Frenchman Wins First Slalom Race, Closes on Tomba

France’s Sebastien Amiez, one of the season’s most consistent slalom skiers, rallied for his first World Cup victory Sunday, in 1 minute 38.79 seconds at Voysennaz, Switzerland.

Unheralded Rene Mlekuz of Slovenia, who raced 64th, was second at 1:39.16. Thomas Sykora of Austria, co-leader after the first heat, finished third at 1:39.48.

Amiez closed the gap in the World Cup slalom standings on leader Alberto Tomba of Italy. Tomba crashed through a flag and was eliminated in the first heat. Tomba has 440 points and Amiez 434.

The combined competition was won by Marc Girardelli of Luxembourg.

*

Austrian Anita Wachter overcame Katja Seizinger’s big first-run lead and won the giant slalom race in Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy, to vault to the top of the World Cup overall standings.

Wachter rallied from third to first with a time of 2 minutes 37.74 seconds for the two runs.

Sweden’s Erika Hansson produced her best World Cup finish, placing second, .39 seconds back.

Seizinger fell to third place.

Picabo Street dropped out during the first run, as did U.S. teammate Shannon Nobis.

*

Figure skater Midori Ito, who made a successful comeback at the national championships, will represent Japan at March’s world championships in Edmonton, Canada, an official of the Japan Skating Federation said.

*

Germany’s No. 1 bobsled, driven by veteran Wolfgang Hoppe, beat Germany’s No. 2 and the United States’ No. 1 in a World Cup four-man event in Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy. Hoppe, teaming with Carsten Embach, Ulf Hielscher and Sven Peter, clocked the fastest time in both heats and had a total of 1 minute 47.01 seconds.

*

Stefan Krausse and Jan Behrendt of Germany used a record-setting opening run in Koenigssee, Germany, to win their third consecutive World Cup doubles luge event of the season. Gerda Weissensteiner of Italy gave her country a sweep of the weekend’s individual events by winning the women’s race.

*

Rintje Ritsma of the Netherlands won the men’s all-around title in the European Speedskating Championships in Heerenveen, Netherlands. Germany’s Gunda Niemann won the women’s title. . . . Randy Weber of Steamboat Springs, Colo., had the longest first jump and held on to win his second national ski jumping title in 24 hours in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Miscellany

The Vancouver Canucks agreed to contract terms with right wing Glenn Anderson, who spent the last four months playing in Europe. The 16-year veteran was a member of six Stanley Cup championship teams, five with the Edmonton Oilers and one with the New York Rangers. . . . New Mexico’s Winslow Oliver had two touchdown runs, including a game-record 53-yarder to give the East a 17-10 victory over the West in the Hula Bowl at Honolulu. . . . Edgar de Oliveira, Brazil’s national 1,500-meter champion, won the Miami Mile in 3 minutes 56 seconds, leading four finishers who broke the race’s previous men’s record. In the women’s division, Amy Rudolph set a race record in 4:30.6. . . . Ethiopian Haile Gebreselassie raced to an easy victory in the 10,000-meter race of the Cross Italica International in Seville, Spain. . . . Danny Monzon, 49, a former Minnesota Twin infielder and Boston Red Sox scout, was killed in a car accident in the Dominican Republic, Red Sox officials said.