Defending World Cup giant slalom champion Marina...

Defending World Cup giant slalom champion Marina Kiehl led West German teammate Michaela Gerg in a 1-2 finish of a single-heat super giant slalom to open the World Cup season at Sestriere, Italy.

Kiehl straightened her race line on the bottom half of the icy, bumpy Kandahar Alpette course to win in 1 minute 28.44 seconds. Gerg’s time was 1:28.66. Yugoslavia’s Mateja Svet was third in 1:29.14, and American Olympic giant slalom gold medalist Debbie Armstrong placed fourth in 1:29.44, beating teammate Eva Twardokens by about a third of a second.