3 American women in top 9 in downhill at Cortina

By USSA

CORTINA d’AMPEZZO, Italy — Lindsey Vonn of Vail fought gusting winds to finish second on the Olympia della Tofane downhill in Cortina today.

Stacey Cook of Mammoth was sixth and Julia Mancuso of Squaw Valley was ninth.

Italian Deniella Marighetti captured the first victory of her career.

Vonn now leads the Audi FIS Alpine World Cup overall standings by 244 points and the downhill standings by 127. Mancuso is sixth in the World Cup downhill standings, with Cook 10th.

Cook’s sixth-place finish ties for her third-best career World Cup result.

“It (the wind) was definitely was a factor, and I’m not really sure what side of it I was on. I know that I definitely had some wind over the first jump, and I wasn’t sure how I was going to pull out of it. If it was any bigger, I think it would have taken me,” Cook said. “I felt a little out of control at the bottom, which usually means you’re going fast.”