Loic Meillard of Switzerland used a strong second run to win the men's slalom at the Winter Olympics on Monday on a day that saw Brazilian ski racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen fall in the first run, ending his bid for another gold.

The event closes out the men's alpine programme at the Milan Cortina Games.

Meillard adds gold to a silver he won in the team combined and bronze from the giant slalom.

Meillard finished in a two-run combined time of 1 minute, 53.61 seconds. He edged Fabio Gstrein of Austria by 0.35 seconds, while Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway took bronze.

It was quite a contrast of runs, too, with snow and fog in the morning and the sun peeking out for the afternoon.

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath, the first-run leader, straddled a gate and was out. He was so irate that he threw his ski poles over the netting on one side. He then went outside the netting on the other side, trudging along the snow. He sat down and then fell back, breathing heavily.

McGrath has been racing with a heavy heart, with his grandfather dying the day of the opening ceremony. McGrath wore an armband as a tribute.

Pinheiro Braathen made history by winning the giant slalom on Saturday, becoming the first athlete from South America to win a medal at a Winter Olympics. But his ski slipped out on a fast first run and his bid for another medal was over.

Pinheiro Braathen represented Norway before switching to Brazil, his mother's home country.

Switzerland led the men's alpine skiing medal table in Bormio with eight (four gold, two silver and two bronze). Austria (two silvers) and Italy (silver, bronze) each had two, while Brazil (gold), the US (silver) and Norway (bronze) brought home one apiece.

The heavy snow led to a tricky morning of racing. The competition featured 96 racers in the field, with many representing non-traditional ski nations.

Of the 96 racers, there were 49 who didn’t finish the course, two who were disqualified and another who didn’t start. (AP)



Edited by Edmond Fong