First run of women’s slalom looked more like a horror flick
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American alpine racer Sarah Schleper was in good shape after Friday morning’s first run of the women’s slalom, within striking distance of a medal in ninth overall position.
Her face was another story. Schleper crossed the finish line with a large bandage on her chin, the result of smacking a gate in the morning warmup run.
‘I smelled my flesh burning,’ Schleper said. ‘That was kind of weird. I was like, ‘what is this smell?’ I felt the pain, and all of a sudden a pool of blood was under my boots. My jacket was covered in blood.’
Wait, don’t slalom racers wear face masks?
Yes, but Schleper couldn’t find hers Thursday night and paid the price in spilled blood. After cracking her chin, Schleper turned her bloody race bib inside-out and put down a pretty fast first run.
Germany’s Maria Riesch won the first run with a time of 50.75, Schleper, the veteran of the U.S. team at age 31, is 1.08 seconds out of first but only .43 out of the bronze-medal spot.
The second race is scheduled for 1 p.m. Lindsey Vonn skied out early and ends her Olympics with two medals and a ‘did not finish.’
-- Chris Dufresne in Whistler
