Vonn led after the opening leg and was 0.94 of a second faster than Riesch at the second intermediate time in the final run before hitting a gate and crashing. She was not injured.

"So many things can happen in a second and your day is done," said Vonn, who was skiing aggressively because she wasn't aware of her massive lead over Riesch.

"I wasn't sure about the time while I was skiing," the American said. "I heard 'one second' and I thought I was one second behind for sure as I've had a mistake at the top. I would have slowed down a bit had I known that I was a second ahead."

Riesch has 607 points to lead the overall standings for the first time in her career. Tanja Poutiainen of Finland, who finished seventh yesterday, is next with 543 and Vonn is third with 530.

Nicole Hosp of Austria, the 2007 overall champion, will be out for six weeks after injuring her left knee in a crash during warmups. Hosp, who also won the slalom title in 2007, broke the upper part of her shinbone and tore ligaments, the Austrian ski federation said. It said surgery will not be needed. . . .

New Hampshire star James van Riemsdyk scored at 2:49 of overtime to give the United States a 3-2 victory over the Czech Republic in the fifth-place game in the world junior hockey championship in Ottawa. . . .

Bill Demong of the United States finished second in a Nordic combined World Cup event in Schonach, Germany, giving him his third podium finish of the season and moving him up to second in the overall standings behind winner Anssi Koivuranta of Finland.

Demong, of Vermontville, N.Y., placed 18th in the jumping segment of the competition but was second fastest in the 10-kilometer cross-country race after teammate Johnny Spillane of Steamboat Springs, Colo. Demong gave the United States its fifth straight podium finish. . . .

John Napier and Bree Schaaf won the U.S. National Bobsled Championships at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, N.Y., and qualified for the world championships. Napier, of Schenectady, N.Y., and brakeman Cory Butner of Yucaipa, Calif., won in 3:45.87 in the four-heat race. They held off Mike Kohn of Chantilly and brakeman Jacob Miller of Waterford, Va., by 0.30 of a second. . . .