Hamelin, Wang win 500 titles at short track worlds

VIENNA (AP) -- Canada's Charles Hamelin won the 500-meter title Saturday at the short track speedskating world championships, while defending champion Apolo Anton Ohno failed to make the final at Ferry Dusika Stadium.

Hamelin was timed in 41.218 seconds to beat Yoon-Gy Kwak of South Korea, who was second in 41.739. Canada's Olivier Jean was third.

Ohno, the American Olympic star, finished third in the semifinals behind Hamlin and Jean.

Defending champion Meng Wang of China took the women's 500-meter title in 43.182, beating teammate Liu Qiuhong's 43.358. Jessica Gregg of Canada took the bronze in 43.437.

Moan takes Nordic combined World Cup event

LAHTI, Finland (AP) -- Magnus Moan beat Anssi Koivuranta in a photo finish Saturday to win a Nordic combined World Cup event at the Lahti Ski Games.

Moan, the best skier on the combined tour, started the 10-kilometer cross-country race nearly 2 minutes behind Koivuranta but passed the Finnish World cup leader with a furious sprint to finish in 26 minutes, 34.5 seconds. Koivuranta had the same time.

"This was the most important sprint of all time on my side," Moan said.

The Norwegian's win put him 59 points behind Koivuranta in the overall standings with two events remaining in Vikersund, Norway. Moan and Koivuranta, the best ski jumper on the circuit, are both trying to secure their first overall World Cup title.

Bill Demong of the United States, who won the large hill Gundersen world title, finished 2.5 seconds back in third place. He remained third in the overall standings.

Demong went past Koivuranta to win Friday's race, and again caught up to the Finn after 6.5 kilometers. However, Koivuranta was able to shake off the American at the finish.

"Anssi skied better than yesterday," Demong said. "I intended to start easier today, but ended going out harder and paid for it on the last lap when I tried hard to hold off Moan. I had no energy."

Koivuranta leads the overall standings with 1,329 points. Moan has 1,270, and Demong 980.

Austrians win ski jump World Cup team event

LAHTI, Finland (AP) -- Austria won its third straight team event in the ski jumping World Cup on Saturday.

The quartet of Wolgang Loitzl, Martin Koch, Thomas Morgenstern and Gregor Schlierenzauer had 1,017.5 points to beat Finland by 2.7 points. Norway was third, 20.7 points behind Austria.

The same Austrian team won the world championship in Liberec, Czech Republic, last month.

Austria has dominated team jumping during the past few years, winning world titles in the normal and large hills in 2005, taking the Olympic gold medal in 2006, and the world title again in 2007.

Schlierenzauer leads the individual World Cup standings, with Loitzl third and Morgenstern fourth. Koch is in 11th.

An individual World Cup event is scheduled for Sunday.

Grimpl wins third World Cup Big Air overall title

MOSCOW (AP) -- Defending champion Stefan Gimpl dominated the final snowboarding Big Air event Saturday to earn his third career overall World Cup title.

The 29-year-old Austrian topped two runs of three for a total of 50.4 points, four points ahead of second-placed Thomas Franc of Switzerland. Slovenia's Marco Grilc had 45.5 for third.

"It was a wonderful season," said Gimpl, who also won in Stoneham, Canada, last month and failed to make the podium in only one of five events this season. "I guess I should think of retirement while I'm on the top."

Gimpl dominated the big air standings with 4100 points to earn the Crystal Globe. He also won last year and in 2006. Grilc was second with 1640. Peetu Piiroinen of Finland, who skipped the event, is third with 1450.

With the victory, Gimpl moved to third place in the overall World Cup snowboarding standings led by his compatriots Siegfried Grabner (4700 points) and Markus Schairer (4340).

The event was held on an artificial slope erected near Moscow University in the Vorobyovy hills.

Majdic wins World Cup sprint title

LAHTI, Finland (AP) -- Petra Majdic of Slovenia defended her World Cup sprint title Saturday, winning the freestyle sprint at the Lahti Ski Games.

In the men's race, Petter Northug of Norway won, while teammate Ola Vigen Hattestad captured the sprint title.

Majdic's victory moved her ahead of Finland's Aino-Kaisa Saarinen at the top of the overall World Cup standings with 1,350 points. Saarinen, who has the flu and did not compete, has 1,276.

Majdic stepped in front of Finland's Pirjo Muranen in the final bend to get the best line to the finish. Arianna Follis of Italy was second. Muranen finished third and complained after the race, but Majdic escaped with just a warning.

Deneen wins moguls at freestyle worlds

INAWASHIRO, Japan (AP) -- Patrick Deneen of the United States won the men's moguls event at the World Freestyle Championships on Saturday.

Deneen received 23.41 points for a comfortable win over Finland's Tapio Luusua, who had 21.89 points. Canada's Vincent Marquis took the bronze medal with 21.66 points.

"This is an incredible feeling," Deneen said. "This is my first win, my first world championship."

Japan's Aiko Uemura won the women's moguls event.

Uemura scored 24.71 points to edge Canada's Jennifer Heil, who was second with 22.88 points. Nikola Sudova of the Czech Republic finished third with 21.76 points.

Uemura, winner of the world cup moguls title last season, booked a place at the Vancouver Olympics with Saturday's win. It was also her first win in a world championships.

Japan's Tae Satoya, who won the gold medal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, finished ninth.

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