Alpine Skiing-Evergreen Guay beats Jansrud to Super-G gold

ST MORITZ, Switzerland, Feb 8 (Reuters) - Canadian veteran Erik Guay produced a stunning run on a challenging Super-G course to win the World Championship gold medal 0.45 seconds ahead of Olympic champion and hot favourite Kjetil Jansrud on Wednesday. The 35-year-old Guay's compatriot Manuel Osborne-Paradis caused another shock by finishing third after many of the top contenders struggled to master the 2km course. Jansrud, who is also the discipline's World Cup leader, must have thought he had done enough after a near-flawless run saw him leapfrog Austrian upstart Vincent Kriechmayr who set the early pace but eventually finished fifth. The red-hot favourite was able to breathe a sigh of relief after seeing Norwegian Aleksander Aamodt Kilde cross the finish line 0.09 seconds behind him before Guay, the 2010 World Cup Super G winner and the 2011 downhill world champion, toppled the two Norwegians. Gliding down the course he gained precious time on the treacherous jumps and stormed to the finish as the crowd roared. "I am happy to be here as the race leader after a big crash I had in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (downhill World Cup race) last month," Guay, who has had six knee surgeries, most recently in 2015, told Eurosport. Osborne-Paradis, who had never before enjoyed a podium finish at the world championships, celebrated his 33rd birthday by beating Kilde to the bronze medal after starting 26th. Guay looked delighted as his team mate crossed the line. "It's always nice to share your success with a team mate and I almost feel as if it's my birthday," he said. Jansrud put on a brave face. "I skied to the best of my ability and I am very happy to be on the podium." (Writing by Zoran Milosavljevic; Editing by Martyn Herman)