KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia - In a rare tie in Alpine skiing, Tina Maze of Slovenia and Dominique Gisin of Switzerland both won Olympic gold Wednesday in the women's downhill.
The pair sped down the 1.69-mile (2.7-kilometer) Rosa Khutor course in 1 minute, 41.57 seconds. Lara Gut of Switzerland was 0.10 behind in third.
For the 28-year-old Gisin, it was only her third downhill victory, but two have been ties. In January 2009, she shared a World Cup win with Swedish great Anja Paerson in Altenmarkt, Austria - the last time a women's downhill ended tied.
Wearing bib No. 21, Maze started 30 minutes after No. 8 Gisin as temperatures approached 50 degrees (10 C).
Maze led Gisin at each time split and speed check but then appeared to be slowed by softening snow on the final slope.
Still, Maze stretched both arms overhead and threw her race goggles in the air after seeing she shared the lead. It's the best result in a difficult season for the Slovene, who has struggled to match her exceptional 2013 campaign.
"It's even more interesting because it's not a usual thing," Maze said. "It's something special."
Though Maze won two silvers at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Gisin earned her first major medal. She came out of the leader's box and into the finish area to hug Maze after she completed her run.
The last tie in Olympic skiing happened in men's super-G at the 1998 Nagano Olympics. Didier Cuche of Switzerland and Hans Knauss of Austria both got silver behind winner Hermann Maier.
On Wednesday, pre-race favorites Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany and Julia Mancuso of the United States slipped out of contention, racing after Gisin.
Hoefl-Riesch, who sought a record-equaling fourth Olympic Alpine gold, was 1.17 back in 13th place. Mancuso, who started No. 12, trailed by 0.99 in eighth place after losing more than a half-second in the lower sections.
"It's actually crazy that it comes down to one-hundredths (of a second) and there is not one-thousandths as a tiebreaker," Mancsuo said.