Italy beat Switzerland to win the mixed team parallel event that opened the world alpine ski championship on Tuesday in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria.
Thomas Tumler was slow out of the gate in the decisive heat of the final and couldn’t catch Italy’s Alex Vinatzer. The final ended 2-2 and Italy won with an advantage of 0.45 seconds in total time.
It could be the start of a big championship for Italy, which has Federica Brignone and Sofia Goggia in top form and among the favourites in multiple events.
“It’s a good start because we invest a lot,” Italian team leader Max Carca said. “We have a lot of expectations from the girls side.”
WATCH | Italy collects 1st medal of alpine worlds in Austria in mixed team parallel:
Italy beat Switzerland in the team parallel big final at the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach-Hinterglemm, Austria.
The defending champion United States lost a chance for a medal when Isaiah Nelson lost control toward the end of the fourth and decisive run of the bronze-medal race, handing the medal to Sweden and leaving the Americans in fourth.
Live streaming coverage through the 13-day world alpine ski championship will be available on CBCSports.ca and CBC Gem.Â
Host Austria, which had a first-round bye, was eliminated immediately by Sweden while Canada did not enter a team.
In the final, Giorgia Collomb beat Wendy Holdener before Luca Aerni equalized for Switzerland by beating Filippo Della Vite. Then Delphine Darbellay put Switzerland ahead when Lara Della Mea made a series of errors. But Vinatzer, who recently finished second in a World Cup slalom in Kitzbuehel, secured the title.
The women’s super-G featuring Brignone, Goggia and Lindsey Vonn on Thursday is the first individual event of the championship.
WATCH | What Canadians need to know about alpine worlds:
Our CBC Sports team previews the Alpine World SKI Championships in Saalbac, Austria.
