World Cup Skiing Roundup : Switzerland’s Mueller Wins Aspen Downhill

Peter Mueller skied Aspen Mountain as if he owned it, even though he grew up half a world away in Switzerland.

Mueller, despite a broken bone in his left wrist, won a World Cup downhill at Aspen, Colo., for the fourth time Saturday, edging runner-up Peter Wirnsberger of Austria and moving closer to Wirnsberger in the downhill standings.

“Today, I didn’t make any mistakes,” Mueller said after breaking the course record he set last year by nearly three seconds. “I took the line I had during training.”

Mueller, who won two downhills at Aspen in 1982 and another last year, was clocked in 1 minute 42.96 seconds on the 3,170-meter course. Wirnsberger was timed in 1:43.25.

Wirnsberger has a 120-115 lead over Mueller in the downhill standings. Mueller can share the title by winning the final race next week at Whistler Mountain, Canada.

Austrian Leonhard Stock, the 1980 Olympic downhill gold medalist, finished third in 1:43.95.

Doug Lewis of Salisbury, Vt., was eighth in 1:44.39. Bill Johnson of Malibu, who had several fast practice times during the week, fell about two-thirds of the way down.

Maria Walliser of Switzerland moved into position for her second World Cup downhill title in three years by winning the Husky downhill race at Banff, Canada.

Walliser, 22, won her third downhill race of the season with a time of 1 minute 32.37 seconds. Katrin Gutensohn of Austria, tied with Walliser for the season downhill lead going into the race, was second in 1:33.16.

Hometown favorite Karen Percy was third in 1:33.44, and Liisa Savijarvi of Canada was fourth in 1:33.71.

Pam Ann Fletcher of Acton, Mass., finished seventh in 1:34.24, and Holly Beth Flanders of Deerfield, N.H., was 12th in 1:34.66.

The victory gave Walliser 115 points to 110 for Gutensohn going into the final downhill race next Saturday at Vail, Colo.