Alpine Skiing - Mikaela Shiffrin claims Super-G gold as Lindsey Vonn crashes out

Lindsey Vonn crashed out heavily in the Super-G on the opening day of competition at the Alpine World Ski Championships on Tuesday as compatriot Mikaela Shiffrin took gold.

Shiffrin put down a superb run on the technical descent, edging ahead of Italian Sofia Goggia by 0.02 seconds to claim her fourth world championships gold, but first in a speed event.

Swiss Corinne Suter was third, 0.05 slower than Shiffrin.

Airborne Vonn clatters gate in horror crash

Video credit: TNT Sports

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Vonn, winner of 82 World Cup races, was next down after Shiffrin but lost control as she came off a jump and clattered into the red stop netting at high speed to gasps from the crowd watching in the finish.

The 34-year-old, who is retiring after the championships following a career spent battling knee injuries, was attended to by course stewards before getting back to her feet and skied down slowly to warm applause.

Despite the course being slightly shortened, it still proved a formidable piste with several skiers struggling to stay on course. Another American, Laurenne Ross, also crashed heavily as the cloud cover came down to create tricky light conditions.

It was her fourth world title but the first three had all been in slalom, the event in which she is almost untouchable.

Ross in nasty crash in Åre Super-G

Video credit: TNT Sports

Swiss Corinne Suter was third, 0.05 slower than Shiffrin.

Only 0.54 seconds separated the top 10 finishers.

"This is crazy," she said. "It was a really tight race, the differences were like nothing. It was a fight. It's tough, all these girls deserved to win."

Two-time world champion Vonn, who has struggled with knee injuries throughout her career, has said she is retiring after the championships in the Swedish resort.

"I feel like I've been hit by an 18-wheeler," Vonn told a news conference later. "I got the wind knocked out of me but it's okay. I wasn't expecting it. I'll have to watch the video."

She could still end her career in fairytale fashion, however, with the downhill still to come, provided she suffered no damage during her spill on Tuesday.

"We knew this was going to be a challenge for her, but she was pushing hard," Bode Miller, the most successful male American skier and now analysing the championships for Eurosport, said.

Shiffrin clinches Super-G victory by 0.02secs

Video credit: TNT Sports

"I was a little concerned. She didn't make much of an error. Happy to see her get up and stand up because those are the kind of accidents that eat you up.

"She has another race coming up but it's whether she is still willing to take that risk."

Despite the Super-G course being slightly shortened, it still proved a formidable piste with several skiers going off. Another American, Laurenne Ross, also crashed heavily as the cloud cover came down to create tricky light conditions.

Czech Ester Ledecka, surprise gold-medallist in Super-G at last year's Winter Olympics, finished outside the top 20.

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