U.S. Puts 3 in World Cup Top 10

Markus Larsson posted his first World Cup win Saturday in the final slalom of the season, at Are, Sweden, and the United States finished with three men in the top 10 of the overall standings for the first time.

Larsson’s win came as discipline champion Giorgio Rocca failed to finish his fourth straight race in the event. Larsson, second after the opening run, went down the Gastrappet course in windy and rainy conditions in a two-run combined time of 1 minute 41.35 seconds.

Stephane Tissot of France was runner-up in 1:42.17. Thomas Grandi of Canada placed third in 1:42.28 for his third consecutive podium finish and his fifth this season.

Olympic combined gold medalist Ted Ligety helped the U.S. men put three skiers in the top 10 of the overall standings. Bode Miller was third with 928 points, and Daron Rahlves was fourth with 903. Ligety was ninth with 636.

Overall champion Benjamin Raich of Austria ended the season with 1,410 points overall. Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway finished second in the standings with 1,006.

Janica Kostelic won the women’s World Cup giant slalom finale at Are and broke the record of Pernilla Wiberg for the number of points in a single season.

Kostelic, who clinched the World Cup overall title Thursday, ended the season with 1,970 points after the last of 36 races. Sweden’s Wiberg had 1,960 points in the 1996-97 season. The Croatian needed to win Saturday’s giant slalom to break the record.

Anja Paerson clinched the World Cup giant slalom title by finishing ahead of her only remaining challenger, Maria Jose Rienda Contreras. Rienda Contreras, who had hoped to give Spain its first World Cup title, had entered the race trailing Paerson by 45 points.

Olympic champion Cindy Klassen broke her own world record in the 3,000 meters at the ISU world all-round speedskating championships at Calgary, Canada.

The Canadian, who won five medals at the Turin Olympics, finished in 3 minutes 53.34 seconds.

Germany’s Claudia Pechstein was second in the 3,000 in 3:37.35, and Canada’s Kristina Groves was third in 3:59.46.

American Shani Davis, who won the men’s all-around crown in 2005, set an event record in the 500 at 35.17 seconds. Poland’s Konrad Niedzwiedzki was second in 35.52; American Chad Hedrick was third at 35.58.

Olympic gold medalist Shaun White won his first U.S. Open halfpipe title, at Stratton, Vt., with a first-run combination of a frontside 540-degree rotation, a backside 900, frontside 1080, Cab 1080 and frontside 900. Danny Davis finished second, and Mason Aguirre third.

In the women’s contest, Torah Bright also won her first U.S. Open halfpipe title, with an air to fakie, Cab 720, frontside air, backside 360 and switch-backside 540. Olympic silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler finished second and Elena Hight third.

MOTORSPORTS

Burton Gets First Busch Win in Years

Jeff Burton passed Matt Kenseth with 20 laps left in Hampton, Ga., and raced away to his first NASCAR Busch Series victory in four years.

Burton is a regular with Richard Childress Racing in the Nextel Cup Series and only a part-time performer in Busch. He beat runner-up Kasey Kahne, who won last week in Las Vegas, to the finish line by 1.42 seconds, nearly half the final straightaway on the 1.54-mile Atlanta Motor Speedway oval, to take the Nicorette 300.

Renault’s Giancarlo Fisichella had the fastest qualifying time for the Malaysian Grand Prix, and an engine change spoiled Michael Schumacher’s bid to set the Formula One pole position record in Sepang, Malaysia.

Fisichella had the fastest time of 1 minute 33.840 seconds. Ferrari’s Schumacher was fourth-fastest in a time of 1:34.668 but will drop on the starting grid because he changed engines after the morning practice session.

An Audi diesel car came from the rear to lead halfway through the Sebring 12 Hours endurance race at Sebring, Fla. The sports car, one of two new diesel-powered Audi R10 prototypes in the field, was driven by Italy’s Rinaldo Capello. He shared the cockpit with Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish.

SWIMMING

USC’s Soni Wins at NCAA Meet

USC’s Rebecca Soni won the 200-yard breaststroke in 2:09.37 at the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships at Athens, Ga., and Auburn won the team title.

UCLA’s Kimberly Vandenberg finished second in the 200 butterfly.

Auburn had 418.5 points, three more than Georgia, which missed a chance to repeat as national champion. Last month in the Southeastern Conference meet at Knoxville, Tenn., Georgia beat the Tigers by 19 points.