Paerson going for more gold in giant slalom

ARE, Sweden – Anja Paerson is looking to extend her streak.

The two-time defending champion in the giant slalom will aim for her fourth straight gold medal at the world championships today.

With her downhill victory Sunday, Paerson became the first skier – male or female – to win world titles in all five events during a career. Two more wins and she’ll have a clean sweep of all five events in a single championship.

“This week has just been a dream,” the Swede said. “I hope when I’m sitting there really old I can look back and really (understand) what I’ve done. At the moment, I’m just too scared to think about it.”

Her competition today includes Olympic giant slalom champion Julia Mancuso. She finished second last month in the final giant slalom run before the worlds.

Last week, Mancuso won silver in the super-G behind Paerson. She knows beating the local favorite is difficult.

“You never know. She’s on a roll,” said Mancuso, who also won bronze at the last worlds. “I’m ready for the GS.”

But Paerson hasn’t excelled in the giant slalom this season, with her best finish a sixth. She sits 17th in the World Cup discipline standings, finishing only two of four giant slalom races so far.

Nicole Hosp leads the World Cup GS standings with one win and one second-place finish. She took a surprise bronze medal in downhill on Sunday.