Kostelic wins Wengen slalom

Ivica Kostelic of Croatia proved the master of Wengen again Sunday, winning a World Cup slalom to close the gap on overall standings leader Marcel Hirscher, who was disqualified for straddling a gate. Kostelic was almost flawless in the second run to finish 0.85 seconds ahead of Andre Myhrer of Sweden. Fritz Dopfer of Germany was third. Bode Miller was the only American of six to complete the first run. However, Miller did not qualify for a second run after his time trailed Matt by 2.39 and finished outside the top 30. Teammate Ted Ligety, who attempted to move from fourth in the overall race, skied out at the fourth gate of the first run. Kostelic has won five of the last seven World Cup events raced at the storied Swiss venue since January 2010. His 22nd career World Cup victory also completed his Wengen weekend double of slalom and super-combined for the second time. "I guess I have something with this mountain like no other," said Kostelic, whose third straight win in the Wengen slalom matched Swedish great Ingemar Stenmark (1975-77).
"To find yourself in the same sentence as Ingemar Stenmark is the greatest honor. Unlike many other racers ... I really am following the history of skiing. They were legends for me."