Super Austrians on top

Austria, who will knock Sweden off the top of the medals table in they win the gold, led on five points, followed by Canada on 15 and Switzerland on 17.

The Austrians clocked the fastest times in three of the four super-G heats courtesy of Renate Goetschl, Fritz Strobl and Michaela Kirchgasser, with Benjamin Raich second fastest in the other.

France were in fourth position, followed by Italy and Sweden. All three teams were on 23 points and still in the medal hunt.

Individual results are used to separate teams tied on points.

Sweden, however, faced a struggle for the gold after Anja Paerson, the winner of three gold medals and a bronze here, managed only the fourth fastest time in her heat.

Germany, the defending champions, were out of contention for the gold in eighth place, 24 points off the pace.

With slalom aces such as Marlies Schild, Mario Matt and Raich in their squad, Austria looked set to retain their lead after the slalom heats, which start at 1200 GMT.

"Our goal is obviously to top the medals table and we have excellent slalom racers but we have to remain cautious because a lot of things can happen in a slalom," said Austrian head coach Hans Pum.

Goetschl, who won bronze in the downhill here, contributed to an impressive Austrian performance with the fastest women's time in the super-G heats, speeding down the Olympia piste in one minute 01.92 seconds.

"This event means a lot to us," she said. "It's different from the individual event but it's fun to be fighting as a team. It's looking good but let's wait and see."

The competition, inaugurated at the last world championships two years ago in Bormio, Italy, consists of two races, a super-G and a slalom, each with four heats.

One racer from each nation competes in each heat.

A penalty points system is used with the heat winner getting one point, the second-placed skier two points, and so on. The team with the lowest points total win the gold medal.