Stephanie Venier gave hosts Austria a dream start to the Alpine World Ski Championships by winning the women's super-G gold on home snow in the first individual race on Thursday. Italy's Federica Brignone had to settle for silver on a clear and sunny day in Saalbach,

Austrian skier Stephanie Venier has won the women’s super-G at the Alpine skiing world championships in Austria

Stephanie Venier delighted an Austrian home crowd on Thursday when she claimed super-g gold at the alpine skiing world championships while American Lindsey Vonn failed to finish. Venier, 31, had an all but flawless run under sunny skies as she skied to her biggest career success one-tenth ahead of Italian overall World Cup leader Federica Brignone whose silver is a first big event medal for her in the discipline.