SKIING / BOB LOCHNER : For Weinbrecht, Finishing Third Reward Enough

Freestyle skiers are flying, bouncing and dancing over the snow in North America again, and at this early stage of the season, Donna Weinbrecht is happy merely to be along for the ride.

After winning the first Olympic freestyle gold medal ever awarded, in the women’s moguls event of the 1992 Winter Games at Albertville, France, she blew out a knee and spent the next winter in rehabilitation. She returned last season to win eight of 11 World Cup events but failed in her Olympic medal defense, finishing seventh.

At Blackcomb/Whistler, Canada, last weekend, the 29-year-old skier from Killington, Vt., finished third in the moguls behind former world champion Raphaelle Monod of France and teammate Liz McIntyre of Winter Park, Colo., the 1994 Olympic silver medalist.

“I’m still punching,” Weinbrecht told the Associated Press. “Lately, I’ve been a little timid mentally, so this is a good result.

Weinbrecht, McIntyre and the other U.S. freestylers will compete this weekend at Breckenridge, Colo., but their long-range goal is to peak in time for the World Championships Feb. 12-19 at La Clusaz, France.

Other notable American performers at Blackcomb:

--Ellen Breen of West Hills, who won her second World Cup women’s ballet event.

--Ian Edmondson of East Lansing, Mich., and Jason Bodnar of Shelburne, Vt., who placed 2-3 behind Heini Baumgartner of Switzerland in the men’s ballet.

--Trace Worthington of Park City, Utah, second to Darcy Downs of Canada in the men’s combined.

--Kristean Porter of Greenland, N.H., third in the women’s combined behind winner Maja Schmid of Switzerland.

Sergei Shupletsov of Russia won the men’s moguls, defeating ’92 Olympic gold medalist Edgar Grospiron of France and Jean-Luc Brassard of Canada, the ’94 Olympic champion.

The aerials, which have also become an Olympic event, were won by Christian Rijavec of Austria and Kirstie Marshall of Australia.

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Austrian Bernhard Knauss, who has dominated the U.S. Pro Ski Tour thus far, will lead his troupe into Snow Summit this weekend for the Coors Light Cup. Qualifying and a speed run are set for Thursday and Friday, followed by dual giant slalom and slalom races Saturday and Sunday.

Knauss has compiled 219 points and earned $43,825 this season to go with the $1.3 million he has banked in previous years on the circuit. Sebastian Vitzthum, also of Austria, is second with 138 points and $19,874.

The women’s Pro Ski Tour will take the weekend off, allowing Julie Parisien time to savor her first professional victory. The 23-year-old former U.S. Ski Team star from Sugarloaf, Me., beat Camilla Lundback of Sweden in the giant slalom last Saturday at Timberline, W. Va., earning $3,150.

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Kitzbuehel, Austria, will be the scene of Alberto Tomba’s quest for an eighth consecutive Alpine World Cup victory. The slalom is scheduled for Sunday, following two downhills, in which the Italian does not race, on Friday and Saturday.

Tomba still leads the overall standings with 750 points, 400 more than runner-up Jure Kosir of Slovenia, after a super-G, which Tomba also skips, was canceled Tuesday because of poor visibility caused by heavy snowfall at Flachau, Austria.

The women held their super-G there before conditions deteriorated, and it produced the closest three-way finish in 25 years on the World Cup circuit. Renate Goetshel of Austria won in 1:21.67, only .01 of a second ahead of Katja Seizinger of Germany and .02 ahead of Spela Pretnar of Slovenia. Shannon Nobis was the fastest American, placing 10th.

Heidi Zeller-Baehler of Switzerland leads the women with 635 points, 37 more than Seizinger, with Vreni Schneider of Switzerland third, another 52 behind. Americans Hilary Lindh and Picabo Street are sixth and ninth with 334 and 245 points, respectively.

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California ski area operators are hoping for a sustained break in the stormy weather before the anticipated big rush of skiers over the three-day Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

Wind gusts of more than 100 m.p.h. shut down or severely limited operations at many resorts this week, and having 10 feet of snow isn’t much good if the lifts can’t run or nobody can get to the slopes.

Skiing Notes

Olympic champion Diann Roffe-Steinrotter will be at Snow Valley today to ski with members of Southland Boy Scout and Girl Scout troops trying to earn their skiing or snowboarding merit badges. Her visit is sponsored by Ski Industries America, which has contributed $500,000 to a national grant program aimed at developing new skiers. . . . Tommy Moe, who is 34th, is the only U.S. racer in the top 40 of the men’s Alpine World Cup standings.