Bode Miller’s fourth medal of the 2010 Winter Games will not come in the Giant Slalom.
Bode Miller Does Not Finish First Giant Slalom Run, No Medal Today
Miller -- who nearly crashed during the top half -- hooked his glove on a gate, was unable to correct his line and skied off the course in Tuesday’s first slalom run, eliminating him from contention (an athlete must successfully complete both slalom runs to qualify). Bode said it was his high-risk style of skiing that resulted in today’s error.
“I’m taking more risk than everyone else. That’s partly why I’m able to get medals. It looks easy when you make it,” Miller told The Associated Press in an interview after missing out on becoming the first man to win four Alpine medals at one Winter Games.
“When you crash like today, it’s like, ‘Oh, huh?’ I did a good job today, too,” Miller continued. “I was right there. I was right on the edge.”
Bode, who has already won three medals in Vancouver, will look to become the first ever alpine skier to win four medals in one Olympic Games on Saturday, in the Slalom.
Though Miller won silver in 2002 in the Giant Slalom, he was not expected to compete in this year’s event because of a lingering ankle injury, as Fourth Place Medal points out.
It’s not surprising that Miller won’t medal, and it’s not even that surprising that he didn’t finish. Miller has skied in only two giant slalom races this season. Suffering from a lingering ankle injury, he failed to finish in Colorado, and then wasn’t fast enough to qualify for a second run in Italy.
In fact, Miller didn’t even qualify for a spot on the United States team; he was added later as a coaches’ selection in the hopes that he could turn in a couple of great runs. But it wasn’t to be.
Fellow American Ted Ligety, one of the pre-race favorites, is in eighth place after the first run, 0.60 seconds behind the leader, Switzerland’s Carlo Janka. Austria’s Romed Baumann is second and Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, winner of medals already in 2010 (silver in Downhill and gold in Super-G), sits in third.
The second run begins at 4 p.m. ET; you can follow it live at the Vancouver 2010 website.
More: SB Nation’s full coverage of the Winter Olympics and the 2010 Winter Olympics Medal Count Tracker.
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