IN BRIEF : Vreni Schneider Captures Slalom

Vreni Schneider of Switzerland combined two smooth runs down a 500-meter course today and won a slalom event counting toward the the season’s first World Cup combined for women.

Schneider had runs of 46.43 and 48.65 seconds for a total time of 1 minute, 35.08 seconds, almost half a second better than surprise runner-up Katjusa Pusnik of Yugoslavia, who clocked 1:35.56.

Maria Walliser of Switzerland, who won the downhill, had to abandon the slalom when she missed a gate during the first heat. Austria’s Veronika Wallinger, second Thursday, was not entered in the slalom.

Tamara McKinney of Squaw Valley, Calif., whose 45.88 run on the first heat led all competitors, ended up third in the slalom at 1:35.63 when she took a cautious approach on the second run.