UPDATE 1-Alpine skiing-Vlhova takes giant slalom gold, Shiffrin bronze

Slovakian Petra Vlhova claimed victory in the women's giant slalom at the Alpine skiing world championships as American favourite Mikaela Shiffrin settled for bronze on Thursday.

Vlhova trailed Germany's Viktoria Rebensburg after the first run but clawed back time on the second despite being buffeted by strong winds that made life difficult for all the racers. Rebensburg, the last skier down, appeared to have victory in the bag as she stayed ahead on the split times, but her advantage leaked away and Vlhova won by 0.14 seconds.

Olympic champion Shiffrin, fourth after the first run, moved up into third spot, 0.38 seconds back. Slalom expert Vlhova, 23, added gold to the silver she won in the combined and becomes the first Slovakian skier ever to win a gold medal at the world championships. (Reporting by Martyn Herman Editing by David Goodman and Ken Ferris)