By USSA

ST. MORITZ, Switzerland -– Lindsey Vonn (Vail, CO) reached her 11th Audi FIS Alpine World Cup podium of the season on Friday, taking third in a super combined won by Sweden’s Anja Paerson. Julia Mancuso (Olympic Valley, CA) was 14th after the American pair went 2-3, respectively, in the first-run super G.

“It was important to make it down not only for the points, but for my mind going into the Olympics, because super combined is the first event,” Vonn said. “Now I have that confidence, and I’m definitely going to risk more in the Olympics.”

The 60 points give Vonn a 116-point lead in the overall standings heading into Saturday’s downhill and Sunday’s super G – the final World Cup races before the Olympics.

Vonn also holds a 10-point lead in the super combined standings with just one more race after the Olympics for the discipline title.

“It’s a two-run event, and there’s just three events for the [combined] globe,” Women’s Speed Coach Alex Hoedlmoser said, explaining why Vonn might have been slightly cautious on the Corviglia course. “If you pull out in one of those races, there’s no chance for it.”

“I was more concentrated on just making it down to the bottom and not really risking anything,” Vonn said. “It’s so easy in slalom to go out and a lot of girls had problems, especially at the top. It wasn’t my best run, but it was solid, and that’s all I was hoping for.”

Mancuso had the second-fastest time in downhill training Wednesday and carried that speed into Friday.

“In speed she’s getting more and more confident now and doing some good things,” Hoedlmoser said of the 2006 giant slalom gold medalist. “She’s definitely pointed in the right direction.”

After tweaking her back in downhill training Thursday, Leanne Smith (Conway, NH) was 19th after the super G, but coaches opted to sit her for the slalom.

Vonn will go for her first-ever win at St. Moritz in the downhill, where Hoedlmoser said “anything can happen.” She is undefeated in downhill this season with a six-race winning streak going back to last year.

St. Moritz, Switzerland, Jan. 29, Women’s Super Combined

1. Anja Paerson, Sweden, 2:00.54

2. Michaela Kirchgasser, Austria, 2:00.97

3. Lindsey Vonn, Vail, CO, 2:01.46

4. Elisabeth Goergl, Austria, 2:01.51

5. Fabienne Suter, Switzerland, 2:02.13

–

14. Julia Mancuso, Olympic Valley, CA, 2:02.75

34. Chelsea Marshall, Pittsfield, VT, 2:04.83

37. Stacey Cook, Mammoth Mountain, CA, 2:05.17

39. Megan McJames, Park City, UT, 2:06.08

DNS 2 – Leanne Smith, Conway, NH

DNF 2 – Kaylin Richardson, Edina, MN