France’s Grange wins at ski championships

Jean-Baptiste Grange of France won the slalom title Sunday at the world championships in Beaver Creek, Colorado, after first-run leader Marcel Hirscher of Austria straddled a gate in deteriorating conditions. Trailing by 0.88 seconds heading into the final run of the last race, Grange had no trouble with the heavy snow and low visibility as he finished in a combined time of 1 minute, 57.47 seconds. Fritz Dopfer of Germany was second, 0.35 seconds behind, and teammate Felix Neureuther earned bronze. Hirscher, the defending champion, was dropping time when he went out with the finish line in sight. He lifted up his goggles and stared down the course in disbelief. American Ted Ligety finished 21st.

Associated Press