Austrian Surprises in Super-G

Christiane Mitterwallner of Austria, never better than 19th in four years of World Cup racing, surprised herself and her heavily favored teammates Friday by winning a women’s World Cup super-G.

“I was only hoping I could be in the top 20,” said Mitterwallner, still visibly stunned. “I never thought about winning. Am I surprised? Sure, I’m surprised. I can’t believe it.”

Renate Goetschl, who won two downhills for Austria last weekend in Canada, was giving interviews and receiving congratulations from the other skiers when Mitterwallner, 24, moved into the gate as the 37th starter.

Skiing on a sun-baked course that remained fast throughout the day despite soft snow, Mitterwallner caught everyone’s attention when she reached the midway point .20 seconds faster than Goetschl.

Mitterwallner crossed the finish line in 1 minute 15.64 seconds, .05 seconds better than Goetschl, who was .04 better than Germany’s Martina Ertl.

Mitterwallner seemed confused by the roar that greeted her arrival, then saw to her surprise her name atop the leaderboard.

“I must look two times,” she said. “Sometimes you dream about it. I hope I can believe it in two hours.”

Since her start number was so late, Mitterwallner was still at the bottom of the course when the race began. She watched Goetschl and Ertl take the first two positions in the early going before taking the chairlift to the top.

Despite the almost tropical conditions after an overnight storm, many late starters followed Mitterwallner’s lead with startling results of their own. Eight of the top 15 finishers started after the top-seeded skier, with the highest being No. 46 Katie Monahan of Aspen, Colo., who placed eighth. Another American, Megan Gerety of Anchorage, Alaska, started 35th and placed 13th.