Nov 27, 2004 2 min read

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) – Finland’s Tanja Poutiainen captured her second World Cup victory, charging down the hill on the second run to edge Sweden’s Anja Paerson by .09 seconds in a World Cup giant slalom on Friday. Second to Croatia’s Janica Kostelic by .6 seconds after the first run, Poutiainen made up the time on the last half of her second run to finish with a two-run total of 2 minutes, 12.49 seconds at the World Cup’s only U.S. stop for women.

Poutiainen had finished second to Paerson in the World Cup season opener in Austria on Oct. 23.

Kostelic, a two-time World Cup overall champion who won three gold medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, appeared to be headed toward her first victory in nearly two years with a stellar first run.

Fighting through driving snow and choppy conditions, Kostelic finished the first run in 1:05.92 in just her second race in 19 months after having her thyroid gland removed and several knee surgeries.

But with visibility much better and the course running smoother, Kostelic couldn’t keep up on the second run with Poutiainen and Paerson, last year’s champion in the slalom and giant slalom.

Kostelic, skiing last on the second run, went wide on one of the final turns to finish third overall.

Kristina Koznick was the top American, finishing 24th – 3.69 seconds off the lead. Kirsten Clark finished 28th in her first race since tearing a knee ligament and breaking her wrist in a race last January.

Liechtenstein’s Jessica Walter had to be taken off the course on a sled on the first run after getting too far inside on one of the gates and hitting her forehead. She tumbled backward after the impact spun her around, and was on the course for several minutes while medical personnel strapped her to the sled.

Walter was taken to a hospital with a knee injury, and was being evaluated.