Personal victory
Doubts that arose in Turin put to rest as Miller earns his first Olympic gold medal
WHISTLER, B.C. – This is the way Bode Miller always wanted it to happen – and needed it to happen.
An Olympic gold medal may be the ultimate evidence of skiing success in everyone else’s eyes, but most assuredly not in his. If the willful Miller ever was going to earn one and truly embrace the accomplishment, this is how it had to be.
He conquered a tricky course with sometimes-spectacular skiing that reminded him of being a kid on the slopes. He overcame a big deficit by pushing himself despite a bum left knee and an aching right ankle. In sum, he turned in a performance that pleased him, regardless of what the clock said.
In this case, it just so happens, Miller’s total time from one downhill and one slalom was Sunday’s best, allowing the 32-year-old from Franconia, N.H., to win the super-combined event signifying all-around skiing ability – and that first career gold. He now has a record-tying three medals at these Olympics after only three races, quite a comeback from his infamous flop at the 2006 Turin Games and his near-retirement last year.
“The gold medal is great. I think it’s perfect. Ideally, that’s what everyone is shooting for. But the way I skied these last races is what matters. I would’ve been proud of that skiing with a medal or not,” Miller said after turning in the third-fastest slalom leg for an overall time of 2 minutes, 44.92 seconds, a comfortable 0.33 seconds ahead of Ivica Kostelic of Croatia. Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland got the bronze.
“The way I executed – the way I skied – is something I’ll be proud of the rest of my life,” Miller said.
Whether he ever says so or not, it’s the Olympic gold medal that changes history’s view of Miller. What happened in Turin is now an aberration rather than the defining moment.
“I mean, Bode has now done everything you can in skiing. He’s won World Cups. He’s won World Cup overall titles,” said Will Brandenburg, of Spokane, who finished 10th in his Olympic debut. “He’s won medals in every color. And now he’s got the gold. And I think that’s big. He’s one of the best skiers of all time now and no one can discredit that.”
Older and perhaps wiser – although good luck getting this guy to admit the latter – Miller is at the top of his game at the right time.
He won a bronze in Monday’s downhill and a silver in Friday’s super-G, adding to two silvers from the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. The five Alpine medals tie him for the second-most by any man in Olympic history, behind only the eight won by Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway.
Miller was asked why he’s doing this now, and not in Italy four years ago, when he tuned out, partied hard and failed to live up to the expectations thrust on him by the media, by sponsors, by fans. Miller only finished two of five races then, never better than fifth place.
In short, he said, what happened there was a reaction to all of those expectations. And what’s happening here is a reaction to enjoying a fresh sense of excitement after taking time away from skiing and thinking about quitting before eventually deciding in September to return to the U.S. Ski Team.
“In ’06, I didn’t really necessarily want to be there for a number of reasons … but, you know, I also didn’t want to not be there. So I was incredibly conflicted,” he said. “I think I had no intention really of blowing it, but I raced as hard as I could, but I didn’t have this motivation. I didn’t have the energy and the enthusiasm.”
In the downhill that opened the super-combined, Miller was only seventh-fastest. He knew he had to make up time in the slalom.
Miller increased his lead at both checkpoints in the slalom, but after skiing fluidly at the top, he barely managed to get through one gate after another on a demanding course set by Kostelic’s father and coach, Ante.
He moved into the lead, but had to wait while six other skiers who were faster in the downhill portion got their turns, including double medalist Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway.
“I couldn’t hold back,” Svindal said. “I had to attack it if I had any chance to get that gold.”
But when Svindal, who had the fastest morning downhill, skied off-course in the slalom, that gold medal was Miller’s.
Miller did make clear that he was happy to finally have a gold, but he also repeatedly made the point that there are other rewards he finds more satisfying.
“It’s hard to really describe in a way that makes sense, but the actual gold medal doesn’t mean that much. If I’d won it in a way that I wasn’t excited about or proud of today, I would have probably resented the medal in a certain way because of what it makes everyone else think,” Miller said.
A few minutes later, he added: “People are generally not good at separating those two things. They think you’re proud because you won an Olympic medal, and the reality is I’m proud because I skied that way at the Olympics.”