The Associated Press
Bode Miller of the U.S. falls near the top of the course in his second run during Saturday's men's slalom competition.

Miller crashes, burns in chase for third medal

U.S. skier falls twice during final slalom run

The Washington Post

Originally published Sunday, February 24, 2002

PARK CITY, Utah -- It was only a matter of time, really.

American Bode Miller is not a man who remains upright on skis for long stretches, and with two silver medals at these Olympics, he already was pushing it.

So when Miller crashed out of a turn midway through his second run in the men's slalom Saturday, he was the least surprised of anyone on the mountain, and when he hiked up the hill, started over again and missed yet another gate, he laughed.

Treacherous weather conditions that felled dozens of other skiers meant that a careful, conservative run would have been enough to take a silver here and maybe even a gold. But Miller, well, he just does not ski that way.

"I can't say I really even thought about it -- it's the Olympics," said Miller, who has crashed in almost as many World Cup races this season as he has won. "On the first run, I was trying to be close and then get ready to hammer the second run. I knew if I skied a hard second run, I could be on top. Coming into the Olympics, that was the idea."

The idea, perhaps, but not the execution. Instead, Miller finished 25th. France's Jean-Pierre Vidal took gold in a combined time of 1 minute 41.06 seconds.

Of the 77 skiers in the race, 40 did not finish. So many skiers were falling, in fact, that almost all Miller had to do was get to the bottom of the course. Some careful skiing and he would have virtually been assured of a medal.

But that's not Miller's style.

"It was really icy and bumpy and I was going fast, really carrying a ton of heat in there," Miller said. "There's no guarantees. If I had backed off, I could have come in fifth, and then I would really have been disappointed. I was going for the win."

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