Skiing: Women face hard schedule on final day

The last day of the Alpine World Championships in Sestriere tomorrow will be crowded with three medal races and some of the women having to compete twice within few hours.

Organisers said the women's combined downhill, which was called off on Thursday and yesterday due to bad weather, would be held today at noon.

Before that, the regular women's downhill will be held at 9.30am. The men's slalom, at 5pm and 8pm, will then be the final event.

The rescheduling is likely to affect the German women skiers Katja Seizinger and Hilde Gerg most of all. Seizinger is the 1994 Olympic downhill champion and a front-runner for the world title. She is also well placed with Gerg for the combined title.

It is not be the first time this season that the women have had two speed races in a day. On 7 December in Vail, they held a World Cup super-giant slalom and hours later the downhill.