The gold-medallist from the downhill, Maze clocked one of the fastest speeds mid-course, but lost an important chunk of time when she went wide in the final section to cross the line in 1:26.28, which was 0.1 seconds shy of a podium place.

Second place went to Maria Höfl-Riesch of Germany, who finished 0.55 seconds behind Fenninger, with Nicole Hosp of Austria in third, 0.66 seconds adrift.

The race started off with a series of disqualifications, as only three of the first ten racers managed to finish the course which combined a series of twisty turns at the top and bottom with a faster middle section.

It was not until Hosp finished with bib no. 16 that a competitive time had been set. Fenninger would then immediately lay claim to the title with an aggressive run which found the right balance between speed and precision in the tight turns.

Maze, who took to the course after Fenninger, took to the top part cautiously but then developed the fastest speed until then in the middle section.

On track to a fast time, Maze sought to attack the final section but appeared to come into the first turn too fast and had to take the next three turns wide.

The Slovenian champion crossed the line in third, but was subsequently overtaken by Lara Gut of Switzerland (+0.73) and then by Höfl-Riesch, who also had the same troubles as Maze in the final section.

This is the second time that Maze has finished a mere 0.1 seconds off a medal time in Sochi, after finishing fourth in the super combined by the same difference to third place.