ARE, Sweden (AFP) -- Austria topped the medals table here on Sunday on the final day of what could otherwise be seen as a disappointing campaign for the alpine superpowers at the world ski championships.

Only a victory in the nations event, after Mario Matt had won well-deserved slalom gold to add to Nicole Hosp's giant slalom win managed to soothe their concerns over having to rebuild for the next Olympics.

The Canadian city of Vancouver will host the 2010 Games and Austria, who won 14 of the 30 medals in Italy last year, may have to consider the likely retirements of speed specialists Hermann Maier and Fritz Strobl.

Former Olympic champion Strobl won silver in the downhill, while a medal-less Maier complained that his bid was doomed from the start.

"I haven't been able to train well since the start of the competition because of the weather (rain) and I had some problems with my material," said the 34-year-old who finished 13th in the downhill and seventh in the super-G.

Austrian speed queen Renate Goetschl, who won bronze in the super-G, competed in her last world championship race on Sunday and the 31-year-old is unlikely to see the Olympics again.

All in all, Austria should have done better.

And to rub salt into their wounds, alpine rivals Switzerland grabbed six medals from the men's events with Daniel Albrecht, Marc Berthod and veteran Didier Cuche all getting on the podium.

If not for Sunday's team victory ahead of Sweden and Switzerland, Anja Paerson's three gold medals from her victories in the super-G, downhill and super-combined would have left the hosts topping the table.

Paerson and her dedicated team of technicians, coaches and physios combined to boost her efforts on the slopes after a miserable, winless season in the World Cup.

Her decision to come home to prepare for the competition and try to iron out equipment worries instead of racing in the World Cup proved decisive.

Her father and coach Anders admitted: "A lot of people in Sweden thought 'Anja is coming for the world championships, it's no problem'. "But they didn't know that we were totally nervous and didn't know what to do."

Paerson finished the star of the show, winning a bronze in the slalom and silver in the team event to go home with five medals.

Her downhill win made her the first skier in history to hold world titles in all five disciplines, an achievement which brought out the Swedish royalty.

"Coming here and winning three golds at my home championships, and having the king and queen (of Sweden) seeing it all, I'm speechless," Paerson said after winning the super-combined.

Patrik Jaerbyn meanwhile won Sweden's first ever downhill medal behind winner Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway.

Jaerbyn, who fought his way into the team after being thrown off for a second time last year, became the oldest winner of a world championships medal at 37.

The closeness among rivals on the tough World Cup circuit became apparent when Svindal remarked: "As the best speed specialist in Sweden it was a little bit strange that he got kicked off the team just before the world championships.

Svindal became the first Norwegian to win the downhill, and the first to win the giant slalom crown since Lasse Kjus in 1999.

Kjus and fellow great Kjetil Andre Aamodt, who between them hold 36 medals from the world championships and Olympic Games, retired last year.

Inevitably, Svindal, the current World Cup leader, has been hailed as their successor. The confident 24-year-old remarked, however: "It would be great to have them around. But once you get in the start gate it's every man for himself."

While Austria, Sweden and Svindal dominated the gold medal count, the Swiss men's team showed plenty of promise.

Albrecht, 23, claimed gold in the super-combined as his boyhood friend and rival Berthod won bronze behind Austria's defending champion Benni Raich.

Raich crashed out of the giant slalom and failed to defend his slalom crown when he finished fourth just 0.03 behind France's Jean-Baptiste Grange.

Albrecht also won silver in the giant and bronze from the team event -- giving him the full set after Berthod's fall in the slalom handed Sweden the silver.

In Switzerland the kids are playing at being 'Dani and Marc' on the slopes.

And Albrecht, who felt he was being left behind by Berthod at the start of the season because of back problems, is going home to new found status.

"The impact of what I did here will only hit me when I go back home," he admitted. "When you've worked so hard for these moments you learn how to cherish them."