Vonn 13th on return to slopes, Scheyer wins in Austria
American speed queen Lindsey Vonn finished 13th on her return from injury as Austrian Christine Scheyer claimed a shock maiden victory in Sunday's World Cup downhill on home snow at Altenmarkt-Zauchense. The 22-year-old Scheyer benefited from a quickening piste for the later starters to clock 1min 21.15sec and finishing 0.39sec ahead of Liechstenstein's Tina Weirather, with American Jacqueline Wiles completing the podium, at 0.54. "I was fast in training, but this is amazing," said Scheyer, who started with bib number 25. "It's great to be proud. And if an Austrian wins, I think it's the best that can happen." Switzerland's Lara Gut, second to American Mikaela Shiffrin in the overall standings, finished fourth, just ahead of Slovenia's Ilka Stuhec, who won the first three downhills of the season. Vonn safely negotiated her return from a broken arm sustained in what was the latest in a line of serious injuries to beset the four-time overall World Cup champion. With 76 World Cup victories under her belt, and aiming to better Swedish legend Ingemar Stenmark's all-time record of 86, Vonn picked up 20 points for her 13th-placed finish, 1.54sec off the pace. "I felt like I was skiing pretty well, just not quite on the limit yet," said Vonn. "For me, it's not really a matter of the results, I'm just happy to be racing again. "Of course I have higher expectations for myself, but considering the condition and the fact that we had a training run and a race in the same day, I think it was pretty good." The downhill took place after an earlier obligatory training run on the same slope, during which Italian Nadia Fanchini suffered a broken right humerus and lumbar vertebrae in a season-ending crash.
