KREISCHBERG, Austria (Kyodo) Tomoka Takeuchi came second in the women's parallel giant slalom Tuesday, producing the best-ever finish in the event for a Japanese athlete at a World Cup.
Takeuchi finished behind Austrian Doris Guenther, who came fourth at the 2006 Turin Olympics, in the final. She made her first podium finish since placing third at a World Cup in February 2004 in Sapporo. Austria's Claudia Riegler was third.
After qualifying in third in trials, Takeuchi reached the final round of 16 snowboarders, beating out 2007 world champion Ekaterina Tudegesheva of Russia in the process.