Jansrud, 33, made light of the falling snow and poor visibility to win by 0.02 seconds and claim a first world title, having won the Olympic Super-G gold at Sochi in 2014. Aksel Lund Svindal: 'It's so emotional, but I'm super happy with my final race' World Championships Chasing History: Vonn bows out with brilliant bronze 17/02/2019 AT 19:31 Olympic downhill champion Svindal, who will end his glittering career after the championships, came agonisingly close to becoming the first man to win three downhill world titles - a small mistake in the closing stages of his run probably costing the 36-year-old a fairytale gold. "It’s so emotional for me. Right now, I am just super happy with this race – of course being the last one and with their being so many Norwegians here. I thought it would be the right thing to do to give it a hell of a show – Jansrud first and me second," said Svindal. "Coming in I was two hundredths behind and there was a six tenths gap to Matthias Mayer – I was thinking this is looking pretty good. Last year, Kjetil and I did the same thing in the Olympics but I won the gold, so he deserves it today. Kjetil is nearly as old as I am so he will take over the dad character for sure! I think we have a cool team, we work hard on that too. How many days do you get like this every year? This is like one in a thousand, or one in a hundred. You really have to make it a life worth living as a downhill skier. "It's been an emotional couple of weeks, and I was ready to get this over with to be honest and hammer it one last time and that’s it! I am happy we did well today." Kjetil Jansrud: 'You ski with your heart' Svindal becomes only the third man to win medals at six different world championships. Austria's Vincent Kriechmayr was third, 0.33 seconds back, to earn his second medal of the week after sharing silver with Johan Clarey in the Super-G. 'Unbelievable scenes!' - Jansrud sets pace with stunning downhill run Jansrud had an anxious wait in the finish because Austrian Hannes Reichelt, one of the favourites, was the 45th starter. However, despite a strong start a big error wiped out his chances and the Norwegian's celebrations could start. The race had been delayed for an hour with low cloud at the top of the course but organisers decided to run it despite heavy snow falling throughout. After silver medals in combined and Super-G in the last two world championships, Jansrud, who has struggled in the speed events this season, finally made it one step further up the podium as he beat his great friend and rival. "We've been lucky enough to share a few one-twos," Jansrud said in the finish after Austrian Hannes Reichelt, the 45th starter despite wearing bib number one, failed to threaten to spoil the Vikings' party. "I had missed a (world gold) until now so that makes it bigger. Doing this in Aksel's last race is a real honour. It's a perfect day. Otmar Striedinger suffers horror finish on world downhill run "I brought everything I had in my heart and mind today." Super-G winner Dominik Paris, who came sixth, suggested the race should not have been run. "It was tough with the weather," the Italian said. "I'm happy for Aksel in his last race but maybe they shouldn't have started today. It was foggy, then it started snowing hard and there was too much snow on the race line." Reichelt, one of the quickest in the training runs, had deliberately given himself a low starting place by not showing up for the bib ceremony, but his gamble backfired as he got snagged in some soft snow and lost time. Switzerland's Beat Feuz, who was bidding to become the first man to successfully defend the downhill world title since compatriot Bernhard Russi won in 1970 and in 1972, was fourth. World Championships Chasing History: Vonn reflects on her crash in the Super G 17/02/2019 AT 19:21<doc-sep>A positive sign was the way Vonn, 34, spoke about still being a contender in the downhill on Sunday, in what will be the final race of her storied career. “Don’t count me out,” said Vonn, the winner of 82 World Cup races, a record for female skiers. “I’ve got one more chance. Maybe I’ll pull off a miracle, maybe I won’t.” On a course that was shortened because of strong winds on Tuesday, Vonn was typically aggressive from the start, despite the persistent pain in both of her knees that is forcing her into retirement. Shiffrin, a more technical racer, also took risks that yielded complications. She veered off line on the lower section of the course, flailed her arms midair to slow down and narrowly cleared the next gate, clipping it with her side. The mistake occurred right in front of the head coach of the United States team, Paul Kristofic. “She flew far and slightly off to the left and had to make a fairly significant correction,” Kristofic told The Associated Press. “Not many people can do that, but she showed the world that she can — and not only just to recover from the mistake but to carry as much speed out of it and keep your head in the game.” Perhaps it explained Shiffrin’s reaction after seeing her time. She crouched over and held her hands to her face in disbelief.<doc-sep>(CNN) It's ski racing's biggest event outside the Olympics and comes with the cachet of a world title to wear with pride for the next two years. Alpine skiing's FIS World Championships take place in Are, Sweden over the next two weeks with legends to be forged, names to be made and scores to be settled. The event will also mark the end of an era -- American great Lindsey Vonn will retire from ski racing after Sunday's downhill because of the ravages the sport and its spills have taken on her body over the years. And fellow speedster Aksel Lund Svindal , Norway's Olympic downhill champion, is also bowing out following an illustrious but injury-plagued career. But very much at the top of their games are slalom specialists Mikaela Shiffrin and Marcel Hirscher, both bidding to add more gloss to glittering careers and defend the world titles they won in St. Moritz, Switzerland two years ago. Here's the top-five talking points for skiing's World Championships. So long, Lindsey The 34-year-old Vonn has enjoyed a stunning career and amassed a remarkable 82 World Cup victories to sit second on the all-time list behind Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark. Can't thank everyone enough for the well wishes! 🙏🏻 It is helping me stay positive and has lifted my spirits. Looking forward to creating some lasting memories in my final races next week. ❤️ — lindsey vonn (@lindseyvonn) February 3, 2019 Despite a catalogue of injuries, she was determined to give it one final shot at passing Stenmark's record this season, but Vonn has finally succumbed to her ailing body. "My body is broken beyond repair and it isn't letting me have the final season I dreamed of," she wrote on Facebook Friday. "My body is screaming at me to STOP and it's time for me to listen." The American won super-G and downhill world titles in 2009, and fought back from injury to clinch bronze in the Olympic downhill in Pyeongchang in 2018 to add to downhill gold and super-G bronze in Vancouver in 2010. Despite only competing once this season because of a knee injury, a farewell world title is not beyond the realms of possibility. But Vonn will still bid the sport goodbye as the most successful female ski racer of all time. Photos: Skiing's speed queen The world's greatest female ski racer Lindsey Vonn has officially retired from the sport after her final race at the World Championships in Are. Here's a look back at her glittering career. Hide Caption 1 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen She made her Olympic debut at Salt Lake City 2002 as a 17-year-old, finishing 32nd in slalom and sixth in the combined slalom/downhill event. Hide Caption 2 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen Lindsey Kildow -- as she was then before marrying fellow skier Thomas Vonn -- won her first World Cup race with victory in the downhill at Lake Louise, Canada, in 2004. Hide Caption 3 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen In 2005, Vonn signed with Red Bull and began working with a completely new coaching team. She seemed set for the start of something special. Hide Caption 4 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen Any momentum from the new deal was slowed during the 2006 Olympics in Italy, though. A fall in practice resulted in a short stay in hospital. She recovered in time to compete but could only manage seventh in the Super G and eighth in the downhill events. Hide Caption 5 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen However, Vonn quickly bounced back and won the first of three straight World Cup titles in 2008 at the age of 23. Hide Caption 6 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen Golden girl Vonn achieved her Olympic dreams in 2010. She won the Olympic downhill gold at Whistler and added bronze in the super-G. Hide Caption 7 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen Vonn added a fourth World Cup title in 2012, but is still behind Annemarie Moser-Proell's record of six overall crystal globes. Hide Caption 8 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen Vonn's public profile went galactic when she dated star golfer Tiger Woods for two years between 2013 and 2015. Hide Caption 9 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen In 2013, Vonn suffered an horrific crash at the World Championships in Austria. She underwent reconstructive knee surgery and began a long road to recovery. She attempted to return a year later, only to pull out of the 2014 Olympics after aggravating the injury again. Hide Caption 10 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen Injuries continued to hamper Vonn. She fractured her left knee in February 2016 in a crash during a World Cup super-G race in Soldeu, Andorra, but raced the combined event the next day before calling an end to her season. Hide Caption 11 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen Vonn worked hard to get back in time to challenge for gold medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The American left PyeongChang with a bronze medal in the downhill but insisted she was proud to have made it through her injuries. Hide Caption 12 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen Vonn announced the current ski World Cup season would be her last. She is already the most successful woman in World Cup history with 82 victories and was chasing down Ingemar Stenmark's overall World Cup record of 86 victories in her sights. Hide Caption 13 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen However, a knee injury from a training crash in November meant she couldn't start her season until January. On her debut in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, she was still struggling with knee pain. Hide Caption 14 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen After much soul-searching Vonn announced that she will retire from skiing after competing in the World Championships in Are, Sweden in February 2019. "My body is screaming at me to STOP and it's time for me to listen," she said. Hide Caption 15 of 18 Photos: Skiing's speed queen In her opening race at the World Championships, Vonn suffered a heavy crash and careered into safety netting.<doc-sep>The 'Queen of the Slopes' and most decorated female skiier of all time - having won Olympic gold in 2010 as well as 82 World Cup events - was third down the slopes and her time of 1:02.23 proved to be the early time to beat. Slovenian Stuhec then set a stunning time of 1:01.74, 0.49 seconds quicker than Vonn, while Switzerland’s Corinne Suter slotted in to silver position after posting 1:01.97. But in finishing on the podium it proved to be a fairytale finish for 34-year-old Vonn, who defied her “screaming” body to compete in Sweden and claim a medal at a record sixth world championships. Alpine Skiing Vonn misses downhill training again ahead of final race 07/02/2019 AT 12:13 'Phenomenal performance' - Vonn shines in final race “It was so fun. I was the most nervous I’ve been in my entire life, I wanted to come down and be in the lead, hear the crowd roar, and not crash!" Vonn told Eurosport. “My family are thankful I didn’t end up in the fence today. I am always full tilt and on the limit – I was worried I would charge too hard and not make it down, so I was happy they lowered the start. It made it a little easier for me and my body.” Vonn and Stenmark share legendary interview after her final race Having crashed out in the Super-G on Tuesday, a black-eyed Vonn missed downhill training on Wednesday and Thursday, but used Friday’s downhill part of the women's Combined as preparation for her last race. Vonn finished eighth in that run with a time of 1:13.43, and with conditions in Sweden resulting in the downhill starting from the second reserve position on Sunday afternoon, she ultimately set the early pace after racing down quicker than Viktoria Rebensburg and Jasmine Flury. Blistering starts from both Ragnhild Mowinckel and Stephanie Venier saw them place ahead of the American halfway down, but they could not maintain their speed as Vonn remained first after eight racers. 'Absolutely brilliant' - Stuhec with gold-medal run Wearing the ninth bib, Stuhec set an unbeatable time to wrestle the gold-medal position away from Vonn, with Suter then finishing between the pair to claim silver. Olympic champion Sofia Goggia disappointed when finishing 1.02 seconds behind Stuhec. Vonn crashes Stuhec interview with classy congratulations<doc-sep>
Holdener finished fifth in the Downhill earlier in the day with Vlhova sitting joint eighth with Lindsey Vonn, who used the early stage as a training run for Sunday's event. Canada's Roni Remme set a blistering run of 48.58 in the Slalom and when Vlhova ran her close with 48.73 it looked as if the Slovakian might have secured gold. World Championships Chasing History: Vonn bows out with brilliant bronze 17/02/2019 AT 19:31 Vlhova piles pressure on Holdener with brilliant Slalom run However, Holdener responded with a run of 49.00 dead which was enough to give her the lead over Vlhova by just 0.03s. ‘That is a brilliant ski’ - Holdener defends Combined world title Ragnhild Mowinckel and Ramona Siebenhofer finished second and first respectively in the Downhill but they were unable to catch Holdener and had to settle for third and fourth. It means Holdener defends her title from St Moritz in 2017 and is just the fifth skier to win successive Combined titles, whilst Vlhova wins Slovakia's first individual medal at the World Championships. "Finally I could put two good runs together and bring home the victory. It's the right time,” Holdener said afterwards. Eurosport expert Bode Miller was full of praise for Holdener and her technique. Wendy Holdener of Switzerland competes during the FIS World Ski Championships Women's Alpine Combined on February 8, 2019 in Are Sweden. Image credit: Getty Images “I’m sure she would say it was a little bit of luck, she was pretty close to a couple of the gates on the second run. The course held up great and the snow is in great condition but there was some deterioration and there was a couple right after the first interval where she kind of wobbled but she’s super balanced and she really is a dynamic slalom skier. She has no faults in her technique or tactics at all and I love the way she skied, not a lot of risk at all, no real errors, a couple little close calls. Former World Championship gold medallist Tina Maze, who is also working as an expert for Eurosport was impressed with the speed all the skiers showed. “It was great to see the Slalom skiers skiing fast in the Downhill so I knew it would be an interesting second run but I was very surprised how fast they could ski on this slope and they showed good technique." DOWNHILL REPORT Ramona Sibernhofer will take a narrow lead into the slalom section of the ladies' Combined event at the World Skiing Championship in Åre, after topping the times in the Downhill. Favourites Wendy Holdener and Petra Vlhova are also in good positions while Olympic Downhill champion Ilka Stuhec was just 0.01secs behind Siebenhofer - who clocked a time of 1:12.71secs - in second and Ragnhild Mowinckel was a further 0.05 back in third. Siebenhofer takes top time by 0.01secs in Downhill run of Combined Lindsey Vonn initially went top after her run, despite sporting a black eye from her terrible crash in the Super-G earlier in the week, but slowly slipped down the leaderboard to eighth. Vonn all smiles after 'training run' in Combined "It was OK. I was definitely really stiff out of the start," Vonn, sporting a black eye from Tuesday's crash, told Eurosport. "I've been having some rib problems, my rib's out. From the first jump down it was pretty decent and it was a good test for me because this is obviously a race for the other girls and it's good to see kind of where I stack up. "I have another gear left to go and I'm just going to rest tomorrow and be ready for Sunday," said the 34-year-old. Sunday's downhill will be the final race of the former Olympic champion's career after she announced her retirement last week. World Championships Chasing History: Vonn reflects on her crash in the Super G 17/02/2019 AT 19:21