Maria Walliser

Michela Figini beat her Swiss teammate, Maria Walliser, in the final World Cup women's downhill race of the season, at Steamboat, Colo.

Michela Figini beat her Swiss teammate, Maria Walliser, in the final World Cup women's downhill race of the season, at Steamboat, Colo.

Maria Walliser clocked the fastest time on both runs Sunday to lead a Swiss sweep of the top four places in a giant slalom race at Bischofswiesen, West Germany. Walliser, 24, finished more than two seconds ahead of Vreni Schneider. Walliser had a combined time of 2 minutes 19.24 seconds, and the victory helped her retain the top spot in the overall World Cup standings with 229 points.

Had it been a football game, the margin would have been four touchdowns; a baseball game, 10 runs, and in basketball, about 35 points. Maria Walliser's 1 1/2-second victory in the women's downhill at the World Alpine Ski Championships Sunday, her second straight title in this event, was that one-sided. "I just had a perfect run," she said of her 1-minute 46.50-second burst down the 1.6-mile Vail Mountain course, during which she reached speeds in excess of 68 m.p.h. "Everything came together.

Had it been a football game, the margin would have been four touchdowns; a baseball game, 10 runs, and in basketball, about 35 points. Maria Walliser's 1 1/2-second victory in the women's downhill at the World Alpine Ski Championships Sunday, her second straight title in this event, was that one-sided. "I just had a perfect run," she said of her 1-minute 46.50-second burst down the 1.6-mile Vail Mountain course, during which she reached speeds in excess of 68 m.p.h. "Everything came together.

Maria Walliser clocked the fastest time on both runs Sunday to lead a Swiss sweep of the top four places in a giant slalom race at Bischofswiesen, West Germany. Walliser, 24, finished more than two seconds ahead of Vreni Schneider. Walliser had a combined time of 2 minutes 19.24 seconds, and the victory helped her retain the top spot in the overall World Cup standings with 229 points.