Maze sets record with downhill victory

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GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany, March 2 (UPI) -- Tina Maze of Slovenia won the women's downhill in Germany Saturday to become the first skier ever to earn more than 2,000 points in a World Cup season.

Maze was spectacular in her first downhill of the season and finished in 1 minute, 40.46 seconds, 0.39 seconds ahead of American Laurenne Ross and 0.50 ticks ahead of Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch.

"With eight races remaining and more than 1900 points, I knew this would come soon and wasn't too much stressed about it today," said Maze, who clinched the women's overall points race last weekend. "Winning the overall was my goal at the start of the season. Breaking the record is just another incredible achievement."

While Ross's second place was a pleasant surprise for the Americans, it was tempered by the loss of Alice McKennis, who had to be airlifted to a hospital after a nasty spill. McKennis was the 12th racer on the foggy course and by the time racing resumed, the visibility had drastically improved for the later competitors, including No. 18 Maze.

"That's so tough, especially when it's your own teammate that crashes and you're standing in the start waiting to go," said Ross, who was 26th on the course.

"But that's something that happens all the time for us and it's just something that you have to block out of your head."

The U.S. Ski Association said McKennis suffered a fractured tibial plateau in her right leg.