Austrian Marlies Schild won the World Cup slalom event for women on Mount Sljeme overlooking Zagreb on Tuesday afternoon. Maria Riesch of Germany came second and Italian Manuela Moelgg was the third best racer in the event. Croatia's Ana Jelusic and Sofija Novoselic finished 11th and 25th respectively.
In attendance at today's event were some 9,000 people, including Croatia's President Ivo Josipovic, Parliament Speaker Luka Bebic and other office-holders and prominent public figures.
The organisation of the women's slalom and of the men's slalom, which is scheduled for Thursday, cost HRK 23.5 million.
The winners of the two events can each count on a reward of EUR 42,000.
A total of 458 reporters and photographers from 16 countries have been accredited for the Vip Snow Queen Trophy 2011 races in the Alpine Skiing World Cup. The number of reporters covering the slalom races on 4 and 6 January exceeds 500 when Croatian Television personnel is added.
The live coverage of the slalom for women on Tuesday was provided by 17 TV stations for audiences in 13 countries. Audiences in 15 countries will be able to watch the live coverage of the men's slalom on Thursday. An additional 20 TV stations will broadcast summaries.
According to analyses of the FIS International Ski Federation, last year's World Cup events at Mount Sljeme were seen by more than 300 million TV viewers.
Foreign reporters come from Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.
