SKIING: Gotschl wins by whisker

Skiing: Renate Gotschl, of Austria, won a desperately close women's Alpine World Cup super-giant slalom run in harsh conditions on home territory in Flachau yesterday.

Only two-hundredths of a second divided the top three as Gotschl, winning in 1min 21.67sec, pipped Germany's Katja Seizinger and Slovenia's Spela Pretnar on the tough Griessenkar course in one of the closest finishes to a women's World Cup race.

Heavy snow overnight made the course particularly treacherous, creating a soft slippery surface over an icy base, and constant snow during the race made visibility and conditions even worse.

A men's super giant slalom, scheduled for later in the day at the same resort, was abandoned because of the conditions.