Kosglow 17th at FIS World Championships

KREISCHBERG, Austria (Jan. 15) – The Alpine portion of the FIS Snowboard World Championships concluded Wednesday with France riding their Olympic PGS finish into Austria as Isabelle Blanc and Karine Ruby went 1-2 in PSL.  For Blanc, the victory comes just 10 days after winning PSL at the Bad Gastein World Cup.  Blanc has won a PSL medal at the world championships every year since 1999.  Sara Fischer of Sweden was third.

Just two days after placing three Americans in the PGS final, Rosey Fletcher (Girdwood, AK) blasted through qualifiers with the second fastest time and roared through the finals before falling short in the race for third to Fischer.  The result was the best American alpine finish in the ’03 World Championships.

Lisa Kosglow (Boulder, CO) narrowly missed the final, finishing the day in 17th, while Stacia Hokoom (Edwards, CO) was 24th and youngster Michelle Gorgone (Sudbury, MA) finished 38th.

The championships take to the sky Thursday with women’s halfpipe.  No American athletes are scheduled to compete.

FIS SNOWBOARD WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
Kreischberg, AUT – Jan. 15
Women’s Parallel Slalom (16 make finals)

1. Isabelle Blanc, France
2. Karine Ruby, France
3. Sara Fischer, Sweden
4. Rosey Fletcher, Girdwood, AK
5. Anna Heiramo, Finland
6. Claudia Riegler, Austria
7. Florine Valdenaire, France
8. Dagmar Mair unter der Egg, Italy
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17. Lisa Kosglow, Boulder, CO
24. Stacia Hokoom, Edwards, CO
38. Michelle Gorgone, Sudbury, MA