Miller wins Gold, Siver and Bronze - Ben Clatworthy, Racing Correspondent
Monday February 22, 2010 - Email this article to a friend

It's known as the ultimate test as the skiers race one run Downhill, closely followed by one run Slalom. 

It means a very quick change of skis and turn size; for some racers it's a nightmare of a race.

For Miller though the competition bought him the ultimate prize; Olympic Gold.  We have followed his return the US team here on PlanetSKI from his decision to race again and his preparations that did not get off to such a good start.

We even caught up with him playing tennis in Saas Fee last October.

Not surprisingly he was delighted with his winning performance. His first Olympic Gold medal.

"I skied with 100% heart. I didn't hold anything back," Miller said. "It's just awesome. There's nothing else to say. The way I executed, the way I skied, is something I'll be proud of the rest of my life."

Here is how he did it on the day.

The day started early in Whistler with Italian Peter Fill racing first, however a faster clean run from Sweden's Hans Olsson put him in the leaders enclosure.  

10th came Didier Defago, the Olympic Downhill champion who momentarily took the lead before Aksel Lund Svindal, the Super-G winner and Downhill silver medalist, beat the Swiss man by over half a second.

Bode Miller already with a silver and bronze medal skied 20th and from the off was over a quarter of a second in the lead from Svindal, however it was too good to be true and a messy mid section left him three quarters of a second down and in 6th position.

All eyes were on Benjamin Raich of Austria who leads the World Cup Combined championships and was very much the favorite for the title.  Not a natural on the Downhill course, his slow first run left his 1.55 seconds up going into the Slalom.

One of the most unexpectedly fast descents came from Italian Dominik Paris who skied 29th and put in a fantastic run to take second place just 0.39 seconds off the pace.  Carlo Janka finished the Downhill in 3rd place going into the slalom.

British skier Ed Drake wore bib 36 and skied well in his Downhill run putting him in 33rd place, just 0.12 seconds off 2nd run flip.  A commendable run left him in good stead for the slalom, even if not his preferred discipline.

For further details of Ed Drake's race see here.

Drake does well too

Markus Larsson (30th after DH) skied first as the top 30 competitors are reversed as in any FIS race.  A clean run 3rd out the gate Andrej Krizaj of Solvenia fell at the under-gate.

As the race continued up the top 30 the lead quickly changed hands with each competitor leaving the gate with a bigger advantage carried from the Downhill.

A fall across the finish line by Andrew Weibrecht of the USA put him into 3rd position, but with all his equipment and his skis passing the gates correctly he had completed the competition.  He was quickly moved to forth position by Ondrej Bank of the Czech Republic.  

Defending champion Ted Ligety was to ski next - spurred on out the gate by USA ski team motivator 'Hughey' - and what a run it was, calmness and control until very near the end put him in the lead, 0.37 seconds up.

Benni Raich stormed the top section of the course taking a lead of almost half a second on Ligety, but a major mistake three quarters of the way down left him in 2nd place.

Ivica Kostelic, whose father set the slalom course, was next to take the lead by over half a second subsequent to a near perfect run.  Peter Fill of Italy failed to make it past the first sector with renowned madman Bode Miller skiing next.  The American flew down the slalom, with great composure and style to take the lead by 0.33 seconds.

A messy run from Silvan Zurbriggen placed him in 3rd followed by Hans Olsson and Didier Defago who both failed to finish.

Carlo Janka from Switzerland skied into 4th place, 0.62 seconds off Miller.  Next to follow was the apparent underdog and most unexpected fast skier in the Downhill, Dominik Paris of Italy whose disappointing Slalom time left him in 13th place.

Downhill leader Aksel Lund Svindal skied out following a gate straddle, giving Bode Miller the Gold Medal, and the full collection from the 2010 Olympic games.

A clean and controlled run on a rutted course from Great Britain's Ed Drake moved him up into an extremely creditable 22nd place.  He finished overall in 29th place - earning him just what he wanted; a top 30 finish.

It's no doubt that today is owed to Bode Milller who goes home with one of every kind of medal; Gold in the Super-Combined, Silver in the Super-G and Bronze in the Downhill.  It's quite a feat for the 32 year old.

For a video of Bode's race see here.

FINAL RESULTS OF THE MEN'S OLYMPIC SUPER-COMBINED:

Gold: Bode Miller (USA)

Silver: Ivica Kostelic (CRO)

Bronze: Silvan Zurbriggen (SUI)

4th: Carlo Janka (SUI)

5th: Ted Ligety (USA)

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29th: Edward Drake (GBR)

See our special Olympic Section on PlanetSKI; as well as the latest news it is has some in-depth features and a few stories that you wont see elsewhere.

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