Raich raced to the gold medal in the men's slalom in Bormio, Italy with a two-run time of one minute 41.34 seconds. Raich had already won a gold in the combined event, silver in the giant slalom and bronze in the super-G at these world championships.
Raich's countryman Rainer Schoenfelder finished second on Saturday with a time of 1:41:58, while Italy's Giorgio Rocca placed third in 1:42:08.
"It was a great day, a good slalom, perfect," said Raich, who is second to American Bode Miller in this season's overall World Cup standings. "This is crazy, I can't believe it."
Austria's Benjamin Raich posted a near-perfect first run to win the gold in the men's slalom race Saturday at the world alpine ski championships in Bormio, Italy. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle)
"I'm too weak to properly enjoy it," added Raich, who has been battling a flu all week. "This victory is giving me my strength back though."
It was a good day for Canadians as Thomas Grandi of Banff, Alta., finished sixth (1:42.76), Patrick Biggs of Orleans, Ont., was ninth (1:43.38), Michael Janyk of Whistler, B.C., was 11th (1:43.63)
Ryan Semple of St-Fastin-Lac-Carre, Que., did not complete his second run.
"We have an amazing slalom team," exclaimed Grandi. "We have depth, youth, passion and most important, we have fun. I certainly wouldn't be here if it wasn't for my teammates who continuously push me."
"We were aiming for two medals at these world championships," said Max Gartner, Alpine Canada's chief athletic officer. "I am disappointed about not having reached that objective but on the flip side, we showed that we are close to the podium on the women's and men's sides."
Raich posted the fastest first-leg time, and managed to hold on to a 0.24-second advantage over Schoenfelder after the second leg to claim the victory.
Miller failed in his bid to become the first man to win world titles in five different events when he crashed in his second run. Miller won gold in the giant slalom and combined titles in 2003 and the two speed titles in Italy last week.
Several top skiers did not finish their first runs, including defending world champion Ivica Kostelic of Croatia and 1999 slalom world champion Kalle Palander of Finland.
The championships conclude with Sunday's team event.
with files from Associated Press
