Lindsey Vonn clinches third straight World Cup overall title

American alpine superstar Lindsey Vonn added to her growing legacy Friday by following up her Olympic gold medal in Vancouver with her third straight World Cup overall title.

Vonn, the first American woman to win the Olympic downhill, edged out German Maria Riesch, a double gold winner in Vancouver, for the overall title at the World Cup finals in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.

Vonn had already clinched the overall title when Riesch, who needed to finish in the top two of the super giant slalom to stay in points contention, was knocked into third place before Vonn ran.

Just for good measure, though, the 25-year-old Vonn won the super-G race to record her American-record 33rd World Cup victory, one more than teammate Bode Miller.

"I knew what place Maria was in, so I knew the World Cup overall was already secured," Vonn said. "But I still wanted to go out there and have a good end to the season, I'm just really happy I had a good run and was able to end the season well."

American Ted Ligety, who failed to medal at the Olympics, clinched his second World Cup giant slalom event title with a third-place finish on Friday.

Lindsey Vonn finishes second in World Cup downhill race

Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn finished second in the final World Cup downhill race of the season, maintaining a comfortable lead in the overall title point standings with three races remaining.

Maria Riesch of Germany won the event, completing the 2,920-meter Kandahar course in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, in 1 minute, 34.82 seconds. Vonn finished nearly half a second behind her close friend and rival. Anja Paerson of Sweden finished third, and American Julia Mancuso was fifth.

Vonn maintains a 225-point lead over Riesch in the World Cup standings and stands a good chance of claiming the title at the next event.

"I haven't won it yet," Vonn told the Associated Press. "It's not finished yet. It's still possible [for Riesch to win]. It's unlikely, but it's not finished."

Vonn, who won the gold medal in downhill at the Vancouver Games, clinched the World Cup downhill title Saturday. She is still recovering from a broken finger she suffered while crashing out of the Olympic giant slalom.

Vonn could break the American record for most career World Cup wins with a victory in the giant slalom on Thursday. She is tied with Bode Miller with 32 career victories.

-- Austin Knoblauch

Photo: Lindsey Vonn, left, Maria Riesch, center and Anja Paerson celebrate following their runs in a World Cup downhill event Wednesday. Credit: Stephan Jansen / EPA

Bode Miller to miss World Cup finals, says he's had an 'accomplished' season

Olympic gold medalist Bode Miller will not compete at next week's World Cup finals in Germany because of a sore right ankle.

Miller, who missed World Cup events earlier this season after injuring the ankle while playing volleyball with teammates, said he planning to discuss his future with U.S. men's skiing coach Sasha Rearick soon.

"At some point, I'll sit down with Sasha and see where we're at and what kind of program we can put together, and I'll make a plan from there," Miller said in a statement.

Miller won three medals at the Vancouver Olympic Games -- gold in the super-combined, silver in the super-G and bronze in the downhill. In addition, he won a World Cup super-combined event in January.

"My goal at the beginning of the season was to get ready for the Olympics and win races in February," Miller said. "I just focused on that, and I did that."

"I feel like I accomplished everything I wanted to this season, so it's nice to just be able to relax."

-- Austin Knoblauch

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Giuliano Razzoli leads after first run of men's slalom; Bode Miller, Ted Ligety fail to finish

Bode Miller's Olympics came to an unceremonious end Saturday when he missed a gate and failed to finish his first run in the men's slalom at the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

U.S. teammate Ted Ligety also failed to finish his first run.

Giuliano Razzoli of Italy leads after the morning run, with Mitja Valencic of Slovenia second and Benjamin Raich of Austrian third. The final run is scheduled to begin at 1:45 p.m. today.

Miller had a lot to say after the morning run. He won three medals here, one of each color:

“I really couldn't be much happier" with the Olympics, Miller said. "To have three medals, and the two medals I didn't get I skied hard. I came out, I was ready, I was prepared; that's all the stuff you can do. This was challenging today in a lot of different ways. But I was still ready to go and prepared to do it. It doesn't always go your way. But overall this Olympics was amazing how many things went my way.”
 
-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver, Canada

Photo: Bode Miller skis down the side of the course after missing a gate during his first run in the men's slalom. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Bode Miller, Ted Ligety go out early in Olympic men's slalom

Bode Miller's Olympics are over -- and he won't win a fourth medal. Miller missed a gate barely 10 seconds into his morning run of slalom and was disqualified. Miller, skiing No. 17 on a sloppy course, went out right after U.S. teammate Ted Ligety failed to finish his run.

Miller leaves the Olympics with an American record of three Alpine medals. He won the gold in supercombined, the silver in Super G and the bronze in downhill.

-- Chris Dufresne in Whistler, Canada

Photo: Bode Miller's Olympics are over. Credit: Greg M. Cooper, U.S. Presswire.

Carlo Janka of Switzerland wins gold in men's giant slalom

Carlo Janka of Switzerland won the gold medal in men's giant slalom on Tuesday, while Bode Miller failed to finish in his bid for a record fourth men's Alpine medal.

Janka led after the first run and had a combined two-leg time of 2 minutes, 37.83 seconds.

Norway took the silver and bronze medals. Kjetil Jansrud jumped from 11th after the first run to take silver, 0.39 seconds back, and Aksel Lund Svindal was 0.61 back for bronze, matching Miller's three-medal tally at the Vancouver Games. Svindal won the super-G and was second in downhill.

Miller almost crashed in the top half of the course on the first run and then couldn't correct his line coming out of a right-hand gate in the second half.

Ted Ligety of the U.S. finished ninth with a time of 2:39.11.

 -- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver, Canada

Photo: Carlo Janka on one of his gold-medal winning runs. Credit: Sergey Ponomarev, AP.

Carlo Janka of Switzerland leads after first run of men's giant slalom

Carlo Janka of Switzerland leads after the the first run of the Olympic giant slalom race, while Bode Miller missed a gate in his pursuit of a record fourth Alpine medal.

Janka was timed in 1 minute, 17.27 seconds with a second run to follow in the afternoon.

Miller almost crashed in the top half of the course and then couldn't correct his line coming out of a right-hand gate in the second half.

Romed Baumann of Austria was second after the first run in the GS, 0.02 second behind Janka, and Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal, was 0.16 back in third.

Pre-race favorite Ted Ligety of the United States trailed Janka by 0.60 in eighth place.

Ligety said the gap “is not enough for those guys to feel comfortable about it.”

-- Houston Mitchell in Vancouver, Canada   

Photo: Carlo Janka competes during the giant slalom. Credit: Jerry Lai / U.S. Presswire

No fourth medal for Bode Miller as he skids out of giant slalom

Bode Miller will not win his fourth medal of the Vancouver Games as he failed Tuesday to finish his first run of the men's giant slalom at Whistler Creekside.

It wasn't really a surprise, as Miller entered the race with no ranking in GS. Miller had earned medals in each of the first three alpine races. He took bronze in the downhill, silver in super G and gold in the super combined.

American Ted Ligety, the No.1-ranked GS skier on the World Cup circuit, will get a second run but he has some work to do. Ligety stands in eighth place, 0.60 behind leader Carlo Janka of Switzerland.

-- Chris Dufresne, reporting from Whistler, Canada

Photo: Bode Miller reacts after going off the course during the men's giant slalom on Tuesday. Credit: Jerry Lai / US Presswire

Bode Miller wins gold medal in men's super combined

U.S. skier Bode Miller won the gold medal in the men's super combined at the Vancouver Winter Olympics on Sunday. It is the first Olympic gold medal of Miller’s career and fifth medal overall. He already has three silvers and a bronze. It is his third medal of the Vancouver Games, a U.S. alpine skiing record, and it is the American Alpine team's eighth medal at these Games, also a U.S. record.

"That was unbelievable," Miller said.  "I can't ask for anything more. I got fully fired up to take maximum risk."

Ivica Kostelic of Croatia finished second with a time of 2:45.25 and Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland finished third in 2:45.32.

Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal, who led after the downhill portion of the event, missed a gate during the slalom.

U.S. skier Ted Ligety, the defending Olympic champion in combined, finished fifth.

The super combined is a morning downhill time added to one run of slalom. The change in format, from two runs of slalom to one, helped Miller's medal chances.

-- Chris Dufresne in Whistler, Canada

Photo: Bode Miller seems happy after completing his slalom run. Credit: Stephan Jansen / EPA.

Looks like a gold medal for Bode Miller in men's super combined

With all of the top skiers down the mountain, it looks like Bode Miller of the U.S. will win the gold medal in the men's super combined. Miller put up a time of 2:44.92 (adding his downhill and slalom times).

Ivica Kostelic of Croatia is second with a time of 2:45.25, and Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland is third in 2:45.32.

Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal, who led after the downhill portion of the event, missed a gate during the slalom.

U.S. skier Ted Ligety, the defending Olympic champion in combined, is in fifth place.

The super combined is a morning downhill time added to one run of slalom. The change in format, from two runs of slalom to one, helped Miller's medal chances.

Miller began his career as a brilliant slalom racer but, in recent years, has had trouble even completing two-run slalom races.

"I feel good," said Miller after the downhill run. "My slalom has been setting up pretty well."

-- Chris Dufresne in Whistler, Canada