First top 30 for Branch | Australian Olympic Committee

Craig Branch has made the first downhill top 30 of his career, and lifted his pb six spots, skiing to 27th place in Val Gardena, Italy. Branch emphatically demonstrated the success of his comeback from injury, recording a time of one minute 59.16 seconds down the 3.5km Saslong course.

Craig Branch has made the first downhill top 30 of his career, and lifted his pb six spots, skiing to 27th place in Val Gardena, Italy.

A day earlier, he had also produced another pb in super G (see earlier story).

Branch emphatically demonstrated the success of his comeback from injury, recording a time of one minute 59.16 seconds down the 3.5km Saslong course to collect the first World Cup points of his career.

His time was 2.46 seconds behind the winning mark of Torino silver medallist Michael Walchhofer of Austria.

Defending World Cup downhill champion Didier Cuche of Switzerland was second, .18 seconds behind the Austrian, with the bronze going to US skier Scott Macartney.

It was the third pb of the season for the Perisher Blue 30-year-old, who will tackle the Bormio downhill on December 29.