Maze was tailed by two officers at the start and she received protection in the arena, though a police spokesman said the death threat was not considered serious enough to pose an actual risk.

"We felt threatened...I hope this is all just about a single idiot, not a sabotage," Maze's coach Andrea Massi told public Radio Slovenija.

Maze, who has already secured the overall World Cup win for the season, finished 4th in the super-G and let Julia Mancuso of the US narrow the gap in the event rankings one race before the end of the season.

Mancuso is 55 points behind Maze, meaning that the super-G winner will be decided at the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, which starts next week.