ST. MORITZ, Switzerland -- Alexandra Meissnitzer of Austria captured the overall World Cup title Saturday with a fourth-place finish in the super-G that was won by teammate Michaela Dorfmeister.
American Kathleen Monahan finished third in the super-G and made her first trip ever to the podium."I was really surprised, but it's dawning on me more and more," said an excited Monahan, who was the first skier down the hill. "Because I was first I didn't know what to expect so I tried for an aggressive line."
Meissnitzer seemed more relieved than excited.
"It's such a huge relief to have won it. It was getting to be a heavy burden to carry all the time," said Meissnitzer, who won the title despite not racing in slalom. She has won eight times this year in downhill, super-G and giant slalom.
Meissnitzer, however, failed to clinch the super-G crown when Dorfmeister won and kept alive her slim chances.
Teammate Renate Goetschl finished second in 1:29.37, beating Monahan's 1:29.57.
Monahan's previous best was an eighth place in the super-G in Mommoth Mountain earlier this season.
"When I saw Meissnitzer's time was slower than mine I knew I'd had an awesome run because she's been skiing really fast," said Monahan, who joined the World Cup circuit in 1992. "This is really good for the upcoming finals in Sierra, Nevada, because it gives me a lot of confidence."
Dorfmeister, who covered the slow-paced Corviglia course in 1 minute, 29.17 seconds, moved up to second place in the super-G standings -- 86 points behind her teammate.
To beat Meissnitzer, however, she would have to win the super-G this week's at the World Cup final in Sierra Nevada, Spain.
MEN'S WORLD CUP DOWNHILL: At Kvitfjell, Norway, Andreas Schifferer of Austria won his second World Cup downhill in two days Saturday while Lasse Kjus of Norway finished second, helping his bid for the overall title.
Schifferer was timed in 1 minute, 46.78 seconds. Kjus was .18 second back and helped his chances in a three-way race for the overall championship with leader Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway.
WORLD CUP SPEEDSKATING: At Inzell, Austria, Gunda Niemann of Germany sped to victory Saturday at the Speedskating World Cup in the 3,000-meters to wrap up the season's overall title in the event.
While Niemann won her 15th overall title, Norway's Adne Sondral captured his first in the men's 1,500-meter title despite finishing third Saturday.