Austria's Brigitte Obermoser, who won her first race — a giant slalom — at last year's finals in Bormio, cemented her place in the speed events today by beating the rest of the field in the second downhill in St. Moritz. She was lucky enough to finish ahead of her roommate and teammate Renate Goetschl, the reigning downhill World Champion.

The race was marked by changes in the weather conditions, which favored some of the late starters.

It was only a matter of time before Obermoser's first success in a speed event; she has already accumulated a nice series of top-10 finishes and was aiming to win a downhill   considered the most prestigious discipline in Austria.

Canada's young talent, Emily Brydon, prevented an all-Austria podium by taking 3rd place, while Michaela Dorfmeister, Alexandra Meissnitzer and Tanja Schneider finished 4th, 5th and 6th, respectively.

The story of this race is really about Brydon, an impressive talent who has been among the top-20 four times in the last speed events in Aspen and Lake Louise. A powerful and charming athlete who excelled on the junior World Cup tour, Emily has the guts and the vision to become the next great star of the Canadian team, following in the footsteps of Nancy Greene, Betsy Clifford, Laurie and Kathie Kreiner, Gerry Soerensen, Kate Pace and Karen Lee, who together have accumulated so many gold medals over the last three decades.

Brydon's coolness after her run really showed she is on a mission. Although very happy with her result, she didn't want to lose her concentration before the next race.

"It's a special day for me, but it's not the end of my trip yet," she said at the finish line. "I'm just enjoying the competition and I will also be happy tomorrow if I'm 9th."

The Italian Isolde Kostner, one of the winners here a year ago, had to be content with a more modest 7th place, just ahead of America's promising Alison Powers. Isolde made too many mistakes to rank among the best today, but will try again Sunday. She maintains her lead in the downhill standings, which is her main goal this season.

The race was marked by varying weather conditions, which favored some of the late starters. Skiers with high bib numbers (late start times) finished ahead of many favorites, like Canada's Melanie Turgeon, only 21st, who tied with France's Regine Cavagnoud. Two other US skiers came in among the top-15: Caroline Lalive, 13th; and Jonna Mendes, 15th.

Picabo Street, racing in her first downhill since her accident in March 1998, scored her first comeback World Cup points by taking 24th   for sure far behind what she expected, but her countdown in on.

Germany's Martina Ertl finished in a disappointing 48th place, scoring no points — quite a loss for the Overall World Cup leader who will compete next week in the technical events at Sestrière.

— Manuèle Lang, World Cup Correspondent

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