Swiss skier Loic Meillard wins slalom to close out men's Olympic alpine program

Loic Meillard of Switzerland used a strong second run to win the men's slalom on Monday on a day that saw Brazilian ski racer Lucas Pinheiro Braathen fall in the first run, ending his bid for another Olympic gold.

The event closes out the men's alpine program at the Milano Cortina Games.

Meillard adds gold to a silver he won in the team combined and bronze from the giant slalom.

Meillard finished in a two-run combined time of one minute, 53.61 seconds. He edged Fabio Gstrein of Austria by 0.35 seconds, while Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway took bronze. It was quite a contrast of runs, too, with snow and fog in the morning and the sun peeking out for the afternoon.

Norway's Atle Lie McGrath, the first run leader, straddled a gate and was out. He was so irate that he threw his ski poles over the netting on one side. He then went outside the netting on the other side, trudging along the snow. He sat down, breathing heavily.

Pinheiro Braathen made history by winning the giant slalom Saturday, becoming the first athlete from South America to win a medal at a Winter Olympics. But his ski slipped out on a fast first run and his bid for another medal was over.