ASPEN, Colo. (AP) — Marlies Schild of Austria has taken the lead after the first run of a season-opening World Cup slalom race in which Lindsey Vonn didn’t compete because of a sore back.
Schild finished in 51.24 seconds Sunday and is ahead of Tanja Poutiainen of Finland by 0.78 seconds.
Teenager Mikaela Shiffrin had the best U.S. finish, winding up tied for 13th place to earn another run. The 16-year-old is 2.57 seconds behind Schild.
Julia Mancuso, who finished third in the giant slalom the day before, skied a little tentative and didn’t make the cut.
Vonn sat out to rest her back after tweaking it last week while training. The Olympic gold medalist plans to return to the slopes Tuesday for a downhill training run in Lake Louise, Alberta.
