Olympic ´veteran´ Barahona suffers in Sochi

Noelle Barahona´s Olympic campaign got off to a disappointing start when she crashed out of the super combined.

Sochi – The 23-year-old, competing in her third Olympic Games, fell heavily in the downhill part of the competition, which also includes the slalom.

However, all is not lost for Barahona, who is due to compete in four more events in Sochi.

She said: “I wasn´t training for the downhill from my season in Chile and the truth is that I wasn´t 100 per cent prepared.

“In super giant and giant, I am very comfortable, faster and I believe that I can obtain the results that I´m seeking in those events.

“I´m just as motivated as before the fall and I hope to finish in the top 30 in some trials.”

In the super combined, Germany´s Maria Hoefl-Riesch retained her Olympic title with an impressive slalom display.

The 29-year-old was fifth after the downhill, but shone in the slalom to clock an aggregate time of two minutes 34.62 seconds.

Austria´s Nicole Hosp finished 0.40 seconds behind with downhill leader Julia Mancuso, of the United States, earning the bronze medal.