ÅRE: Italy’s Olympic champion Sofia Goggia won the women’s World Cup downhill title by three points on Wednesday despite finishing second to Lindsey Vonn at the season-ending showpiece in Åre, Sweden.

Swiss Beat Feuz won the men’s downhill crystal globe ahead of Norway’s Olympic champion Aksel Lund Svindal.

In a thrilling end to the battle for the women’s downhill crown American Vonn, who claimed her 82nd World Cup win, just failed to dislodge Goggia from the top of the standings.

Vonn won the race with a time of 55.65 seconds, earning her 100 points, while Goggia was second in 55.71 seconds to take 80.

Goggia took an early lead but when Vonn bettered her time there was an anxious wait for the Italian who could have lost the title had other skiers knocked her down the finishing order.

Vonn’s teammate Alice McKennis almost obliged but finished third, and Goggia held on for her first globe. Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein finished third in the downhill standings.

In the men’s race, Austria’s Vincent Kriechmayr and Matthias Mayer tied for first place with identical times of 1:20.21, 0.04 and 0.12 seconds respectively ahead of Feuz and Svindal, who finished fourth.