Sochi

The Vail Daily

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XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Extravagant ceremony opens Sochi Olympics

SOCHI, Russia — With a $51 billion price tag, the Sochi Olympics seemingly have spared no expense in making the games happen.

You could say the same thing for Friday night’s opening ceremony, which featured a massive fireworks show, giant floats, armies of dancers and indoor snow guns.

Irina Rodnina, the Russian figure skater who won three gold medals, and Vladislav Tretiak, the longtime hockey goalie for the Soviet Union who won three golds, ran out of the stadium and lit the cauldron. At that moment, a fireworks show lit up the inside of the stadium. Spectators filed out and watched an even bigger display shooting into the sky above the Olympic Park.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has staked his own reputation on the success of these Games, officially opened the Winter Olympics as he stood at his seat in the stadium.

In a speech, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said Olympic sports should unite people, embrace diversity and build bridges “without any form of discrimination,” a statement that seemed to be pointed toward host country Russia, which has drawn criticism for its anti-gay legislation.

While there have been some questions about whether tickets are selling well, the 40,000-person-capacity Fisht Olympic

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REPRESENTING AMERICA Vail moguls skier Heidi Kloser, who fell in a preliminary run on Thursday and suffered a torn ACL, a partially torn MCL and a broken femur, was still able to walk in the opening ceremonies with the help of crutches.

“Excited that I will still get to walk!”

Kloser tweeted before the ceremony.

The U.S. team sported its Ralph Lauren-design sweaters and white pants. Ski slopestyle athlete Bobby Brown, of Breckenridge, tweeted a photo of himself and teammate Joss Christensen posed in their sweaters with arms crossed.

“This is out of control,” he said.

“The Games have officially started,” tweeted Breckenridge ski slopestyle athlete Keri Herman with a photo of the Olympic flag being raised Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Aaron Blunck could be seen on the stadium’s big screen as he walked with his teammates.

“I have never felt so good to represent America than tonight at the opening ceremony,” he said later. “That was insane. Go USA!”

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By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

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Stadium seemed full. Spectators were given souvenir “medals” that flashed in sync in multiple colors around the stadium.

There was one prop malfunction — a snowflake failed to fully open into the fifth ring of the Olympic symbol — but with all of the serious worries about security and hotel rooms, the small miscue didn’t seem to matter.

Some 3,500 athletes walked into the center of the stadium from below for the parade of nations. The United States and Canada got big cheers, as did small but popular teams such as Jamaica. But the crowd truly erupted when host nation Russia, the last in the parade, entered the stadium.

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Vail’s Kloser still walks despite torn knee, broken femur

| Saturday, February 8, 2014 | A31

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The Vail Daily

20 14 H

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Extravagant ceremony opens Sochi Olympics

SOCHI, Russia — With a $51 billion price tag, the Sochi Olympics seemingly have spared no expense in making the games happen.

You could say the same thing for Friday night’s opening ceremony, which featured a massive fireworks show, giant floats, armies of dancers and indoor snow guns.

Irina Rodnina, the Russian figure skater who won three gold medals, and Vladislav Tretiak, the longtime hockey goalie for the Soviet Union who won three golds, ran out of the stadium and lit the cauldron. At that moment, a fireworks show lit up the inside of the stadium. Spectators filed out and watched an even bigger display shooting into the sky above the Olympic Park.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has staked his own reputation on the success of these Games, officially opened the Winter Olympics as he stood at his seat in the stadium.

In a speech, International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said Olympic sports should unite people, embrace diversity and build bridges “without any form of discrimination,” a statement that seemed to be pointed toward host country Russia, which has drawn criticism for its anti-gay legislation.

While there have been some questions about whether tickets are selling well, the 40,000-person-capacity Fisht Olympic

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REPRESENTING AMERICA Vail moguls skier Heidi Kloser, who fell in a preliminary run on Thursday and suffered a torn ACL, a partially torn MCL and a broken femur, was still able to walk in the opening ceremonies with the help of crutches.

“Excited that I will still get to walk!”

Kloser tweeted before the ceremony.

The U.S. team sported its Ralph Lauren-design sweaters and white pants. Ski slopestyle athlete Bobby Brown, of Breckenridge, tweeted a photo of himself and teammate Joss Christensen posed in their sweaters with arms crossed.

“This is out of control,” he said.

“The Games have officially started,” tweeted Breckenridge ski slopestyle athlete Keri Herman with a photo of the Olympic flag being raised Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s Aaron Blunck could be seen on the stadium’s big screen as he walked with his teammates.

“I have never felt so good to represent America than tonight at the opening ceremony,” he said later. “That was insane. Go USA!”

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By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

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Stadium seemed full. Spectators were given souvenir “medals” that flashed in sync in multiple colors around the stadium.

There was one prop malfunction — a snowflake failed to fully open into the fifth ring of the Olympic symbol — but with all of the serious worries about security and hotel rooms, the small miscue didn’t seem to matter.

Some 3,500 athletes walked into the center of the stadium from below for the parade of nations. The United States and Canada got big cheers, as did small but popular teams such as Jamaica. But the crowd truly erupted when host nation Russia, the last in the parade, entered the stadium.

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Vail’s Kloser still walks despite torn knee, broken femur

| Saturday, February 8, 2014 | A31

FOR THE DURATION OF

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Kotsenburg uses a new trick to take 1st gold ‘Second Run Sage’ posts gold-earning score of 93.5 in slopestyle

By Eddie Pells AP National Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Sage Kotsenburg loves snowboarding for all its unexpected surprises.

Winning the first Olympic gold medal in slopestyle, for one.

And winning it with one trick he’d never tried before and another that included a self-invented grab of the board he named the “Holy Crail.”

The 20-year-old American jetted off the first big jump of the slopestyle course Saturday and whirled around for 3 1/2 rotations while flipping twice. All the while, he was grabbing the front of his board with one hand and the nose of the board with the other.

At the bottom, he helicoptered through 4 1/2 rotations, while grabbing his board and flexing it behind his back.

“Never even tried it before,” Kotsenburg said. “Never, ever tried it in my life.”

‘SECOND RUN SAGE’ Kotsenburg landed both jumps cleanly. The fans in the mostly full stands, knowing they had seen something completely different in a completely new Olympic sport, let out a huge gasp after the

second one.

On the strength of those tricks — the Cab Double Cork 1260 with a Holy Crail grab and a Back 1620 Japan Air — the kid from Park City, Utah, known as “Second Run Sage,” posted a winning score of 93.5 on his first run.

Nobody in the 12-man field of finalists could top him. Kotsenburg put the first gold medal of the Sochi Games into the “USA” column. Soon after, he and the other medalists, Staale Sandbech of Norway and Mark McMorris of Canada, were hugging, body-slamming and turning their sport’s “Kiss and Cry” zone into a mosh pit.

“I kind of do random stuff all the time, never make a plan up,” Kotsenburg said. “I had no idea I was even going to do a 1620 in my run until three minutes before I dropped. It’s kind of what I’m all about.”

PERFECT CONDITIONS Kotsenburg’s jumps were the high point of yet another sunny, windless day at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. Combining all that, along with a bit of half-expected, half-legitimate griping about the judging, made it easy to forget that Shaun White had pulled out of this event before qualifying, complaining about the toughness of the course.

White, one of the most cutting-edge innovators in the game, was practicing on the halfpipe below when Kotsenburg landed the 1620 Japan Air. Despite the excitement of

AP PHOTO

United States’ Sage Kotsenburg takes a jump on Saturday during the men’s snowboard slopestyle semifinal at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, at the Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Kotsenburg scored a 93.5 on his first run, a score which brought home Team U.S.A.’s first gold medal. that trick, there was some head-scratching going on elsewhere.

Sandbech, McMorris and Winter X Games champion Max Parrot were among those who threw the much-ballyhooed triple cork, which is three head-over-heels flips — considered way more dangerous and athletic and presumed to be the must-have trick to win the first Olympic gold in this sport’s history.

Kotsenburg never tried one.

There are, of course, seven or eight tricks in every run — boxes to jump on, rails to ride over and even the option to jump over the giant Russian nesting doll near the top of the course. Splashes and bobbles on any of them can cost precious points.

But rider after rider came off the course and concluded that Kotsenburg’s win symbolized a shift in the sport; that judges are looking

for more technical moves with so-called style rather than a simple gymnastics meet on the snow.

“I think definitely Mark and Staale did some runs that should’ve scored higher. Sage had some really creative stuff.

But whatever,” said Canada’s Sebastien Toutant, who finished ninth. “They’re all homeys. They deserved it. The sport is getting judged by humans and life goes on.”

Vail skier gets attention for her positive response to injury

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — When Mike Kloser looked up from the bottom of the course at his daughter, Heidi, lying on the snow Thursday, he hoped it was just a harmless fall — that she had gotten the wind knocked out of her, that she was getting rid of the jitters in her last practice run before her Olympic moguls skiing debut.

Those hopes faded as the minutes passed and she remained down. The eventual diagnosis revealed a devastating injury: A torn ACL, a partially torn MCL and a small fracture to her femur.

“You wanted to believe it was a bad dream that you were going to wake up from,” Mike Kloser said Saturday from the lobby of the Park Inn in the ski village of Rosa Khutor. “We kept thinking, ‘This

can’t be happening, this can’t be true.’ All that work, all that effort to get here, and she doesn’t even get to get into the starting gate officially in the Olympics.”

Heidi Kloser said she knew instantly that her Olympic dreams had been dashed.

“As soon as I heard the pop and was sliding down the course, I was just like, ‘Ah, man, I don’t get to compete,’” Heidi Kloser said Saturday. “But at least I’m here.”

INSPIRING THE WORLD The 21-year-old Vail resident has responded to her ill-timed injury with resilience and optimism that is inspiring people around the world.

Thirty-six hours after her fall, she was marching with the rest of the U.S. Olympic team, on crutches, in the Sochi Olympics’ opening ceremony in front of 40,000 fans.

She has become a darling of the Games in its first couple of days.

NBC featured her in its primetime coverage of the opening ceremony, and her live interview with Lester Holt from Rosa Khutor kicked off the “Today” show Saturday, with Heidi vowing to come back to compete in the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“You have been the Olympic spirit for the past 24 hours,” Holt told her.

“It feels so great to inspire people,” she said after the “Today” filming. “I hardly know that I’m a big inspiration because I haven’t seen any of the media (coverage). … One of my friends back home texted me and said, ‘Oh, you were the star of opening ceremonies, you and Shaun White.’ So it was cool.”

EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER The past 48 hours have been a

roller coaster for the Kloser family here in Russia, from the frustration and sadness of her injury to the joy of her participation in the opening ceremony.

Heidi’s mom, Emily, said the tears were flowing when Heidi Kloser walked into the stadium.

Mike and Emily Kloser were guests of Proctor and Gamble, which fortunately had lots of their Puffs tissues on hand, and they had great seats, just a few rows behind Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“Because we missed getting to see Heidi ski in the Olympics, I feel like I got to see my child in the Olympics, because her walking out was our moment now, and it was just incredible,” Emily Kloser said.

Emily Kloser said her emotional roller coaster actually has been

KLOSER, A22

AP PHOTO

Freeskier Heidi Kloser walks on crutches on Friday as she arrives for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

The Vail freeskier injured her right leg during a training run before moguls qualifying.

The Vail Daily

| Monday, February 10, 2014 | A17

20 14 XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES H

For continuing coverage, go to vaildaily.com/sochi

Mayer beats Miller, Svindal in downhill Matthias Mayer finishes more than a half second ahead of Miller to snag the gold

By Howard Fendrich AP Sports Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Matthias Mayer grew up in Austria admiring plenty of Alpine skiers, from his medal-winning dad, to all-time great Hermann Maier, to a couple of guys he races against these days, Bode Miller and Aksel Lund Svindal.

Unexpectedly, Mayer now can call himself something none of those others can: Olympic downhill champion.

Four years after ski-loving Austria departed the Winter Games with zero men’s Alpine medals for the first time, Mayer made his nation 1-for-1 in 2014, upstaging pre-race favorites Miller and Svindal by charging down the course in 2 minutes, 6.23 seconds Sunday to win gold in the sport’s premier event.

And to think: In 65 previous World Cup or world championship races, the 23-year-old Mayer never had finished first. He’d never fared better than fifth in a downhill.

“He’s not an experienced guy,” Austrian men’s coach Mathias Berthold said, “so you never know what he’s going to do.”

But from the moment Mayer saw the Rosa Khutor slope in Thursday’s opening training run, he sensed his Olympic debut would go spectacularly well.

“I was very self-confident this week,” said Mayer, whose father, Helmut, won the super-G silver at the 1988 Calgary Games. “The turns are just right for me. And the hill is just right for me.”

But just barely. He edged silver medalist Christof Innerhofer of Italy by only 0.06 seconds, and bronze medalist Kjetil Jansrud of Norway by 0.10.

Asked if he was bothered by missing out on the gold by such a slim margin, Innerhofer replied: “I’m not even thinking about that.

I’m just happy to have a medal.”

AP PHOTO

FAVORITES FALL What about Svindal, the World Cup downhill standings leader?

Or Miller, fastest in two of the three training sessions? Both won three medals at the 2010 Vancouver Games, both won two overall World Cup titles, both looked terrific in the leadup to Sunday — and neither was even the fastest man from his own country when it counted.

Norway’s Svindal was fourth, 0.19 slower than Jansrud. Miller came in eighth, three spots behind U.S. teammate Travis

Austria’s gold medalist Matthias Mayer makes a turn on Sunday in the men’s downhill at the Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Mayer caused an upset in the event, swiping the gold from favorites such as Bode Miller and Aksel Lund Svindal.

Ganong.

“I’m disappointed to not have a better result next to my name.

It’s one of those days where it’s hard to say where the time went, because I skied pretty well. I was really aggressive, took a lot of risk,” said the 36-year-old Miller, whose five career Olympic Alpine medals are a U.S. record. “I made a couple of small mistakes, but not really mistakes that cost you a

lot of time.”

He was more than a half-second slower than Mayer, who started 11th of 50 racers and smiled broadly when he saw No. 15 Miller’s result. Someone from the Austrian team reached over and mussed Mayer’s spiky hair.

In the finish area, Miller bowed his head, then leaned over and rested his helmet on his gloves.

He sat in the snow for a few

moments, the very picture of resignation.

“It’s tough when you have to judge yourself, because the clock doesn’t really seem to judge you fairly,” Miller said. “Just like I’ve said a million times, I’m not always so attached to the result.”

He put some blame for his performance on lower visibility

DOWNHILL, A23

Squaw Valley’s Ganong impressive in Olympic debut Young Tahoe racer has top American finish in downhill

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Travis Ganong didn’t know what to expect in his first-ever Olympic run.

“I just let myself relax and just let my skiing take over,” he said.

His skiing took him to an impressive result — fifth place in the downhill at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center in the Sochi Winter Olympics on Sunday.

Ganong, 25, of Squaw Valley, Calif., was the top American in one of the premier events of the Winter Games. He held on to a podium spot until bib No. 18, Aksel Lund Svindal, knocked him out.

Austrian Matthias Mayer,

who has never won a World Cup race, took gold with a time of 2 minutes, 6.23 seconds. Christof Innerhofer, of Italy, nabbed the silver and Kjetil Jansrud, of Norway, rounded out the podium.

After three days of training in sunny conditions, race day was overcast, humid and a bit warmer.

Medal favorite Bode Miller, who was fastest in the final training run, finished a disappointing eighth. He said he struggled with the changing conditions and poor visibility that occurred by the time he raced as the No. 15 bib.

While Ganong seemed to be surprised with his result, Miller wasn’t.

“He’s one of those guys who has confidence in his ability, and he’ll go out and ski hard no matter what,” he said.

The challenging Sochi course is long and intense with a fearsome vertical drop and no sections

GANONG, A23

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

Travis Ganong, of Squaw Valley, Calif., answers questions from the media after finishing fifth in the Olympic downhill at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center on Sunday.

A18 | Monday, February 10, 2014 | The Vail Daily

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Confident second run gives U.S. sweep of snowboard slopestyle

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Jamie Anderson is known for her calm, spiritual nature.

But the stakes were high Sunday — the South Lake Tahoe, Calif., snowboarder was the favorite in the Olympic premiere of slopestyle and for months had been facing expectations of a gold-medal performance.

The night before, she did yoga, listened meditation music, burned sage and candles, wrote in her journal — anything to calm her nerves.

PRESSURE’S ON The pressure was even higher as she stood in fifth place going into her final run. She is known to hug trees before her runs, but there weren’t even trees at the top of the course here at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. She wore mantra beads given to her by her yoga instructor in Breckenridge, and she had a medicine bundle in her backpack.

Whatever she did, it seemed to give her what she needed.

Anderson, 23, won the gold medal, coming through big in her clean and stylish second run, giving the Americans a sweep of snowboard slopestyle in these games. Park City, Utah’s Sage Kotsenburg won Saturday’s men’s event.

“There was so much anticipation leading up to this event, and to be able to calm your mind and really believe and have the trust and faith that you really are capable of doing what you want to do — especially after watching Sage take the gold yesterday — I was extra inspired to come out here and do my best,” Anderson said with an American flag draped over her shoulders.

Finland’s Enni Rukajarvi won silver, while Jenny Jones, of Great Britain, took the bronze.

Anderson’s tricks weren’t the biggest of the day — Sina Candrian, of Switzerland, landed a frontside 1080 and Torah Bright, of Australia, did a cab 900 — but her style

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

Karly Shorr, of Truckee, Calif., who finished sixth, hugs Jamie Anderson after Anderson won gold in the women’s snowboard slopestyle competition Sunday at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. impressed the judges as much as Kotsenburg’s had the day before.

Her cab 720 with a tail grab, switch backside 540 with an indy grab, and frontside 720 with a mute grab seemed effortless.

“Jamie just has the smoothest style out of everyone,” said Karly Shorr, 19, of Truckee, Calif, who finished sixth. “She just lands and she’s so strong and she’s so, so smooth.

That’s how I want to snowboard.”

AMERICAN SWEEP Shorr said U.S. terrain parks are breeding grounds for slopestyle riders, and that was evident in the American sweep.

“We have the best parks in the world, and we’re so lucky to get to ride in Breckenridge, and I live in Tahoe and Utah, too, where Sage is from,” Shorr said. “We’re just so lucky to be in the mountains and live out there.”

Anderson said the support she’s had from her family and the Tahoe community has allowed her to reach the top step on the biggest stage in the world. Her mom, dad,

ANDERSON, A23

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20 14 H

| Monday, February 10, 2014 | A23

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

DOWNHILL

From page A17

Sunday, when the sky was filled with thick clouds, unlike the perfectly clear training days that Miller dominated.

Mayer, Miller said, “doesn’t really change if the visibility goes bad, and that was a huge advantage today. I had to change a lot from the training runs to today, just not being able to see the snow up there.”

U.S. men’s coach Sasha Rearick, though, hit on another point.

“It was a combination of things,” Rearick said. “A little bit the weather — and wanting it too much.”

NOT ENTIRELY UNKNOWN If Mayer is unfamiliar to most outside the skiing world, he was certainly a known quantity to folks such as Miller and Svindal. Known better for his skill

GANONG

From page A17

where you can rest. But Ganong was able to tame it, picking up time at the bottom of the course, flying into the nearly full stadium at the finish.

“I went out there and I made some turns,” Ganong said. “I enjoyed the moment and had a good run.”

Ganong has been soaking in his first Olympics. Marching with the team at the opening ceremony Friday inspired him to step up his game for the downhill race.

His family traveled all the way from Lake Tahoe, Calif., to support him. They were in the

at super-G, in which he has two second-place World Cup finishes, Mayer was third in training Thursday, and fastest Friday, before easing up to save some energy Saturday.

When Svindal was asked during the week to point to opponents that worried him, he mentioned Mayer. So after Mayer’s victory, Svindal was asked why.

“Because I looked at the times in training, and he was super-consistent,” said Svindal, who started 18th, when the snow was softer than during Mayer’s run. “Bode was fast. I was fast.

But he was the most consistent of us all.”

Mayer did nothing all that spectacular or different from other racers Sunday, but he was good enough throughout. Of the course’s four sections, he was fastest only on the second part; he was only ninth fastest down the final stretch.

Still, Mayer did enough to join

grandstands wearing USA hats and “Go Travis” scarves.

“It’s unbelievable,” sister Ali Ganong said. “It’s like a dream because I used to ski race as well.

It’s amazing to know all the kids growing up in Tahoe kind of have their hearts set that they want to go to the Olympics one day, and he’s here, so it’s really awesome.”

His mother, Jan, said the Olympics have been a dream come true for the family.

LETTING TRAVIS FLY “It has been a long road but always a really exciting one because Travis had so much excitement for the sport,” Jan Ganong said.

“It wasn’t like we have to push or

the list of previously unheralded Olympic downhill champions, alongside names such as Tommy Moe of the United States in 1994, Leonhard Stock of Austria in 1980, and Jean-Luc Cretier of France in 1998. It was at those Nagano Olympics that Mayer, all of 7 at the time, set an alarm to wake up in the middle of the night in Austria to watch with his grandfather on TV as Maier raced in Japan.

Maier took a terrifying tumble during the downhill, but returned to competition a few days later to win the super-G. “That was impressive to me,” Mayer said. “That made me want to be a downhiller more.”

AP PHOTO

Bode Miller sits on his skis after finishing the men’s downhill at the Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Miller finished in a disappointing eighth place despite posting the fastest time in training.

BECOMING AN IDOL There he was Sunday, getting congratulatory handshakes and pats on the back from racer after racer who was not as fast as Mayer on this day.

“I have a lot of idols. Maier,

(four-time Olympic medalist) Stephan Eberharter,” Mayer said. “Aksel Lund Svindal and Bode Miller, they’re idols for me,

pull. He was always saying, ‘Take me here, take me there,’ so we just did what he wanted and let him fly.”

Travis Ganong said having his family support him has been a big boost. They were some of the only fans up in the grandstands during the training runs, he said.

“My parents decided to move to Tahoe way back in the day, and I was lucky enough to be born there, and that fact is why I’m here today,” Ganong said. “They’re the ones that motivated me, drove me to all the races, really allowed me to ski as much as I did growing up.”

Ganong has a one-week break before he will be back competing in the super-G next Sunday.

too.”

Somewhere back home in Austria, some kid watched Mayer win and now will idolize him.

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

Travis Ganong’s family — mom, Jan Ganong; sisters, Megan and Ali Ganong; and brother-in-law Jesse Shirley — shows their support in the finish area of the downhill at Rosa Khutor Alpine Center on Sunday.

2014 MEDAL COUNT WINTER OLYMPIC MEDALS 13 total medal events

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

Gold medalist Jamie Anderson, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., shares a laugh with bronze medalist Jenny Jones after the women’s snowboard slopestyle event at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Sunday.

ANDERSON

From page A18

grandmother and six of her seven siblings were in attendance.

“Tahoe love!” she said. “That community is amazing. There’s been so much love and support from Day 1, since I was 9 years old.

To have my family out here in Russia feels

absolutely amazing.”

Anderson will now be one of the top faces of snowboarding as slopestyle is broadcast to America in its Olympic debut.

“She’s one of the best women’s snowboarders ever and her record proves that, and luckily she was able to prove that today when it really counted,” said U.S. slopestyle coach Mike Jankowski.

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The Vail Daily

| Tuesday, February 11, 2014 | A17

20 14 XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES H

For continuing coverage, go to vaildaily.com/sochi

Hoefl-Riesch wins super-combined gold German racer earns Olympic gold second year in a row

By Howard Fendrich AP Sports Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — In Alpine skiing, there are speed specialists and there are technical specialists, and then there’s Maria Hoefl-Riesch.

As versatile as they come, the German is establishing herself as one of the very best ever — and she owns three Olympic golds to prove it.

Solid in Monday morning’s downhill run, then much more special in the afternoon’s slalom, Hoefl-Riesch won the super-combined — the event intended to measure allaround skill — for the second Winter Games in a row.

Her total time of 2 minutes, 34.62 seconds was 0.40 seconds faster than silver medalist Nicole Hosp of Austria. Hoefl-Riesch was 0.53 better than first-run leader Julia Mancuso, whose bronze was her fourth career Olympic medal in Alpine skiing, twice as many as any other U.S. woman has won.

“Of course, the expectations were really high for today. I was one of the top favorites — or, actually, the top favorite,” Hoefl-Riesch said. “The pressure was really high. I tried to keep cool and easy. ... Yeah, you can say that, but it’s not always possible.”

ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE For her, it seems, anything is possible, particularly when it matters most.

This was the sixth Olympic race for the 29-year-old Hoefl-Riesch — there’s been talk that she could retire after the season — and she’s finished inside the top 10 in each one.

She missed the 2006 Turin Games after tearing ligaments in both knees the year before, then started making up for that lost

opportunity with victories in Vancouver four years ago in the super-combined and slalom.

She also is a five-time world championship medalist, won the 2011 overall World Cup title and leads the current standings.

“She won everything,” said Hans Pum, Austria’s Alpine director. “She’s now one of the greatest.”

Only one woman has won four Alpine Olympic golds, Janica Kostelic of Croatia, and Hoefl-Riesch could match that as soon as Wednesday, in the downhill, when she’s sure to be tested by Mancuso again.

“I don’t think about records so much,” said Hoefl-Riesch, who has won three of seven World Cup downhills this season. “If it happens, it’s great.”

She stood fifth after Monday’s downhill, 1.04 seconds behind Mancuso.

2014 MEDAL COUNT PRESENTED BY

WINTER OLYMPIC MEDALS

13 total medal events NATION Canada Netherlands Norway Russia United States Austria Czech Republic Germany France

‘NOT AS GOOD AS ME’ Not a problem.

“I know,” Hoefl-Riesch would say later, “she’s not as good as me in slalom.”

That’s certainly true. Mancuso was the super-combined Olympic silver medalist in 2010, but she hadn’t even raced a full-length slalom since January 2013.

“I could definitely risk more, but without having the slalom mileage, it’s really tough to snap off turns and try to make up speed,” Mancuso said. “It’s more just: Survive and get to the finish.”

Hoefl-Riesch pounded her right fist over her heart during the final moments in the start-hut at the top of the steeper-than-usual slalom course that only 22 of 31 starters were able to complete. With artificial lights turned on as thick gray clouds covered the sun, Hoefl-Riesch slammed through the gates, producing a run that was more than 1½ seconds faster than the American managed.

Standing in the finish area to watch the only woman with a chance to beat her, Hoefl-Riesch saw that she’d won, let her skis

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drop to the snow, and put her hands on her head.

“She’s not especially spectacular, but, I mean, I have so much respect for her,” said Switzerland’s Dominique Gisin, who was fifth Monday, “because no matter where you are, no matter what discipline, she’s always there.”

Mancuso labored through a tough runup to Sochi, failing to finish better than

seventh in any World Cup race. But she sure knows how to turn things on when it’s the Olympics.

She’s earned at least one medal at each of the last three Winter Games, including a gold in giant slalom at the 2006 Turin Olympics, and a pair of silvers in 2010, when she ceded the spotlight to U.S.

SUPER-COMBINED, A23

Skiing with heart, Mancuso takes surprise bronze Rare slalom run cements fourth career medal for Mancuso

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA — Julia Mancuso was standing in the start gate, staring down a difficult run in a discipline that she had barely competed in over the last year.

She hadn’t thought there was a realistic chance to medal in the super combined, but she was in the lead after the downhill and set to begin the slalom.

If she can just ski with her heart, she told herself, good things will happen.

And there is something about the Olympics — the big stage, the

pressure, the glory — that makes her heart grow so big it can barely fit in her race suit.

Mancuso fought through the run to win a surprise bronze Monday at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center at the Sochi Winter Olympics, the first hardware of the games for the U.S. alpine team.

“It was kind of like crossing the finish line and saying, ‘See? It works! Believing in yourself really works!’” she said. “I got a medal today!”

The 29-year-old Squaw Valley, Calif., native becomes the third American to win individual medals in three different games. She now has a gold, two silvers and a bronze.

Maria Hoefl-Riesch, who stood in fourth after the first run, nailed the slalom to win gold. Austrian Nicole Hosp won silver.

Mancuso had a brilliant

downhill run, the fastest of the day, coming from a late start position as the sun-baked course slowed. She had struggled earlier in the year, but had turned things around as the Olympics approached, scoring three World Cup top 10s in late January.

Known as a big-race skier, she has more Olympic and World Championships medals than any other American female ski racer.

“You never write her off,” said Chemmy Alcott, a fellow competitor from Great Britain and a good friend, after the downhill run. “I would have put money on it that she’d come down in first.”

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

‘SHE SET THE TONE’

Julia Mancuso, right, celebrates her super-combined bronze medal on the podium at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia, on Monday. Maria Hoefl-Riesch, center, won the gold while Nicole Hosp, left, took silver.

Women’s alpine team head coach Alex Hoedlmoser said Mancuso uses the spirit of the Olympic Games as motivation.

“She set the tone, and she just

decided to do it,” Hoedlmoser said. “She’s a true champion, and that’s why she can do those things.”

Mancuso said she was skiing for her grandfather, Denny Tuffanelli,

MANCUSO, A23

A18 | Tuesday, February 11, 2014 | The Vail Daily

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XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Anderson rides whirlwind of her gold-medal attention

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SOCHI,Russia — Jamie Anderson sat down in a salon chair at the Procter and Gamble House on Monday night, leaned all the way back and kicked up her feet.

The last 36 hours had been a wild ride, and there was no end in sight.

She normally uses clear quartz and moonstone to harness her sacred energy, but all the energy she needed was coming from the gold medal that hung around her neck.

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“Chaos,” she said of her last day. “It’s just been like one thing to the next. Lots of media and lots of cool outlets and lots of talking about the same thing over and over again. But it’s fun to embrace it and bring back that gratification for everything I’ve worked toward and being able to accomplish such a huge goal of mine.”

The expectations had been enormous for Anderson, who came in as the gold-medal favorite in the Olympic debut of slopestyle

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

Jamie Anderson clutches her gold medal and her mom, Lauren, on Monday at the Procter and Gamble House at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. snowboarding. The 23-year-old South Lake Tahoe, Calif., native was able to stomp her final run in Sunday’s final to take home the gold.

Now she’s seeing her life change, at least for now. She’s gotten so many texts that she hadn’t even read them all, and feared her phone would stop accepting them. She is doing nonstop interviews and will leave to go to New York in a couple of days, where she’ll appear on the “Tonight” show. She had also been featured extensively on the “Today” show with fellow slopestyle gold

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The Vail Daily

20 14 H

| Tuesday, February 11, 2014 | A23

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Halfpipe problems mounting Monday’s training sees dozens of falls, few big tricks

By Eddie Pells AP National Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Rider after rider took a crash course Monday night on an Olympic halfpipe that looked only half ready with less than 24 hours until men’s competition is set to start.

There were dozens of falls, very few big tricks and a lot of complaining during a practice session that was pushed from morning to night while workers tried to make fixes. The men’s event is Tuesday, and American Shaun White will be seeking his third straight gold medal.

“When you see every other person fall, you know something’s wrong,” said American Hannah Teter, who took gold in 2006 and silver four years ago.

“It’s a little dangerous. I’ve seen more people fall today than I saw all season. It’s dangerous because it’s crappy.”

‘GARBAGE’ American Danny Davis labeled the halfpipe as “garbage” on Sunday. After returning Monday, he said things were slightly improved but not ideal.

“It’s a bummer to show up to an event like the Olympics and not have the quality of the halfpipe match the quality of the riders,” Davis said. “Anyone who watched practice tonight can see there were a bunch of people bouncing around in the flat bottom.”

White called it “pretty hard to ride,” but said it was nothing

SUPER-COMBINED

AP PHOTO

USA goaltender Jonathan Quick stands in the crease Monday during a training session at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The hockey team hopes to create a name for itself in the shadow of the team 34 years ago.

US hockey team seeks historic achievement AP PHOTO

Shaun White gets air during a snowboard halfpipe training session at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Monday. White is among many snowboarders who is hoping the condition of the halfpipe improves by the time they compete. riders haven’t dealt with before at other competitions.

“The flat bottom is just sand and mush,” he said. “It’s pretty heavy. And once everyone gets in there, it just turns to mush.”

Riders said the steeply vertical pitch of the halfpipe has largely been corrected. But the bottom of the pipe is bouncy and slow. Dozens of riders clattered through the bottom, which slows speed and causes wrecks.

Davis said organizers told him they would treat the halfpipe with chemicals that keep the ice frozen at higher temperatures. Highs were in the 40s on Monday.

American coach Mike Jankowski said riders were simply going to have to deal with the conditions presented to them.

“If everything were perfect every time and this were an indoor sport, we’d be figure skating,” he said. “Whoever

deals with the conditions the best is going to win a medal and whoever gives up isn’t going to win a medal.”

American Kelly Clark, who won gold in 2002 and bronze in 2010, said conditions were less than ideal but she’s been preparing for that.

“Any less-than-perfect pipe we dealt with the last four years, I said, ‘If this is what we’re dealing with in Sochi, I want to be ready,’” she said. “I look at it as an opportunity.”

Four years ago in Vancouver, riders complained about the pipe in the lead-up but said conditions improved for the actual contest.

They’re hoping for the same thing here.

“The first contest is tomorrow and nobody’s ready,” Teter said. “They haven’t been able to practice their tricks. They’re trying to stay alive every run.

It’s harsh.”

MANCUSO

No athlete on team was alive during the ‘Miracle on Ice’ in 1980

By Greg Beacham AP Sports Writer

SOCHI, Russia — David Backes realizes every U.S. Olympic hockey team inevitably ends up in the vast shadow of the 1980 Miracle on Ice squad, which stunned the Soviet Union and eventually won gold in Lake Placid.

Although the American players who held their first practice in Sochi Monday night know all about the greatest achievement in U.S. hockey history, they think it’s time for some fresh heroics.

After all, this is the first U.S. Olympic hockey team featuring no player born when the Miracle occurred.

“I think the Miracle obviously is a great accomplishment for the U.S., but it was 34 years ago, and we’re still living on something that happened 34 years ago,” said Backes, a two-time Olympian. “As great as it was, and as awesome an accomplishment, I think the

ANDERSON

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teammate Lindsey Vonn.

Perhaps because of the way the past few months have gone, bothered by trouble picking boots that felt comfortable and fighting self-doubt, Mancuso celebrated Monday’s bronze more vigorously than Hoefl-Riesch toasted her own gold.

Mancuso pumped a fist. She jumped in the air. She shimmied on the podium during the flower ceremony.

“The first thing that went through my head is, ‘See?!

I CAN do it!’ If you really believe, if you really, really believe, and if you’re really, really positive, and if you just put it out there and go for it all the time, then good things will happen,” Mancuso said. “And that was cool.”

who died a year ago and was the person who instilled in the family a love of skiing and the mountains.

“I think just from raising my mom to love skiing so much that she wanted to live in Tahoe, and she met my dad, and they just loved skiing and they’ve always been outdoorsy, adventurous people and really positive,” Mancuso said. “I think the positive energy is what really brought me to believe in myself.”

During the Torino Olympics, Tuffanelli told her after she had the top time in the first run of the giant slalom — where she eventually won gold — that he was proud of her no matter what happens.

She faced the same scenario Monday, leading after the first run.

The Mancuso family — including mom Andrea Webber, sisters Sara and April and grandmother Sheila Tuffanelli — exploded in jubilation in the stands after the first run, waving “Super Jules” signs and U.S. flags.

“I think that her heart is into it, and when her heart is into it, she can do and will do anything it takes,” Sara Mancuso said.

And after Julia stepped onto the podium and waved to the crowd, Sara jumped a fence and came running in for a hug.

medalist Sage Kotsenburg, which she called the craziest thing that’s happened to her so far since winning gold.

She said it’s a bit strange to know she’s being featured so widely in media at home, but she’s still trying to process it.

“It’s pretty cool for sure,” she said. “I never really imagined this would all happen. It’s still really surreal. It hasn’t really sunk in yet for all of us. For my family, it’s the same way. It’s kind of unreal.”

GREAT MEMORIES Anderson was at the Procter and Gamble House as part of the “Thank You, Mom” campaign. Families of athletes — especially moms who have sacrificed so much to get their kids to the Olympics — can go to the house for some rest and relaxation and to get pampered at the salons within the house.

Jamie’s mom, Lauren, was there, as were Jamie’s five sisters. They laughed

guys here would like to write our own chapter, and then we can talk about ‘80 and 2014.”

The U.S. team doesn’t have the flashy offensive talent showcased

by Canada or Sweden. The Americans certainly don’t have Russia’s national imperative to win gold, not even after their own 34-year Olympic championship drought.

Yet captain Zach Parise and his teammates didn’t exactly sneak in the side door at the Bolshoy Ice Dome for their first practice.

PROVEN NIGHTMARE The Americans are a proven nightmare in international play with their combination of workmanlike play and stellar goaltending. While the hockey world focuses on Russia’s collision course with defending champion Canada over the next 12 days in Sochi, the U.S. team is also quietly determined to reach the tournament final for the third time in the last four Olympics — and to leave with a better result.

“They raised the standard in 2010,” defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. “Nothing else is acceptable for us now, other than gold.”

and caught up as they prepared to leave Sochi with some of the greatest memories of their lives.

“Probably my moment on the podium down at the awards ceremony,” Anderson said when asked what will be her most vivid memory from Sochi. “It was something that I’ve dreamed of for so long, but I had no expectations for what it would be and what it would feel like. It was such an amazing moment.

Seeing the huge crowds and my family there and my dad and spirit grandma, it was absolutely out of this world.”

She said she was looking forward to coming back to Tahoe and saying thanks to the community.

“To everyone back home in Tahoe, I can’t thank you enough for all the love and support you have brought to me,” she said. “It’s such an amazing community and I can’t wait to come back and celebrate with everyone.”

But, for now, at 10:20 on Monday night in Sochi, she had to get going, She had another interview to do.

The Vail Daily

| Wednesday, February 12, 2014 | A25

20 14 XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES H

For continuing coverage, go to vaildaily.com/sochi

Vogt wins gold medal in Olympic ski jumping German athlete never won World Cup event

2014 MEDAL COUNT

By Dennis Passa AP Sports Writer

PRESENTED BY

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Carina Vogt of Germany has never won a World Cup event. She now owns women’s ski jumping’s first-ever Olympic gold medal.

The 22-year-old Vogt performed when it counted Tuesday at the Sochi Games, scoring 247.4 points on the normal hill at the Rus-Ski Gorki Jumping Center.

Daniela Iraschko-Stolz of Austria took silver and Coline Mattell of France earned bronze.

Sara Takanashi of Japan, the World Cup leader in the sport and heavy favorite heading into the Sochi Games, was a disappointing fourth.

Vogt, who has four second-place finishes in World Cup events this year, had been quiet in training runs, allowing Takanashi and Iraschko-Stolz to take much of the hype as they dueled for supremacy.

‘SPEECHLESS’ “I can’t find the right words,” Vogt said.

“I’m just speechless because training yesterday was not so good. Now I’ve improved today. I’ve not won a World Cup till now.

It’s unbelievable.”

Iraschko-Stolz said she had to battle some anxious moments before her silver medal-winning performance.

“It was difficult to jump today because of nerves, difficult to overcome it,” Iraschko-Stolz said.

In 2011, the International Olympic

WINTER OLYMPIC MEDALS

13 total medal events NATION Norway Canada Netherlands United States Russia Germany Austria Sweden France; Czech Republic

AP PHOTO

Germany’s Carina Vogt celebrates after winning the gold during the women’s normal hill ski jumping final Tuesday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Vogt won the event in its first year as an Olympic sport.

Committee agreed to allow the women to compete at Sochi — 90 years after men did at the inaugural Winter Games in 1924.

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JAPANESE HOPEFUL The 17-year-old Takanashi set the tone early, jumping last in the warm-up and beating Iraschko-Stolz by a meter.

When Takanashi’s placing lit up the scoreboard, a group of Japanese fans blew kazoo-like devices and waved a large flagpole containing a carp kite — a fish that the Japanese consider good luck, followed by the Japanese flag, and then a banner with Takanashi’s picture on it.

The carp didn’t bring her much luck.

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Takanashi finished the first round in third place, meaning she would jump third-to-last in the final round, a place she was not used to considering she has led and won so many World Cups this year.

Iraschko-Stolz took the lead with three

jumpers to go, leaving Vogt needing a good jump to overtake her. It wasn’t as good as the Austrian’s final jump, but enough to give the German a six-point edge.

SKI JUMPING, A31

Women’s ski jumpers soar into history books American women led the fight for inclusion

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — The long road for inclusion of women’s ski jumping in the Olympics reached an end Tuesday when Sarah Hendrickson, of Park City, Utah, launched off the K-95 jump at the Rus-Ski Gorki Ski Jumping Center.

She soared 94 meters — not especially impressive, but a symbolic victory for the American families who led the fight for women to be given an opportunity to compete.

“It’s a privilege to be a part of this,” Hendrickson said. “It’s an amazing day.”

Hendrickson, 19, is the reigning world champion who battled back from a devastating knee injury last August to compete at the Sochi Winter Olympics. But the knee was still giving her pain, and

that affected her result. Hendrickson finished 21st.

The other Americans, Jessica Jerome and Lindsey Van, were plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed against the organizers of the Vancouver Olympics to include women’s ski jumping. The suit was unsuccessful, but the International Olympic Committee decided to add the event in 2011.

On Tuesday, Jerome finished 10th; Van was 15th.

‘GOING FORWARD’ “I didn’t really think of the history and the fight to get here,” Van said after the event. “I’m here, and that’s all I really care about. I’m going forward, our sport is going forward, we’re the same, and we can call ourselves Olympians. I couldn’t do that yesterday.”

Van, who won the first women’s World Championship, in 2009, seemed to be pleased with her result. Or perhaps she didn’t care about it.

“It’s the first time in a long time I can be happy without looking

at the numbers,” she said. “It felt good. I had fun, and that’s all I really care about at this point. I enjoyed myself, and that was the goal. I got 15th at the Olympics.

I’ll take it. It was my best ever Olympic performance.”

German Carina Vogt won the gold, jumping 103 meters on her first jump and 97.5 on her second.

Silver and bronze went to Daniela Iraschko-Stolz, of Austria, and Coline Mattell, of France.

Vogt has never won a World Cup event. Heavy favorite Sara Takanashi, of Japan, a 17-yearold who has won 15 of the last 20 World Cups, came in fourth.

Almost all of the 7,500 seats were filled on a chilly night at the venue that is built into the northern slope of Aibga Ridge.

‘GENUINELY HAPPY’ “I am genuinely happy to be here, and all the other girls are happy to be here,” Jerome, 27, said. “There’s a camaraderie that all of the girls share, even from the other countries, because we’ve

SPECIAL TO THE DAILY

Despite leading the way for inclusion of women’s ski jumping in the Olympics, the female American jumpers say their fight isn’t over yet.

They want the K-120 large hill to be included for women, too. all been fighting the same fight for so many years. At the top of the jump we’re high-fiving Norwegians, Canadians and Finns.

Everybody was just really happy.”

The female American jumpers say their fight isn’t over yet. They want the K-120 large hill to be included for women, too.

The veteran Van, 29, has remained in ski jumping for a

chance to compete in the Olympics. But, after her Olympic debut on Tuesday, she didn’t rule out sticking around another four years to continue to be a trailblazer.

“I’ve come this far in the sport.

Why not?” Van said. “There’s a lot more that needs to be done. If I can help that out a little bit, I’ll help it out.”

The Vail Daily

20 14 H

| Wednesday, February 12, 2014 | A27

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Spring-like snow slows Breckenridge’s Herman Devin Logan wins medal in first-ever Olympic ski slopestyle

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By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Keri Herman’s runs didn’t go the way she would have liked, but you couldn’t tell by how excited she was.

She was happy with the way she skied.

She was having a blast at the games. She was thrilled to see her sport rise to a new level of exposure in its first Olympics.

And then she looked up to see her good friend and teammate Devin Logan securing the silver medal.

“This is so awesome,” said Herman, 31, of Breckenridge. “She’s sitting in second. This is amazing. This is the best! That’s my girl!”

Herman finished 10th in Tuesday’s Sochi Winter Olympics slopestyle competition at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.

Canadian Dara Howell got the gold, Logan came away with silver and Canadian Kim Lamarre won bronze.

Logan landed a right 540 with a Japan grab, a switch left 540 and a cork 720 tail

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Devin Logan, of the United States, takes a jump during the women’s freestyle skiing slopestyle qualifying at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Tuesday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Logan won the silver medal.

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grab for the American medal.

“I’m really happy with my skiing,” Logan said. “I landed what I wanted to land, and it couldn’t have felt any better.”

SNOW CONDITIONS Warm conditions caused slushy and grippy snow. Logan said she treated it like a spring day skiing with her friends.

For Herman, the conditions made it hard

SKI SLOPESTYLE, A31

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The Vail Daily

| Wednesday, February 12, 2014 | A31

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES Natalie Geisenberger wins Olympic luge gold medal 20 14 H

American Erin Hamlin earns bronze

By Tim Reynolds AP Sports Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Finally, Olympic gold for Germany’s Natalie Geisenberger.

Finally, Olympic anything for Erin Hamlin and the United States.

Leaving no doubt she absolutely rules her sport, Geisenberger won the women’s luge gold medal Tuesday at the Sochi Games — posting the second-largest victory margin in Olympic history. Her final time was 3 minutes, 19.768 seconds, or 1.139 seconds better than silver medalist German teammate Tatjana Huefner, the 2010 champion.

“Runs one, two and three were nearly perfect,” Geisenberger said. “The last one was a little bit ... wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough.”

Hamlin finished third, grabbing the first medal for any American singles luge athlete at the Olympics, 50 years after luge first appeared at the games. So in the sport’s golden anniversary as part of the Olympics, Hamlin came up with bronze, a feat sure to go

down as one of the great moments in USA Luge history.

U.S. individual sliders had been fourth on three occasions at the Olympics, but never any better. So every four years, the same question gets asked — when will an American break through?

Hamlin, a native of Remsen, N.Y., put an end to that.

Hamlin finished 0.236 seconds behind Huefner in the race for silver, but held off Canada’s Alex Gough by 0.433 seconds for the final spot on the podium. It was the fifth Olympic medal for USA Luge, the first four — two silvers and two bronzes — having come in doubles races.

SURREAL FEELING When Hamlin crossed the line, that medal finally clinched, she threw her arms skyward, then covered her face briefly with her hands. U.S. coach Mark Grimmette — a doubles medalist for the Americans — raced over to offer congratulations, and men’s slider Chris Mazdzer reached down from the bleachers to hand Hamlin the U.S. flag.

“It’s amazing,” Hamlin said. “It’s surreal, really.”

Then the roars kept coming, for the Germans.

Maybe it was fitting that

AP PHOTO

Natalie Geisenberger, of Germany, speeds down the track in her third run during the women’s singles luge competition Tuesday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Geisenberger, who won gold, recorded the second-largest victory margin in Olympic history.

Geisenberger, Huefner and Hamlin were the three who found their way to the top. Since 2007, in the year’s final race — either the world championships or the Olympics — one of those three women were crowned champion. This marked the first time in Olympic women’s luge history that three world champions stood side by side on the podium.

“Erin is such a great girl,” Geisenberger said. “She’s always

Hattestad wins men’s cross-country sprint

By Mattias Karen AP Sports Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — On a day of slips, falls and crashes, Ola Vigen Hattestad took the safest route to an Olympic gold — staying in front from beginning to end.

The Norwegian won the men’s cross-country freestyle sprint Tuesday after dominating every stage from qualifying to an eventful final, where three of his rivals were involved in one big crash. Hattestad avoided the mayhem by staying well in front, and then held off Teodor Peterson of Sweden for the gold medal.

‘A LITTLE CRAZY’ “The final was maybe a little crazy,” Hattestad said.

It certainly was for Emil Joensson of Sweden, who had all but given up earlier in the race after running out of energy but ended up with the bronze after Sergey Ustiugov, Marcus Hellner and Anders Gloeersen crashed.

Joensson had dropped far back and was cruising home when Gloeersen, who was in third, fell in the treacherous downhill curve and hit the protective barrier. That ended up dragging down Ustiugov and Hellner

friendly, always smiling, always saying hello. It’s very cool and for the USA, it’s important to have success in luge after so many difficult years. I’m happy for her.”

RUN OF DOMINANCE Geisenberger turned 26 last week, already was a world champion and World Cup champion, and she now has an Olympic title after taking the bronze in Vancouver. Much like Felix Loch, the men’s two-time Olympic

SKI JUMPING

AP PHOTO

as well, and suddenly Joensson had passed them all and had a clear path to the bronze.

After crossing the line, an exhausted Joensson needed help from a Swedish team official to get up off the snow and leave the finish area.

It was a medal performance that brought back memories of Steven Bradbury’s short track speedskating gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games after his rivals all fell in front of him.

SKI SLOPESTYLE

From page A25

From page A27

Japan had been counting on Takanashi to end an Olympic gold medal drought. The country’s last gold came at the 2006 Turin Games when Shizuka Arakawa won the ladies singles in figure skating.

“I couldn’t jump the way I wanted to on both attempts.” Takanashi said. “I came here wanting to do my best. I’m incredibly disappointed.”

to get enough speed. She hit the knuckle on two of her jumps in her second run.

In her first run, she nailed the toughest part of the run — 540 to switch cork 540 to 720 — but she had a weird hiccup on the top rail that even she couldn’t explain.

“That was a fluke,” Herman said. “That’s so weird. I have no idea. But that happens. You just have work with the hand you’re dealt, and apparently I got dealt the joker that run.”

Her nerves were nearly overwhelming before her first run. She hardly ever gets nervous but was feeling a range of emotions as slopestyle was set for its Olympic debut.

HENDRICKSON OUT

Norway’s Ola Vigen Hattestad celebrates winning the gold after the men’s final of the cross-country sprint Tuesday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.

champion and a fellow protege of all-time great Georg Hackl, her run of dominance might just be getting started.

How dominant was Geisenberger at the Sochi Olympics?

Consider: The victory margins posted by the last four Olympic women’s winners, combined, was 0.949 seconds. Geisenberger’s lead after three runs in Sochi was 1.049 seconds. And she didn’t take her foot off the gas for the final run, either.

Sarah Hendrickson, the 19-year-old defending world champion from Park City, Utah, finished 21st of 30 starters, clearly still affected by right knee surgery she underwent in August.

Although she showed improved form Tuesday, she plans to take the rest of the season off.

Hendrickson says she wasn’t surprised to see Takanashi off the podium.

‘CRAZY WORLD’ “It’s a crazy world the Olympics,” she said.

“It shows she is a human being. I wish I could tell her she is still an amazing athlete and that she has many good years to come.”

Hendrickson, because she has no ranking from being off the World Cup circuit with her injury, was the first jumper in the Olympic final.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be the first one to jump in the first women’s ski jumping competition at the Olympics,” she said. “My performance was not the best, but I kind of expected it.”

Two other Americans from Park City competed — Jessica Jerome was 10th and former world champion Lindsey Van 15th.

‘I ALMOST THREW UP’ “I’m pretty sure I was hit with every single possible emotion that you can ever have at the top,” Herman said. “I almost threw up. I was like, ‘What is going on?’” Scared, excited, crazy, all at the same time.”

Diana and John Herman made the trip from Minnesota to watch their daughter compete. It’s been an emotional few days watching Keri in the Olympics, including marching in the opening ceremony.

“I couldn’t be more proud of her,” John Herman said. “I get choked up. I couldn’t be more proud.”

Keri Herman said now that the competition and the stress of competing are behind her, she’ll enjoy the games. She has tickets to hockey games — her childhood friend Zach Parise is captain of the U.S. team — and will watch the men’s slopestyle team compete in two days.

Herman said she’ll continue to compete and will aim to return to the Olympics.

“Korea, look out,” she said.

The Vail Daily

| Thursday, February 13, 2014 | A21

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For continuing coverage, go to vaildaily.com/sochi

Maze, Gisin tie in Olympic downhill event Gut nabs bronze

BREAKING DOWN TIMES

By Howard Fendrich AP Sports Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Slovenia’s Tina Maze and Switzerland’s Dominique Gisin took different paths on an Olympic downhill filled with flats and turns, jumps and bumps, across slender trees’ shadows, along snow that was icy at the top, soft at the bottom.

Any variable could have made the slightest difference over the more than 1½ miles (2½ kilometers). Gisin, the eighth woman down the Rosa Khutor course, was good enough early and fantastic at the end. A half-hour later, starting 20th, Maze followed a tighter line, faster than Gisin most of the way, until slowed by a mistake shortly before the final leap.

‘MAYBE JUST ONE FINGER’ Add it all up, and they were each other’s equal Wednesday. Exactly, right down to the hundredth of a second. Gisin finished in 1 minute, 41.57 seconds. Maze finished in 1 minute, 41.57 seconds.

A tie. And so two gold medals were awarded, the first time that’s happened in 78 years of Olympic Alpine skiing.

“Maybe just one finger, maybe just a hand — it can change a

AP PHOTO

Slovenia’s Tina Maze celebrates after finishing the women’s downhill in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Maze tied for gold with Switzerland’s Dominique Gisin. color of a medal,” Maze said.

In a field missing injured defending champion Lindsey Vonn, Gisin’s Swiss teammate Lara Gut got the bronze, 0.10 seconds back.

During the flower ceremony, Maze and Gisin held hands while

they climbed together to the top step of the podium, a scene Maze described as “two happy faces.”

Quite a contrast from Monday’s super-combined, when Maze wore a stern expression after finishing fourth, merely a tenth of a second

slower than bronze medalist Julia Mancuso of the United States.

“It’s just that lower of a tuck or that cleaner of a line that makes you that much faster,” said American Laurenne Ross, who finished 11th Wednesday.

While other Winter Games sports such as speedskating and luge break down times to the thousandths of a second, Alpine skiing does not — it didn’t even go to hundredths until the 1964 Olympics — and ties happen occasionally. Maze was even in a three-way tie for first in a 2002 World Cup giant slalom. And get this: The first of Gisin’s three World Cup victories came via a tie with Swedish star Anja Paerson in 2009. That was the last time first place was shared in a top-level women’s downhill.

“Hundredths are fine with me,” Gisin said with a hearty chuckle, “and today, the hundredths were on my side.”

According to Peter Huerzeler of Omega, all three timing systems used Wednesday had the same results for Maze and Gisin. Huerzeler said the system is capable of measuring thousandths of a second — even millionths, he said — but isn’t calibrated that way for Alpine events, because the International Ski Federation doesn’t want it to be.

This was the fifth tie in Olympic skiing, but the others involved an extra silver or bronze. Most recently, two silvers were awarded for the men’s super-G at the 1998 Nagano Games.

DOWNHILL, A27

With high hopes, Americans struggle in downhill

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Stacey Cook has poured all of her heart into her skiing. So to come up short on the Olympic stage was heart-breaking.

“This is what you live for, the Olympics. It’s definitely a disappointment,” an emotional Cook said in the finish area of the women’s Olympic downhill at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center.

The 29-year-old Truckee, Calif., native thought she skied well, but looked up at the finish to see she was 1.48 seconds behind the pace set by co-gold medalist Dominique Gisin.

Cook will still compete in Saturday’s super-G, but the downhill was considered her best shot at an Olympic medal.

She had come into the Olympics with improving results, notching two downhill top-five finishes in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, during the final World Cup stop.

That came after a breakout year

last season, when she achieved her first World Cup podiums.

UNPREDICTABLE Cook, now of Mammoth Lakes, Calif., said she thought she’d done everything right in her road to Sochi, but said that the Olympics are unpredictable.

“I wouldn’t take anything back,” She said. “I know I’ve done all the right things over the past decade.

I’ve worked so hard for so long and sometimes it’s not enough.”

Tina Maze, of Slovenia, and Gisin, of Switzerland, tied for the win — the first tie for gold in alpine skiing Olympic history. Lara Gut, of Switzerland, won bronze.

American Julia Mancuso came in as a favorite after laying down the best downhill run of the day on Monday as part of the super combined, where she won bronze.

But she made an error near the bottom of the course Wednesday, hitting a bump that slowed her to an eighth-place finish.

She said she was overthinking things after hitting the first jump

too big.

“I’m more of an instinct skier,” Mancuso said. “Just thinking too much kind of takes me out of my game, and I forget what to do with my body. It needs to come more natural, and that’s when I ski better.”

It was another sunny day at the Rosa Khutor ski resort — barely cold enough for a coat — but racers said the course held up well. American Laurenne Ross, competing in her first Olympics, barely missed a top-10 finish, ending up 11th.

“I definitely was charging and took some risks and made some mistakes and got tossed around a little, but I’m happy with my attitude and how I went about it,” Ross said.

HIGH EXPECTATIONS The American women’s speed team came into the season with high expectations after recording multiple podium finishes during last season’s World Cup. But they started off the season poorly and

AP PHOTO

Women’s downhill gold medalists Switzerland’s Dominique Gisin, left, and Slovenia’s Tina Maze, right, hold hands during a flower ceremony at the Olympics on Wednesday. The two recorded the first tie for gold in alpine skiing Olympic history. suffered injury setbacks with Lindsey Vonn and Alice McKennis out for the year. In the last month, they had turned things on a bit, but Wednesday’s results were a disappointment.

“I think that over the last few Olympics with Lindsey and

Julia, we’ve had the luxury of having that consistency, but it’s not always going to be there,” Cook said. “ … We’ve all just had a hard start to the year. We kept believing, kept believing, kept believing, and it wasn’t quite enough.”

A22 | Thursday, February 13, 2014 | The Vail Daily

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Vail coaches guide Farrington to gold medal Ski & Snowboard Club Vail halfpipe rider tops stacked field in Olympics

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Avon resident and Ski and Snowboard Club Vail coach Elijah Teter wasn’t planning to come to Russia.

But Kaitlyn Farrington, the halfpipe snowboarder he coaches, insisted that he be here for her Olympic debut.

So Teter made last-minute travel arrangements and showed up as halfpipe training began several days ago. He came to Wednesday night’s halfpipe event at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park without a coach’s credential, but managed to find a spot where he could speak to Farrington after each run.

“I couldn’t take ‘no,’” Teter said.

“I couldn’t be in the stands. I can’t be on the radio telling these guys advice. I had to be at the bottom talking to them one-on-one.”

Farrington put together a

precise and error-free first run that put her in second place next to Elijah’s sister Hannah.

As Farrington left the finish area for her second run, she paused to speak to Elijah.

“I just told her to send it,” Elijah said. “I told her this is the run.”

Indeed it was — Farrington landed a switch backside 720, a backside 900, an alley-oop 540, a backside 540 and a frontside 720, seemingly with ease.

She had to wait to see if Olympic gold medalists Torah Bright (2010), Hannah Teter (2006) and Kelly Clark (2002) could beat her score.

Clark nearly did, attempting the only 1080 of the contest, but it wasn’t clean. Clark ended up with bronze, and Bright took silver.

Teter was pushed to fourth.

Farrington stood atop the podium for the United States’ third Olympic gold of the games.

“It was awesome,” Elijah Teter said. “Of course I would love to see my sister up on the podium.

But Kaitlyn, she works hard. It’s great to see hard work pay off.”

EMOTIONAL NIGHT At the top of the pipe was Farrington’s other Ski & Snowboard

Club Vail coach, Ben Boyd, another Vail Valley local. Boyd heads up Ski & Snowboard Club Vail’s snowboard program. He was officially here with the Australian team but was serving as a coach for Farrington as well.

“The emotions are all over,” Boyd said. “You’re nervous for her, your heart is going a million miles an hour. To sit there and wait for all the riders to come was nerve-racking, but when you see that she had won, I cried, I’ll be honest. I was really emotional.”

Boyd has called Farrington the best technical female rider in the world, and that assessment seemed correct Wednesday night.

“She’s just got combos that a lot of guys struggle with,” Boyd said. “I’m proud of her because she pushes the sport in the way she thinks it needs to be pushed, and I think it’s good for women’s riding.”

Farrington, 24, who is from Sun Valley, Idaho, and now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, made the decision two years ago to part with the U.S. coaches and work with Ski & Snowboard Club Vail.

Teter’s presence in Sochi was key to making her feel calm in her first Olympics, she said.

“It was really important for me to have him there even though he couldn’t make it to the top of the pipe,” Farrington said. “For him to be at the bottom was just what I needed.”

TWO NIGHTS, TWO MEDALS Farrington said she never expected to win gold.

“Not really,” she said. “I thought that I was going to end up on the podium, hopefully. That was my best result that I was hoping for.”

But Boyd said he knew she had a good shot.

“I’ll be honest, yeah,” he said.

“I knew we were peaking at the right time.”

Wednesday’s gold is the second medal in two days for the Ski & Snowboard Club Vail coaching staff. Club athlete Ayumu Hirano, 15, of Japan, won silver in Tuesday’s men’s halfpipe.

“Obviously I’m proud of it,” Boyd said. “We’re probably not the program that’s going to go out there and toot our own horn. I’ve got a really good staff and great support from (Executive Director) Aldo (Radamus) and the guys at the club. I just think we care. We really care about our athletes, and that’s what it says.”

MAGIROS MAKES SEMIFINALS Another Ski & Snowboard Club Vail athlete, Steph Magiros, who competes for Australia, made the semifinals Wednesday and finished 18th. She is based in Vail for six months of the year and has been with Ski & Snowboard Club Vail for three years. She competed with her signature yellow and green feathers in her hair — about 600 of them.

“I’ve been dreaming about this ever since I was a child, and to be here snowboarding for Australia, it’s unreal,” said Magiros, 22. “It’s lived up to everything I thought it was going to be and much more. It’s amazing. My cheeks are starting to really hurt from constant smiling.”

Boyd said, as far as he was concerned, her performance was just as impressive as Farrington’s.

“She’s an ex-gymnast and only started competing at the World Cup level 18 months ago,” Boyd said. “So, just to make the Olympics, and then come out and make semis, that’s a really remarkable result.”

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A34 | Friday, February 14, 2014 | The Vail Daily

20 14 XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES H

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Christensen leads US sweep in slopestyle Americans back on medal track

By Eddie Pells AP National Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — A newly minted American medalist was sharing his thoughts — something about making history — when a certain song ringing out from fans in the stands stopped him midstream.

“The Star-Spangled Banner.”

Yes, they were skiing in Russia. But on a warm-and-sunny afternoon that goes down as the greatest in the history of a young sport making its Olympic debut, the slopestyle course was All-American.

Joss Christensen, Gus Kenworthy and Nick Goepper swept the podium for the United States on Thursday in slopestyle skiing, each throwing down versions of their sport’s vaunted triple-cork jump to capture one of the rarest triples of all: gold, silver and bronze.

It was only the third time Americans have swept an event at the Winter Games, and the first since 2002, when a trio of snowboarders in Utah did it in the halfpipe to truly bring their sport into the mainstream. The

AP PHOTO

In this image made with a multiple exposure, American Joss Christensen competes in the men’s ski slopestyle qualifying at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park at the Winter Olympics on Thursday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Christensen went on to win the gold medal in the event. slopestyle medalists were well aware of what they’d accomplished in matching that feat.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better way to debut this sport to the world,” Goepper said.

PACKAGE DEAL Taken separately, any of these history-making young men would have woven their own wonderful story on the day of their resplendent, high-flying Olympic debuts.

On this day, they came as a

package deal.

Christensen, 22, of Park City, Utah, was the last add-on to the American team, hitting his form at just the right time after a sixmonth period of heartbreak that began when his father, J.D., died of a heart condition. Christensen was traveling to New Zealand for a contest when his dad died. He landed, turned around and flew back home.

“I hope he’s looking down and smiling, and I hope I made him

proud,” Christensen said.

Kenworthy, 22, of Telluride, Colo., has generated buzz at the Olympics as a dog lover. He found a stray mom and her litter of four near a bus stop in the mountains and has been tweeting photos of himself with the dogs, making arrangements to bring them back to America.

‘FAIRY TALE’ “Kind of a fairy tale,” Kenworthy said.

Goepper, 19, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., grew up in hoops country, but as a kid, he preferred bumming rides to the 300-foot-high ski resort nearby. He sold candy bars and worked odd jobs to pay for the start of his career.

“Wow, really?” Goepper said when he learned about his place in history. “It’s crazy. I think it’s going to give the U.S. a lot more confidence and it’s going to get a lot of people really excited.”

The first U.S. trio to sweep an event was the 1956 men’s figure skating team. Five decades later, Ross Powers, Danny Kass and J.J. Thomas swept snowboarding in the halfpipe in Salt Lake City.

That win was a much-needed highlight for the host country only months after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and a key moment in America’s transformation into a Winter Olympics power.

TEAM USA STRUGGLES Only, at the first week of these Winter Games, things haven’t been going so well for Team USA. Shani Davis, Shaun White, Sarah Hendrickson and Bode Miller are among American medal favorites who have come up empty.

Then came an 18-hour span at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park:

SLOPESTYLE, A40

Triple corks help Americans sweep podium US goes 1-2-3 for first time since 2002

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — The triple cork gave America triple medals Thursday.

Joss Christensen, Gus Kenworthy and Nick Goepper all landed triple corks — three backflips while also spinning — in the final of the first-ever men’s ski slopestyle in the Olympics.

Christensen won gold, Kenworthy nabbed silver and Goepper ended up with bronze for just the third U.S. podium sweep in the history of the Winter Olympics.

The only other times this happened was in 2002, when the men swept the halfpipe podium, and in 1956, when the men swept figure skating singles.

‘AMERICA, WE DID IT’ “I am shocked,” said Christensen, 22, of Park City, Utah. “I am stoked to be up here with my friends. America, we did it.”

The triple cork was only landed for the first time in competition at the X Games last month, when both Kenworthy and Goepper did it. On Thursday, rider after rider attempted the trick.

“I think that this course was just built really well for it,” said Kenworthy, 22, of Telluride. “The jumps are really big, more than big enough to do those tricks.

And everyone obviously wants an Olympic medal — I think it’s a reason worth sending it.”

CHRISTENSEN ROLLING Christensen had the highest-scored runs of the day, both in qualifiers and finals.

His first run in finals was the one that clinched it, scoring a 95.8 on a double cork 1260 with a double Japan grab, a switch right-side double cork 1080 with a tail grab, and the switch triple cork 1440 with a Japan grab.

He had barely made the U.S. team, clinching the final spot after winning the U.S. Freeskiing Grand Prix event in Park City just a couple of weeks before the Olympics.

“I just wanted to show everyone

they made a good choice,” he said.

“I hoped to prove myself. I didn’t try to put any more pressure on myself. I tried to ski like a normal contest, tried to ski my best, and had fun with it. It worked out.”

Christensen dedicated the run to his father, J.D., who passed away in August.

“He’s always supported me and never said stop,” Christensen said.

“I wish he was here, but I hope he’s looking down and smiling.

So I wanted to make him proud. I did it for him.”

American athletes from other disciplines in attendance burst into celebration after Norwegian skier Andreas Haatveit’s fourthplace score flashed onto the screen, ensuring the U.S. sweep.

‘AMAZING SIGHT’ “It was honestly one of the most amazing things to see so far,” said halfpipe skier Aaron Blunck, who attends Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy in Minturn. “Joss Christensen is like a brother to me, and I could not be more stoked for him.”

“I am really upset that I did not bring my broom to this event,

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

Silver medalist Gus Kenworthy, left, gold medalist Joss Christensen, center, and bronze medalist Nick Goepper, right, speak to the media after landing on the podium in the men’s ski slopestyle competition at the Winter Olympics at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park near Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. because that was a sweep,” said slopestyle skier Keri Herman, of Breckenridge. “Joss is handsdown the nicest, best human being I’ve ever met in my life. He really, really, really killed it, and

it’s so great because he’s amazing.

I don’t think there’s anyone better to represent our country and our sport, and I could not be happier.”

AMERICANS, A40

A40 | Friday, February 14, 2014 | The Vail Daily

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Russia, Canada, US, Finland open with wins Americans crush Slovakia

By Larry Lage AP Hockey Writer

SOCHI, Russia — Four of the favorites in Olympic men’s hockey started the Sochi Games with wins.

The host Russians rolled early as Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist in a breathtaking start of a 5-2 victory against Slovenia on Thursday.

The defending gold-medal winning Canadians shook off a slow start with a dominant second period of a 3-1 win over Norway.

Most impressively, the U.S. scored six times in the second period and routed Slovakia 7-1.

Finland beat Austria 8-4, but it came at a cost.

The Finns played the final two periods without captain Teemu Selanne because of an upper-body injury. They expect the 43-yearold forward to be healthy enough to play Norway on Friday, but he may rest to be ready to face the Canadians on Sunday in the final game of the tournament’s round-robin preliminary round.

Alex Ovechkin, perhaps the biggest star of the Olympics, scored 1:17 after the puck dropped with a wrist shot that made the crowd roar. The superstar made the flag-waving fans gasp in awe 2:37 later with a drop pass to set up Evgeni Malkin’s goal that gave Russia a 2-0 lead. The Russians relaxed, letting Slovenia pull within a goal twice in its first Olympic hockey game before taking control with two goals in the third.

Canada’s Shea Weber and Jamie

AP PHOTO

Norway goaltender Lars Haugen stretches to block a shot by Canadian forward Corey Perry in the third period of a men’s ice hockey game against Canada Thursday in Sochi, Russia. Canada, the defending gold medalists, won the game, 3-1.

Benn scored in the second after a scoreless first period and Carey Price finished with 19 saves in his Olympic debut.

SLOPESTYLE

From page A34

the three slopestyle medals and two from the American snowboarding women on the halfpipe the night before.

“This was one of the best slopestyle contests ever,” said U.S. Olympic Committee sports performance chief Alan Ashley, who has a lot riding on the final medal count. “And America went 1-2-3. I couldn’t be prouder.”

The day and the course were tailor-made for triple corks — filled with sunshine that made for forgiving, slushy snow on the steeply angled jumps. It was so warm that the other American in the field, Bobby Brown, skied in short sleeves.

‘SLOPESTYLER’S BEST FRIEND’ A week ago, snowboarders ripped those jumps as too dangerous, but

by Thursday, the skiers called them a slopestyler’s best friend.

“This course is more than big enough to do these tricks,” Kenworthy said. “Everyone wants an Olympic

The Americans were expected to face the stiffest test, but they were simply sensational against Slovakia. Paul Stastny scored

medal. It’s a reason worth sending it.”

Christensen sent it best. His trick is called a “switch, right-triple 1260 Japan,” which means he skis backward into the jump, turns to his right, then whips out three head-over-heels flips while grabbing a ski and whirring through 3½ revolutions of spin.

Even more amazing: “He picked up his switch triple just a few days ago,” U.S. freeskiing coach Skogen Sprang said.

“He’s got amazing rotation and style,” Sprang said. “He was pretty much the riders’ favorite today.”

Christensen finished first in qualifying, which put him last in the lineup for finals, where every rider gets two runs and their best score counts. His first run was worth 95.8 points. First place.

None of the 11 other skiers could top him in their second runs. When Norway’s Andreas Haatveit went second-to-last and scored a 91.8, the Americans had the sweep.

That turned Christensen’s second run into a victory ride, and in true action-sport fashion, he put on a show.

He closed with the triple, and though

twice to help the U.S. score six consecutive goals in a 13:51 span.

Jarkko Immonen and Mikael Granlund scored two goals apiece

he didn’t nail the landing perfectly, he still scored a 93.8 — the second-highest score of the day.

All this American dominance is no coincidence.

The United States has the best snow, the most-accessible mountains, the highest-quality terrain parks.

Pretty good skiers, too. A year ago, Tom Wallisch was considered a medal favorite for this event. He skied on an injured knee this winter and didn’t make the team.

“They just come with depth and their numbers and all their little park rats,” Canadian coach Toben Sutherland said.

Long after the Canadians and the rest had left, the American skiers walked off the base of the course with Old Glory draped across their backs.

The stands were mostly empty, save a few pockets of people wearing red, white and blue.

A few were still belting out the national anthem.

“I think,” Goepper said, “we’re going to hear that song a few more times over the next 48 hours.”

for Finland, the only nation with three medals since the NHL began letting its players participate in the Olympics 16 years ago.

AMERICANS

From page A34

American fans waving flags and clad in red, white and blue celebrated in the crowd on a balmy day at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.

Bobby Brown, of Breckenridge, was the odd man out for the Americans. He finished ninth. He fell on his first run while attempting to land the triple cork on the final jump, and in his second run, his landings weren’t clean and he lost speed.

“It is what it is,” Brown said. “I’m just stoked to see the boys kill it.”

U.S. slopestyle coach Skogen Sprang said he knew a U.S. sweep was possible, but they hadn’t really expected it.

“It’s pretty amazing,” he said. “I think I’m still kind of in shock.”

GOOD FRIENDS The three podium finishers are good friends who push one another each day in training and, despite their young age, have already done a lot to advance the sport. With their podium sweep in the Olympic debut, Christensen, Kenworthy and Goepper are the faces of a sport as it is exposed to a whole new audience.

“Today was a good showing of our sport, so hopefully the world recognizes how much fun we’re having,” Kenworthy said.

The Vail Daily

| Saturday, February 15, 2014 | A35

20 14 XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES H

For continuing coverage, go to vaildaily.com/sochi

Viletta stuns, wins gold in super-combi Swiss skier’s only other win was in Beaver Creek in 2011

By Andrew Dampf AP Sports Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — For Sandro Viletta, it was a stunning Olympic gold.

For Ivica Kostelic, it was the same old Olympic silver.

Viletta took advantage of a blistering slalom run to beat the favored Kostelic in Friday’s super-combined, a race held in spring-like conditions with snow turning to slush.

The Swiss skier stood only 14th after the downhill portion but put down the second-fastest slalom run to finish in a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 45.20 seconds — then waited as one skier after another failed to catch him.

AN UNEXPECTED WIN “I didn’t expect to win,” said Viletta, whose career has been slowed by back troubles. “I knew that I could ski fast. I like the snow and this was my chance.”

In fact, this was the only race Viletta entered in Sochi. He’ll now head home with a gold medal around his neck.

“In super-combined ... you never know what is possible,” Viletta said. “I thought it could be possible to go on the podium, but you must have a perfect day.”

Kostelic came close, but the Croatian instead ended up becoming the first skier to win three silvers in a single Alpine skiing discipline, finishing 0.34 behind.

AP PHOTO

Men’s super-combined gold medal winner Switzerland’s Sandro Viletta celebrates on the podium during a flower ceremony at the Sochi Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Viletta won the super-combined with a time of 2 minutes, 45.20 seconds.

Christof Innerhofer, the Italian who took silver in downhill, ended up 0.47 behind for bronze in an event he was worried he might not be able to enter due to his chronically bad back.

SMILING FROM EAR TO EAR When the race was over, Viletta was smiling from ear to ear, Kostelic was shaking his head and Innerhofer was celebrating again.

The 28-year-old Viletta has won

only one World Cup race in his career, a super-G in Beaver Creek, Colo., in December 2011. His best super-combined result came in Wengen, Switzerland, last month when he was fourth.

While he hadn’t gained much attention entering this race, Viletta finished fifth in the super-combi at last year’s world championships, and he was sixth in the event at the 2009 worlds.

About a month after his win

in Colorado, Viletta crashed in another race, starting his back troubles.

“It was hard times, especially the last two-to-three years,” he said, adding that the pain has prevented him from training over the summer.

‘SILVER SURFER’ Kostelic was also second in the slalom at the 2010 Vancouver Games and he became the first

man with four Olympic silver medals overall in Alpine skiing.

“I’m a ‘Silver Surfer,’” Kostelic said. “Actually, it’s funny, because way before this time, my gaming nickname was ‘Silver Surfer,’ so probably I made my own destiny. ... People on the podium have changed, and I stayed there.”

Kostelic’s younger sister, Janica, won four golds and two silvers

SUPER-COMBINED, A41

Medal just out of reach for Breck’s Uhlaender Breckenridge skeleton racer finishes fourth; Pikus-Pace wins silver

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — One woman stood between Katie Uhlaender and an Olympic medal in skeleton.

Russian slider Elena Nikitina was that woman. She faltered, hitting the wall hard and skidding into the straight-away, making it seem that Uhlaender had a spot on the podium.

But as Nikitina’s sled crossed the finish line, the scoreboard

flashed green.

Four-hundredths of a second.

She had barely beaten Uhlaender for a bronze medal.

‘RIPPED AWAY’ “I thought for sure I had it, so I was on cloud 9, and then it was just ripped away,” said Uhlaender, of Breckenridge.

“Four-hundredths.”

She was still trying to process it, but was in tears by the time she reached reporters.

“Four-hundredths,” she kept saying, as if trying to understand.

Her teammate, Noelle Pikus-Pace, won silver, climbing into the spectator stand to hug her family, including her husband and two kids.

She had retired from the sport after a fourth-place finish in Vancouver in 2010, but following a miscarriage in 2012, she and her family decided to try one more time to win an Olympic medal.

They scraped together money to allow the whole family to travel to World Cup events around the globe.

“It’s just all come together into this moment,” Pikus-Pace said.

“This is better than gold for me.

This whole moment is just … I’m trying to take it in and I can’t. I can’t comprehend this moment.”

Uhlaender couldn’t, either.

“This was the first time I put everything out there,” said Uhlaender, who reached top speed of 79.8 mph — the fastest of the

day — on her final run. “I felt like my runs were solid and it wasn’t enough. That hurts. I’ve never really experienced that before, but that’s the mystery of the sport sometimes. I’m speechless.”

‘DOING IT ON MY OWN’ Uhlaender, 29, has spoken widely about her struggles to cope with and move forward after the death of her father, former Major League Baseball outfielder Ted Uhlaender, who was a huge support in her life and athletic career.

She carries her dad’s 1972 National League Championship ring on a necklace.

“I handed (U.S. skeleton coach) Tuffy (Latour) my dad’s ring and

held it for a second just to say, ‘This is for you but I’m doing it on my own,’” Uhlaender said.

Uhlaender is a graduate of Summit High School and was born in Vail. She now lives on her late father’s cattle ranch in Kansas when she’s not training or competing.

Elizabeth Yarnold defended the gold for Great Britain, which also won in 2010 by Amy Williams.

It took Yarnold 3 minutes, 52.89 seconds to negotiate Sanki Sliding Center’s track — 2,013 meters long with 17 curves — a total of four times. Each of her four runs — two Thursday and two Friday — were the fastest in the field.

A36 | Saturday, February 15, 2014 | The Vail Daily

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A40 | Saturday, February 15, 2014 | The Vail Daily

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XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Cologna wins 15K classical race, second gold in Sochi Dario Cologna also a three-time overall World Cup winner

By Mattias Karen AP Sports Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — After a season blighted by an ankle injury, Dario Cologna is finally having his day in the sun.

Wearing short sleeves and sunglasses in the spring-like weather, the Swiss cross-country skier won his second gold medal of the Sochi Olympics on Friday with a dominant performance in the 15-kilometer classical-style race.

Cologna is a three-time overall World Cup winner, but had ankle surgery in November and only returned to competition in January.

“It’s amazing. I couldn’t believe the first gold medal, after being injured, and now the second,” Cologna said. “The first gold was emotional after coming back from injury, the second is unbelievable.”

UNMATCHED SPEED Cologna also won the opening 30-kilometer skiathlon race on Sunday, but had a disappointing freestyle sprint where he fell twice in his quarterfinal and was knocked out. On Friday, no one could match his speed over the last half of the race and he beat silver-medalist Johan Olsson of Sweden by 28.5 seconds.

Another Swede, Daniel Richardsson, took bronze after his strong finish put him 0.2 seconds ahead of Iivo Niskanen of Finland — to the delight of Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia, who were in attendance.

It made for a podium that few would have expected just a couple

of months ago.

Olsson is the reigning 50K world champion but hadn’t competed since mid-December because of an illness and rib injury, and said he nearly gave up hope in January of making it to Sochi.

Richardsson, who like Olsson won gold in the relay in Vancouver in 2010, had an even tougher time getting here. The Swede was involved in a traffic accident last July that killed one of his close friends.

The two were changing a tire on a road in Sweden when another vehicle struck them both. Richardsson escaped with a serious knee injury, but needed months of rehab to get back to skiing.

“It’s been a really tough road for me,” Richardsson said. “But at the same time, it was a form of therapy for me to put in all that hard work. ... Sports became my salvation.”

Olsson said he was even happier for Richardsson’s medal than his own.

“He really deserves it,” Olsson said.

Cologna started 30 seconds behind Olsson but caught the Swede before coming into the stadium, and the two were side-by-side on the final straight.

“I knew if I will catch him, it would probably be enough for the gold medal,” Cologna said.

HEATIN’ UP The temperature at the start was slightly cooler than in Thursday’s women’s 10K race at 10 C (50 F), but still much warmer than what the skiers are used to.

Cologna was far from alone in going with short sleeves, with Norway’s Chris Andre Jespersen even modifying his suit by cutting off the pants halfway down his thigh.

AP PHOTO

Switzerland’s Dario Cologna smiles as he wins the gold during the men’s 15K classical cross-country race at the Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. He also took gold in the 30K skiathalon.

German veteran Alex Teichmann finished eighth, but was among those who wasn’t happy with the weather.

“I became a winter athlete to do my sport in winter, not in summer,” Teichmann said. “That was definitely the warmest race of my career.”

Cologna, who also won the 15K freestyle in Vancouver, was a bit more diplomatic.

“You have to be prepared for every condition,” he said. “It was very tough today, but I think it’s not a big surprise that it would be warm here in Sochi.”

Overall World Cup leader Martin Johnsrud Sundby of Norway had a disappointing race, finishing 1:37.7 behind the winner.

AP PHOTO

Switzerland’s gold medal winner Dario Cologna skis during the men’s 15K classical cross-country race at the Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Cologna won with a time of 38 minutes, 29.7 seconds.

Noah Hoffman clinches top American finish in Nordic Aspen racer takes 31st in 15K classic race

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Noah Hoffman, of Aspen, was the top American finisher Friday at the men’s 15-kilometer classic race at the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center.

Hoffman, who trains with Ski & Snowboard Club Vail, finished 31st, with a time of 41 minutes, 2.7 seconds.

“Just a really tough course, and obviously there’s some guys who skied really fast,” Hoffman said after the race.

Dario Cologna, of Italy, won gold with a time of 38 minutes, 29.7 seconds. Two Swedes, Johan Olsson and Daniel Richardsson, finished with silver and bronze,

respectively.

“I had really good opportunities for rides,” Hoffman said. “I had (Norwegian racer Eldar) Roenning, Olsson and Cologna all ski through me and couldn’t stay with any of them, unfortunately, but got some good opportunities.”

It was another very warm day in the mountains above Sochi.

Racers, and even some spectators, wore short sleeves at the race course in the spring-like conditions.

The warm conditions made for a fair race, said U.S. head coach Chris Grover — teams are used to skiing these conditions in spring World Cups and in summer glacier training, so it wasn’t too hard to wax for it.

“Noah paced the race really well,” Grover said. “He maybe was a little too conservative during the

HOFFMAN, A41

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

Aspen’s Noah Hoffman pushes for the finish line Friday during the men’s 15K classical cross-country race at the Laura Cross-Country Ski and Biathlon Center near Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.

A24 | Sunday, February 16, 2014 | The Vail Daily

20 14 XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES H

For continuing coverage, go to vaildaily.com/sochi

Fenninger wins Winter Olympic super-G gate — and promptly crashed seven seconds into her run.

Of the first eight to begin, only American racer Leanne Smith made it down cleanly. She had the momentary lead, which actually looked like it might just hold up since no one could seem to finish.

Hoefl-Riesch second

By Pat Graham AP Sports Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — The super-G was running so extreme that seven of the opening eight racers slid, tumbled, careened and glided off the course, unable to finish.

In all, 18 of 49 racers failed to make it across the finish line.

Leave it to the Austrians to solve a tricky course designed by one of their coaches. This nation, no matter how tough the track, just seems to shine in this discipline.

Anna Fenninger became the third Austrian in a row to win the women’s super-G at the Olympics, finding a smooth way through the uneven course Saturday. She finished in 1 minute, 25.52 seconds, edging Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany by 0.55 seconds. Nicole Hosp of Austria was third.

AUSTRIANS LOOKING STRONG With that, the Austrians are off to a soaring start at the Sochi Games, leading the Alpine standings with four medals. That already matches the total this skiing-proud nation had the entire time in Vancouver four years ago.

Pressure’s now off, right?

“We have a lot of pressure — that is our sport,” said Austrian coach Florian Winkler, who designed the challenging course

OTHERS STRUGGLE

AP PHOTO

Austria’s Anna Fenninger makes a jump Saturday in the women’s super-G at the Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Fenninger won the gold medal, Maria Hoefl-Riesch won silver and Nicole Hosp earned bronze. that skiers only had a brief time to inspect.

Starting 17th and wearing a cheetah-themed print on her helmet, Fenninger flew along the course, hardly bothered by the bumps. She made sure the super-G title remained with Austria after Andrea Fischbacher took gold in 2010 and Michaela Dorfmeister did so at the 2006 Turin Games.

Racers from Austria have dominated this Olympic event since

the super-G began at the 1988 Calgary Games. The country has now won eight of a possible 24 medals.

“I don’t know why we can win so much medals (in super-G),” Fenninger said. “I think we just like it.”

TOUGH COURSE The combination of soft snow and a tight course design by Winkler had early skiers struggling to just make it down. A super-G

course typically has tighter turns than a downhill. The part giving the skiers the most trouble came after the final jump, when they couldn’t slow down enough to clear a series of tight gates.

The rate at which skiers were going off course led Kjetil Jansrud of Norway to post on Twitter: “I am speechless for the moment.

Looks like it’s difficult, but this is crazy. (hash)DNFbonanza.”

Carolina Ruiz Castillo of Spain was the first racer out of the start

This is a sampling of how it went for some others: ■ Daniela Merighetti of Italy clipped a gate and went off course.

■ Marie Marchand-Arvier of France slid off early and screamed in frustration.

■ Kajsa Kling of Sweden missed a lower gate.

And so on.

“The setting is very hard,” Merighetti explained.

Hoefl-Riesch and Hosp certainly had no trouble navigating the hill and added to their medal collections in Sochi. They went 1-2 in the super-combined earlier this week.

For Hoefl-Riesch, there was an extra obstacle to deal with in her run Saturday — a course worker who was near a gate.

“I was not really influenced by that,” said Hoefl-Riesch, who boosted her career Olympic medal count to four. “It was not a problem for me. Of course, this shouldn’t happen, because it’s dangerous.”

Pre-race favorites Lara Gut of Switzerland and Tina Maze of Slovenia were fourth and fifth.

Mancuso cracks top 10 in super-G at Olympics Women’s speed team goes medal-less again; DNFs plague field

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — The U.S. women failed to medal in the super-G Saturday, and questions began to arise about the lack of American alpine success halfway through the games.

The American women have one skiing medal, Julia Mancuso’s bronze in super combined, so far.

In Vancouver, the Americans won eight medals, which set high expectations for the Sochi games.

“It’s definitely a high number to achieve, but we still have strong athletes, Ted (Ligety) coming for the next couple of days and then Mikaela (Shiffrin) being here, so the games aren’t over yet,” said

U.S. alpine director Patrick Riml.

“We’re halfway through and we have some strong performers and good events coming up.”

The women’s speed team was led by Julia Mancuso’s eighth place in the super-G Saturday.

Eighteen racers failed to finish, including eight of the first nine.

“The course was difficult, as you can see,” Mancuso said. “For my run I think I watched too many people go and have bad runs and I let it get to me mentally. That’s been the hardest thing for me to overcome, is even though I feel really good on my skis right now, and I got that first medal, I still lack a lot of confidence from not having great results and great races at the beginning of the season.”

Mancuso was 1.52 seconds behind gold-medal winner Anna Fenninger, of Austria. Maria Hoefl-Riesch won silver, and Nicole Hosp got bronze. It was the second medal of the games for both

Hoefl-Riesch and Hosp.

CHALLENGING COURSE A tricky turn on the last pitch of the course knocked racer after racer off the course.

“It’s a bad club to be a part of,” said Canadian Larisa Yurkiw, who was one of the racers who skied out at that section. “When you’re in the start and you know what to expect and you know everyone’s making similar mistakes, it’s not OK to come down and do the same thing.”

Leanne Smith, of North Conway, N.H., finished 18th and was the only racer of the first nine to finish. Leanne Smith skied off course, and Stacey Cook crashed.

U.S. officials said she was a little bruised but will be OK. “There’s definitely some disappointments for sure,” Mancuso said of the U.S. team’s fortunes so far. “In the downhill, I wanted to have a better race and Bode for sure wanted to do better, but

AP PHOTO

Switzerland’s Dominique Gisin falls in the women’s super-G at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on Saturday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.

The co-Olympic downhill champion wasn’t the only one having problems with the super-G course. it’s hard. There’s only three spots that you can get a medal — first, second and third — and there’s tons of skiers out here that can really step it up and have their best races.”

The women’s speed team had

great results last year — five members had podium finishes — but has struggled this year.

“There were some expectations there,” Riml said. “The confidence level was not the same for the whole team as it was last year.”

The Vail Daily

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| Sunday, February 16, 2014 | A25

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Mikaela Shiffrin, of Eagle-Vail, answers questions from reporters during a news conference Saturday at the Gorki Media Center in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.

Corona presents

Shiffrin arrives in Sochi Eagle-Vail teen will compete Tuesday, Friday

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Mikaela Shiffrin says this isn’t her first Olympics, it’s her thousandth.

That’s how many times she’s played this in her head.

She even imagined herself answering the very questions she was asked Saturday at a news conference at the Gorki Media Center.

“I’ve definitely envisioned myself on the top step of the podium and the third step of the podium, wherever it might be,” said Shiffrin, 18, of Eagle-Vail. “I envisioned myself crashing because I know what mistake I made in my head to crash, and I know I’m not going to do that in a race. … Right now I think I’m the best prepared I could possibly be.”

Shiffrin will compete in the giant slalom Tuesday and the slalom Friday.

‘MORE NERVES’ “I think there will definitely be more nerves because this means something to the rest of the world, so that also makes it mean something more to me,” she said.

She arrived in Sochi on Friday night and

by Saturday afternoon already had done a segment with Natalie Morales of NBC’s “Today” show. She is likely to be featured

prominently in the network’s coverage of the next several days.

Last year, Shiffrin had a breakout season, winning the globe for the slalom title as well as the World Championship slalom race in Schladming, Austria.

So far this season, Shiffrin has continued her success of last season. She reached the podium in Beaver Creek, finishing second, for the first time, just miles away from her home. She has won three World Cup slalom races so far this year and leads the slalom standings.

Shiffrin will face warm conditions this week at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center.

Temperatures have been in the 50s in the finish area. Shiffrin said she’s ready for it and won’t use it as an excuse for how she skis.

“As an athlete, as a ski racer, you have to be able to handle everything, and to be a real champion and to win across the board for an extended period of time you have to come up on race day and, no matter what the conditions, fight for the top spot,” she said.

She skied the course several times last year.

“I really like the hill,” she said. “I think it’s awesome that it has a pitch and also a flat and some knolls. It’s got pretty much everything in it, and that makes it really fair for the entire competition.”

Shiffrin’s parents, Jeff and Eileen, are set to arrive in Sochi today. Shiffrin missed the first week of the Olympics, including the opening ceremonies, to spend time training in Italy.

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A26 | Sunday, February 16, 2014 | The Vail Daily

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XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES Notes from Sochi, Russia: Journey to the Olympics 20 14 H

Editor’s note: In Notes from Sochi, Ed Stoner documents some of the behindthe-scenes adventures, mundaneness and miscellany of his Olympics assignment.

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

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My journey to Sochi began as I stepped into the Denver International Airport and handed the United agent my confirmation number.

“We have no record of your reservation in our system,” she said.

Not what you want to hear at the beginning of a trip you’ve been planning for six months.

After visiting multiple ticket counters and brokering a tense discussion between my travel agent on the phone and the United staff, I finally had a ticket.

JOURNEY GETS UNDER WAY My first flight was an easy one from Denver to Chicago. I grabbed a bite to eat and boarded a flight to Istanbul at 9 p.m.

I settled in on the 11-hour flight, watching the movie “Enough Said” and listening to some traditional Turkish music on the in-flight headset.

We landed in Istanbul, walked down stairs onto the tarmac and took a bus to

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

The Olympic rings are one of the first things that greet travelers when they arrive at the Sochi airport in Russia. the terminal. I definitely felt like I was in a foreign land in a big city. People were heading to Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Asia. There were people rushing everywhere.

While I was at the Istanbul airport, I found

NOTES FROM SOCHI, A29

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The Vail Daily

20 14 H

| Sunday, February 16, 2014 | A29

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

US hockey team downs Russia in epic shootout T.J. Oshie, Jonathan Quick the heroes

By Greg Beacham AP Sports Writer

SOCHI, Russia — T.J. Oshie brainstormed while he skated to center ice, desperately trying to come up with one last move to end an epic shootout. He had already taken five shots at Sergei Bobrovsky, and the Russians were still even.

Yet Oshie was chosen for the U.S. men’s hockey team with just such a situation in mind, and the shootout specialist concocted one last clever goal to silence an arena filled with screaming Russian fans.

Oshie scored four times in the shootout and put the winner between Bobrovsky’s legs in the eighth round, leading the United States past Russia 3-2 Saturday in the thrilling revival of a classic Olympic hockey rivalry.

RUNNING OUT OF MOVES “I was just thinking of something else I could do, trying to keep him guessing,” said Oshie, the St. Louis Blues forward. “Had to go back to the same move a couple times, but I was glad it ended when it did. I was running out of moves there.”

International rules allow the same player to take multiple shots after the first three rounds of a shootout, and U.S. coach Dan Bylsma leaned on Oshie’s array of slick shots and changeof-pace approaches to the net.

Oshie scored on the Americans’ first shot before taking the last five in a row, going 4 for 6 against Bobrovsky and disappointing a Bolshoy Ice Dome crowd including Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“I aged a couple of years in that shootout,” Bylsma said. “We had other guys that are capable, but T.J. was the guy who was going well. It seemed like he was going to score every time he went.”

NOTES FROM SOCHI

From page A26

out that one of our Vail Olympians, Heidi Kloser, sadly had already been injured during a training run just prior to her competition.

HEADED FOR SOCHI I found the gate for the Sochi flight, and saw lots of Americans waiting to fly into Sochi. The family of Aspen’s Simi Hamilton and Tahoe’s Travis Ganong were part of the group. So was the father of Chicago speed skater Brian Hansen, John, who talked excitedly about heading to his son’s second Olympic Games. The

AP PHOTO

T.J. Oshie scores the winning shootout goal against Russia’s goaltender Sergei Bobrovski on Saturday at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Oshie, from the St. Louis Blues, scored four shootout goals to power the U.S. to a victory against the host country.

Oshie’s final shot was a beauty: He threaded a forehand right through Bobrovsky’s pads, the puck punching the back of the Russian net emphatically enough to pop the water bottle on top into the air.

“At some point, you think, ‘Does he have any more moves left?’”

U.S. captain Zach Parise said.

“But he did a good job. ... That’s hard to do, to get in a goalie’s head and throw him off a little bit.”

after that display he put on,” said David Backes, Oshie’s teammate in St. Louis. “The kids will be out on the pond probably in Minnesota right now, throwing a 5-hole on the goalie three or four times in a row.”

REGULATION

Oshie was among the final selections for the U.S. roster, and though the 27-year-old from Warroad, Minn., has never had a 20-goal NHL season, he leads American-born players with seven shootout goals this season.

The U.S. men are only interested in the one that all but wrapped up an automatic berth in the quarterfinals next week.

“I think you’re going to see T.J. Oshie become a household name

Cam Fowler and Joe Pavelski scored in regulation for the Americans in the marquee game of the preliminary round. Jonathan Quick made 29 saves and stopped five attempts in the shootout as the U.S. improved to 2-0.

Captain Pavel Datsyuk scored two goals in regulation and another in the shootout for the Russians, who rallied from a third-period deficit in a fast-paced game.

Russia also had an apparent goal waved off with 4:40 left because Quick’s net came off its moorings.

“The U.S. team is a good team and a good test for us,” Datsyuk said. “We played good, but the result is not good.”

The shootout finish was entertaining, but the entire game was

guy next to me was from Virginia and was headed to the games as a spectator. The woman behind me was from Atlanta and worked for a corporate sponsor who would be hosting parties during the games.

At that point, it really sunk in for me that I was going to the Olympics.

On the Aeroflot flight, I could see the Black Sea out of my window, and when the lights of cities began to appear, I knew we were approaching the Russian coast.

We flew low over the water as we approached Sochi and you could see the Olympic park — the circle of stadiums that surround the torch — lit up out the righthand windows.

After about 24 hours of travel, I had finally made it.

We piled into a bus on the tarmac, ready to begin our Olympic experience. The bus jolted forward and stopped at a curbside after just 20 yards. Everyone broke out laughing at the fact that they had sent a bus to transport us a distance we could have walked to in two minutes.

I was relieved to find the bag I had checked in Denver to be at the carousel as soon as I walked up to it.

I walked out of customs and was greeted by a throng of people wearing the ubiquitous multicolored, mulitpatterned uniforms of Sochi volunteers.

‘HOUSEHOLD NAME’

international hockey at its most compelling — and the third period was a thriller.

Pavelski scored the tiebreaking goal for the Americans on a power play with 10:33 to play, but Datsyuk tied it with 7:16 left during a Russian power play, spurring Putin out of his seat to cheer.

UPON FURTHER REVIEW After review, the officials waved off Fedor Tyutin’s apparent goahead goal because the net was loose, incensing the crowd. Russian coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov and Alex Ovechkin both felt Quick had intentionally dislodged his net earlier in the sequence.

“I don’t know what happened there, but definitely was a goal,” Ovechkin said. “Nobody touched the net. Their goalie touched the net and put it out. But the referee has to see it and at least give him two minutes, you know?”

Quick claimed he didn’t even realize the net had come unmoved.

I handed a volunteer my accreditation. They laminated it and gave me a lanyard. At the next desk, I was told to get onto a bus outside at the curb that would take me up to the mountain cluster and my hotel room.

TO THE MOUNTAIN CLUSTER The bus ride took us out of the city and onto the famed multi-billion-dollar road up to the mountain cluster. The Mzymta River was alongside us as we climbed up the valley. After about 40 minutes, we arrived in the mountain cluster. I could see the ski jumping venue lit up to my right. Most of the buildings — mostly hotels — seemed new.

“You need to catch some breaks to win games,” he said.

Both teams had quality chances in overtime, but Bobrovsky denied Patrick Kane on a breakaway in the most hair-raising moment.

Oshie started off the shootout with a low shot between Bobrovsky’s legs, and the next four shooters missed before Ilya Kovalchuk scored in the third round.

Datsyuk and Kovalchuk scored in the fifth and sixth rounds, respectively, but Oshie tied it twice in dramatic fashion.

Datsyuk and Oshie both missed in the seventh, and Quick denied Kovalchuk again before Oshie ended it.

“It was a good game, very interesting,” Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin said. “Two, I think, best teams played, and showed OK hockey. But shootouts is lucky.”

The arena was packed to overflowing with fans of both nations jovially posing for photos and comparing their colorful sweaters.

I tried to talk to the bus driver.

He said he didn’t speak English.

He threw out the few English phrases he knew — “please,” “thank you,” “this is your stop” and “Michael Jackson forever.”

He dropped me off at my hotel, which is in the ski village of Rosa Khutor. I was apprehensive about the hotel, having seen so many stories and tweets about unfinished rooms and lobbies and lack of hot water and shower curtains.

But my room is modern and clean, with a fully functional bathroom. I lay my head down on the pillow at around 4 a.m. Friday, but was up again by 8 to head back down to the coastal cluster for a press conference with the halfpipe skiers.

A24 | Monday, February 17, 2014 | The Vail Daily

20 14 XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES H

For continuing coverage, go to vaildaily.com/sochi

Norwegian idol Jansrud wins super-G Weibrecht and Bode go 2-3

the Olympic Games, Norwegians are on the top of the podium and that is impossible to describe,” he said. “It feels perfect so far.”

Prime Minister Solberg said hosting the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic was a key point in developing Alpine racing in Norway, a land where cross-country skiing dominates.

Jansrud, who was eight when Aamodt took bronze in super-G at Lillehammer, singled out Miller as one of his own idols.

“He was already winning races when I was a little kid. He has been one of my heroes,” Jansrud told The Associated Press. “He has had such an amazing career.”

By Pat Graham and Graham Dunbar AP Sports Writers

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Kjetil Jansrud won his audition for Norwegian idol at the Sochi Olympics.

In an Alpine event that Norway absolutely owns, Jansrud won a thrilling men’s super-G race Sunday one week after earning bronze in downhill.

Norway’s fourth straight super-G gold, and fifth in the past seven Winter Games, put the 28-year-old Jansrud in a proud Olympic tradition started by now-retired great Kjetil Andre Aamodt and extended by Aksel Lund Svindal, his more heralded teammate.

“He is absolutely an idol for young Norwegians today,” the Scandinavian nation’s prime minister, Erna Solberg, told reporters after watching Jansrud’s victory.

Pre-race favorite Svindal placed seventh in defense of his title.

SURPRISE SILVER Andrew Weibrecht charged late at Jansrud’s time of 1 minute, 18.14 seconds to take a surprise silver, edging U.S. teammate Bode Miller and Jan Hudec of Canada

MILLER FINISHES STRONG

AP PHOTO

Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud celebrates on the podium after winning the gold medal in the men’s super-G at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on Sunday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Americans filled the rest of the podium. into a tie for bronze.

Miller, 36, became the oldest ever Olympic Alpine medalist, surpassing the mark Aamodt set when he won the super-G at Turin in 2006 at age 34.

And with his sixth career

Olympic medal, spread over 12 years, Miller took sole possession of second place on the all-time men’s Alpine medal list, two behind Aamodt.

“It’s big, insane,” Jansrud said of Norway’s dominance in super-G,

a discipline that challenges racers to be fast and technically correct through a gate-setting they have never practiced. They are allowed a one-hour, early-morning course inspection.

“Somehow when you come to

Miller, who started No. 13, took the lead with an exhilarating run, though he lost time going off line down the steep final slope after making the final jump.

“To be on the podium, it’s a really big day for me,” said Miller, who placed eighth in downhill and sixth in super-combined.

“Emotionally, I had a lot riding on it. I’m super, super happy.”

Miller let out his emotions, too, tearing up when he hugged wife, professional volleyball player Morgan Miller, after the race.

Jansrud started No. 21 and was 0.53 faster than Miller, whose

SUPER-G, A30

Stunning run gives Weibrecht silver medal Bode gets bronze in super-G

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Facing injury after injury during the past four years, Andrew Weibrecht had asked himself repeatedly whether he should continue ski racing.

“Even as recently as yesterday,” Weibrecht said.

Casting doubts aside and channeling the energy and emotion of the Olympics, Weibrecht skied a brilliant run in the super-G Sunday, winning the silver medal at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center.

On a deteriorating course, running No. 29, well after the other top performers, Weibrecht stunned the crowd to take his second career Olympic medal. He won a bronze in the super-G in 2010.

He has not achieved a top-10 result since 2011 and has undergone four surgeries during the past four years.

“This is probably the most emotional day of ski racing I’ve ever had,” Weibrecht said. “All the issues and troubles I’ve had, to come and be able to have a really strong result like this, it reminds me that all the work that I did to come back from the injuries and dealing through all the hard times, that it’s all worth it.”

BODE MAKES HISTORY Bode Miller won bronze, his sixth Olympic medal. He now ranks second all-time in most medals won at the Winter Olympics, tied with speed skater Bonnie Blair and trailing only speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno.

He also becomes the oldest man to win a medal in alpine skiing history and the second winningest alpine skier ever, trailing only Kjetil Andre Aamodt.

“I’ve never been so stuck on counting them,” Miller said. “For me, I’ve put in a lot of work and this is a really hard year, a lot of effort coming back to get fit and get ready, and just battle through.”

Kjetil Jansrud, of Norway, won

gold with a time of one minute, 18.14 seconds. Weibrecht was three-tenths back.

Miller tied Jan Hudec, of Canada, for third, sitting 0.53 seconds behind Jansrud.

The American speed skiers quieted doubts about their performance so far in these games, which had seen just one bronze, won by Julia Mancuso in the super combined.

‘AMAZING SKIING’ “I expected the guys to throw down today,” said coach Sasha Rearick. “All I asked them to do was go hard and earn it. … Andrew put it all together by just going for it. Amazing skiing.”

Weibrecht hurt himself on the very first race after Vancouver in 2010. He’s suffered a torn rotator cuff and labrum in his right shoulder, torn ligaments in his left ankle, a torn labrum in his left shoulder and torn ligaments in his right ankle.

He was demoted from U.S. Ski Team’s “A” team to the “B” team, which meant he wasn’t fully

AP PHOTO

United States’ Andrew Weibrecht passes a gate in the men’s super-G at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on Sunday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Weibrecht won the silver medal. funded. His spot on the Olympic team was not assured in the leadup to the games.

“There’s only so many times you can get kicked before you start to really feel it,” Weibrecht said. “I try not to focus on results, but I really needed a result to remind me more than anything that I’m

capable of this and I belong here.”

Weibrecht, 28, grew up in Lake Placid, N.Y., home of the 1980 Winter Olympics, where his parents own the Mirror Lake Inn. “There was never a question that he could do it,” said his brother Jonathan. “It’s just having the right day.”

A26 | Monday, February 17, 2014 | The Vail Daily

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KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Faye Gulini, a graduate of the Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy, narrowly missed an Olympic medal Sunday, finishing fourth in snowboardcross.

The Ski & Snowboard Club Vail alumna benefited from a crash between Bulgarian Alexandra Jekova and Italian Michela Moioli to move up to fourth in the six-racer finals field at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.

“Fourth place in the Olympics, I will take it,” said Gulini, 21, who is from Salt Lake City, Utah. “It would have been nice to get on the podium. It’s hard being so close.

Obviously I wouldn’t like to do worse, but it feels like a 12th or something would have been like, ‘Eh, I blew it,’ but to be fourth, it’s kind of tough. But I’m happy overall.”

This is Gulini’s second Olympics. She finished 12th in Vancouver.

DEFENDING JACOBELLIS

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

Faye Gulini talks to reporters after taking fourth place in snowboardcross on Sunday at the Winter Olympics. leading in her semifinals race but fell on a section of rollers as she approached the finish line.

GULINI, A29

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XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Notes from Sochi, Russia: I’m lovin’ it Editor’s note: In Notes from Sochi, Ed Stoner documents some of the behind-the-scenes adventures, mundaneness and miscellany of his Olympics assignment.

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

For me, the food — mostly at the venue cafeterias — so far has left something to be desired.

It’s sometimes not that good, the portions are small and it’s somewhat expensive. I paid 650 rubles ($18.64) for a bowl of soup, a small roll with apple filling, two small chicken wings and a Coke. Other days, they have Vienna sausages, blintzes or some other mystery food that the workers can’t quite explain to you. But I have had some good meals here, too — chicken, pasta and vegetables.

My guilty (actually, not so guilty) pleasure has been McDonald’s. I’ve eaten in the one in the Main Media Center two or three times so far. There is another McDonald’s, a 24-hour one, in Rosa Khutor (mountain cluster). I get the Royal Cheeseburger (quarter pounder with cheese).

Also, Coke — I don’t drink it at home but I find great pleasure here in downing a cold one. The only options at the venues and media centers are Coke products — Coke, Sprite, orange Fanta, blue Powerade and bottled water.

My guilty (actually, not so guilty) pleasure has been McDonald’s. I’ve eaten in the one in the Main Media Center two or three times so far.

I tried out a restaurant near my hotel called Ginga that served udon noodles with chicken. Not bad. There’s also a supermarket next door. It’s kind of a small Whole Foods-style market that seems to have higher-end, limited products.

ON THE BUS Sometimes it feels like I spend more time on the bus than I do watching the sports. To get to the Gorki Media Center, I take TM 13. To get to the coastal cluster, I take TM 10. I can walk down to the bus station near my hotel and take one to the Extreme Park or Alpine Center; those buses meander up the side of the hill on steep switchbacks that are similar to heading up to Wildridge or Mountain Star, but for 20 straight minutes.

When I get to the Alpine Center, I have to take another bus, a shuttle, up to the press center.

Another big mode of transportation is gondolas. When I went to snowboard slopestyle, I took the gondola that heads straight from the bottom of the mountain to the Extreme Park. There were probably 20 people in the huge car with me.

There’s a tram that goes between the Alpine Center and the Extreme Park. It’s a short ride, maybe five minutes.

Another gondola, similar to the size of the Eagle Bahn, heads up

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

There’s a McDonald’s in the Main Media Center and another in Rosa Khutor, Russia, much to the delight of journalists and halfpipe skiers. to the Laura Cross Country Center, which is on the other side of the valley from the Alpine Center and the Extreme Park.

I’ve been to the coastal cluster twice, and I have taken the bus

each time. There’s also a train, but I haven’t gotten a chance to try it out yet.

Often, simply walking is faster.

I hoofed it across the Olympic Park rather than taking the bus

that goes around the circular perimeter when I was going to the Procter and Gamble house to visit with gold medalist Jamie Anderson.

Up in the mountain cluster, there’s a nice promenade that stretches alongside the river in Rosa Khutor. Tons of people walk this all day long in the spring-like weather.

Some volunteers speak English — maybe half. If you find someone that doesn’t speak English, then it’s pretty hard to communicate, as there’s no correlation between English and Russian.

Hand signals sometimes work.

Most bus drivers don’t speak any English at all.

And, yes, there are quite a few stray dogs. I saw one for the first time underneath the legs of a photographer who was sitting at the bus stop late one night at the Gorki Media Center. I also saw a couple curled up sleeping outside my hotel.

Davis and White lead Olympic ice dancing

Czech Republic’s Eva Samkova leads the field in the women’s snowboardcross final at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Sunday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.

Samkova went on to win the gold medal.

Canadians second going into last program

By Rachel Cohen AP Sports Writer

SOCHI, Russia — Charlie White threw his arms in the air in celebration to try to describe how he’d felt Sunday morning.

After four years, the moment had finally arrived for White and Meryl Davis, seeking to win the United States’ first Olympic gold medal in ice dancing.

“I definitely woke up today ready,” Davis said. “And yes, it’s great to wake up with a smile on your face.”

They were grinning even more broadly after their short dance, when they set an international personal best with 78.89 points to lead training partners Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada by 2.56.

‘SURREAL EXPERIENCE’ Davis and White won silver at the 2010 Games when Virtue and Moir became the first Olympic ice dance champions from North America. The free dance is Monday, and Davis and White, both from Michigan, are one performance away from gold.

AP PHOTO

Americans Meryl Davis and Charlie White smile as they wait in the results area after competing in the ice dance short dance figure skating competition at the Iceberg Skating Palace Sunday in Sochi, Russia.

GULINI

From page A26

got the silver, adding to the bronze she won eight years ago; and Chloe Trespeuch, of France, took bronze.

“I told Charlie in the middle of the program I felt like I was in a dream,” Davis said. “It is such a surreal experience.”

Virtue and Moir rebounded from a shaky performance in the team event, but the Americans, skating last, have overtaken their rivals over the last four years, and it was no different Sunday.

A Russian team was in third, though it wasn’t world bronze medalists Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev. Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov were 3.29 points behind Virtue and Moir.

Gulini was quick to defend Jacobellis, a medal favorite here who infamously fell as she attempted a grab while approaching the finish line in the lead in Vancouver in 2010, settling for silver.

“People don’t understand how much pressure is put on her,” Gulini said. “It breaks my heart because I think it takes the fun out of it for her, just for this event. She loves the sport, she’s a phenomenal snowboarder, but it’s in her head.”

Eva Samkova, of the Czech Republic, won gold; Dominique Maltais, of Canada,

CRASHES ABOUND

AP PHOTO

Several bad crashes occurred throughout the day. U.S. rider Jackie Hernandez slammed her head after a fall in qualifiers, suffering a concussion. Norwegian Helen Olafson also fell in qualifiers, hurting her knee.

“Toughest course we’ve been on all season,” Gulini said. “It’s built really well, so if you give the course speed, it’s going to run and you’re going to be OK, but I think for a lot of girls it was mental — it was these big jumps that we were staring at.”

A14 | Tuesday, February 18, 2014 | The Vail Daily

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KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — For every Mikaela Shiffrin, there’s a Justin Reiter.

For every prodigy who conquers each obstacle with preternatural gifts, there’s a blue-collar journeyman who gets knocked down again and again and never gives up.

Well, in the case of Reiter, he did give up.

Reiter, a snowboard racer who is competing in parallel slalom and parallel giant slalom at the Sochi Games, retired in 2010 after he narrowly missed making the Olympics for the second time.

He missed Torino because of a nagging tibia fibula injury. He missed Vancouver due to the nagging effects of a patella injury. He retired — “or quit, however you look at it,” he said — that year.

He tried to live a normal life — he worked several different jobs, got married and started to move on.

AP PHOTO

Justin Reiter, who grew up in Summit County and lives in Steamboat Springs, has had a long and bumpy road to the Olympics.

But for Reiter, 33, who grew up in Summit County and now lives in Steamboat Springs, that life wasn’t fulfilling.

“Snowboarding has always been something where I put everything in, and while it sometimes hurts like hell and kicks your right in the gut — like missing both those Olympics — there’s something always that it gives back, and it feeds how I am and feeds my soul, fills me up,” Reiter said.

He reunited with his longtime coach, Theddo Remmelink, and they set out on the road to Sochi, with the overriding goal

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A18 | Tuesday, February 18, 2014 | The Vail Daily

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XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Notes from Sochi: Making it through security Editor’s note: In Notes from Sochi, Ed Stoner documents some of the behind-the-scenes adventures, mundaneness and miscellany of his Olympics assignment.

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

Security is pretty stringent, as you might imagine. When you enter the media center or any venue, you have to scan your pass (You also have to scan when you leave.) and then go through airport-style metal conveyor-belt detectors.

The X-ray guy usually sees the Vail Daily pins inside my bag and asks me to take them out. They clear me, but they generally ask for a pin of their own as well.

I usually also get a pat down.

Sometimes they make me empty my pockets, down to my chapstick, coins and keys.

The workers will also often scan your pass when you get on or off a bus. At certain checkpoints, the buses are checked by guys with mirrors that allow them to check underneath the bus.

There are police stationed at just about every street corner. Some of them have dogs with them. There are also quite a few private security guys here and there.

I don’t think the security is too intrusive. You generally deal with it once in the morning, and then forget about it, despite the presence of foot patrols here and there.

THE MEDIA At each venue, there’s a media center with long tables where the press works. It’s usually divided into a photo work room, with lockers to store equipment, and a regular press work room.

There’s also a “media lounge,” which includes the cafeteria. They generally have some free hot tea and cookies.

The set-up has been pretty much the same for the Alpine

ABOVE: The views from the Extreme Park are stunning.

LEFT: A security worker checks underneath a bus using a mirror.

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

SPECIAL TO THE DAILY

Ed Stoner gets friendly with the Sochi mascots at the Laura Cross Country Center.

Park, Freestyle Center, Ski Jump Center, Sliding Center and Cross Country Center.

The make-up of the media changes pretty significantly, depending on where you are.

The freestyle center is definitely American-heavy. All of the heavy hitters are here — New York Times, Sports Illustrated, USA Today, etc. There’s also some local Colorado media. I’ve seen the Denver Post, the Steamboat Pilot, the Colorado Springs Gazette and 9 News.

The Alpine Center press center is quite big — twice the size of freestyle — and has lots of the same faces as at the Birds of Prey races in Beaver Creek. Lots of journalists from Europe — Germany, Austria, Switzerland.

The press center at the Laura Cross Country Center has a very international feel. It is actually part of the biathlon stadium, and you have to take a shuttle to get to the cross country area. Not too many American press or fans here.

THE LAYOUT The mountain cluster is divided into some different areas. I am staying in Rosa Khutor, which is basically a ski village somewhat similar to Beaver Creek Village, Vail Village or the village at Copper Mountain.

All of the buildings are new or near new, with tons of hotels. The first floor of the buildings generally have retail — souvenir shops, clothing boutiques and restaurants. Everything faces the river, with shops and hotels on both

sides and lots of bridges between sides. There’s a plaza with a stage for performances.

In the lower part of the valley, there’s the Gorki Media Center, which is a big building with a big press room, information desks, the broadcast center, vending machines with sandwiches and coffee, and private offices for larger news organizations. Here, you can catch buses to just about any venue in the mountains, as well as to the coastal cluster. There are some older neighborhoods around this area, but I haven’t explored them yet.

The Alpine Center, Sliding Center and Extreme Park are all pretty close to each other, in or near the ski resort of Rosa Khutor. The ski jumping facility is also on the same side of the valley.

The cross country center is on the opposite side of the valley, up on the plateau high above the valley floor.

US, Canada to play for women’s hockey gold medal Expected showdown on Thursday

By Jimmy Golen AP Sports Writer

SOCHI, Russia — The United States and Canada will play for the women’s hockey gold medal for the fourth time in the five Olympics since the sport was added to the Winter Games.

“We feel like we’ve prepared all year for this game,” said Natalie Spooner, who scored twice Monday in a 3-1 win against Switzerland to put Canada in the Olympic final.

The U.S. joined them by beating Sweden 6-1. The teams have two days off to prepare for a rematch

of the 1998, 2002 and 2010 gold medal games.

“The last four years, that’s been our goal,” said U.S. forward Julie Chu, a four-time Olympian who has two silver medals and a bronze. “We’re going for a different color this time.”

Megan Bozek and Brianna Decker each had a goal and two assists as the Americans outshot Sweden 70-9. The U.S. has medaled in every Winter Games since women’s hockey was added to the Olympic program in 1998, and just once — with a loss to Sweden in the 2006 semifinals — failed to reach the championship game.

Canada, the three-time defending champion that has played in every Olympic final, will have a chance for a fourth straight gold

after beating Switzerland.

Not since the inaugural tournament in Nagano have the Americans beaten Canada in the Olympics, losing in the championship game in 2002 and ‘10 and again in the preliminary round of the Sochi Games on Wednesday.

Canada and the U.S. played seven times in the run-up to the Olympics, with the U.S. going 4-3.

“We’ve played a lot of great games against them,” Spooner said. “It’s going to be another one of those in the final.

There are 11 players on the U.S. roster who played in the gold medal game in Vancouver, but Chu is the only one who was also in Salt Lake City and Turin. Coach Katey Stone would like to see her get the gold medal.

AP PHOTO

Lyndsey Fry, of the United States, celebrates Megan Bozek’s goal as Goalkeeper Valentina Wallner, of Sweden, sits on her knees during the second period of the women’s semifinal hockey game on Monday at Shayba Arena in Sochi, Russia.

The Vail Daily

20 14 H

| Tuesday, February 18, 2014 | A19

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES Germany wins team gold in Olympic ski jumping

REITER

From page A14 of having fun.

“The idea was to come back and not leave snowboarding on a bad note,” Reiter said.

“When I left, I was super depressed. I was super bummed out. I was angry. You never want to leave something like that.”

And he did have fun, despite not being part of an elite U.S. team — it doesn’t exist for snowboard racing as it does for alpine skiing, halfpipe snowboarding or snowboardcross — or having the notoriety of other winter sports.

“I’m on my own when I’m on the road,” he said. “I coach myself; I tech for myself. I won that silver medal at world championships on my own with no coach, no tech, no support, no doctors, no PTs. It was hugely gratifying and that’s something that should be respected. Because there’s not a lot of people in the world that can do that. ... I’m hoping something similar can happen here.”

Reiter had two top-four finishes on the World Cup circuit this past season, in addition to the silver at Worlds. He came into Sochi this season with a podium finish in the last race before the Olympics.

In the five months leading up the Games, he lived out of his truck, nicknamed “Grayson Steele” in Park City, Utah, so he could focus full-time on training.

He chose to devote himself full-time to racing when he was 18. He grew up in Summit County doing all kinds of snowboarding, including halfpipe with Team Summit.

He attended Silverthorne Elementary School, Dillon Valley Elementary School,

By Dennis Passa AP Sports Writer

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

Justin Reiter is finally at the Olympics.

Summit Middle School and Summit High School, from which he graduated in 1999.

He’ll need to perform well in 10 runs in order to win gold — two qualifying runs and eight head-to-head races in a bracket format.

Reiter competes Wednesday in the giant slalom and Saturday in the slalom.

Remmelink, who has coached Reiter for 11 years, arrived in Sochi a couple days ago, and on Sunday he and Reiter went up to the top of the Rosa Khutor ski resort to have a cup of tea.

“We just reminisced about the journey,” Reiter said. “We worked together for over 10 years in an attempt to get here, coming up short twice. We made it, and now let’s go get a medal.”

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Germany took the lead with one group to go and edged Austria to win the Olympic ski jumping team gold medal on the large hill Monday at the Sochi Games.

The victory ended Austria’s lengthy winning streak in the event. It had won gold in the last two Olympics and hadn’t lost a team large hill competition since the 2005 world championships.

Germany, represented by Andreas Wank, Marinus Kraus, Andres Wellinger and Severin Freund, won its third gold in the Olympic event. Freund’s final jump gave Germany the win by 2.7 points.

Austria was represented by Michael Hayboeck, Thomas Morgenstern, Thomas Diethart and Gregor Schlierenzauer.

Japan, with Reruhi Shimizu, Taku Takeuchi, Daiki Ito and large hill silver medalist Noriaki Kasai, won bronze.

Wank won silver with the German team in Vancouver; his teammates all won their first Olympic medals in Sochi.

“I’ve got silver and now gold,” Wank said.

“I think it was really close competition ... now we will make a big party.”

The silver medal was bittersweet for

AP PHOTO

Germany’s Andreas Wank, left, hugs his teammates after winning the gold during the ski jumping large hill team competition on Monday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. three-time Olympic champion Morgenstern, who was badly injured in a fall in early January and almost didn’t make it to Sochi. He then failed to qualify for the final round of the individual large hill event, finishing 40th.

Norway, the birthplace of Nordic combined, but a nation that has never won an Olympic team title in ski jumping, led after the opening two groups of the first round. But Austria edged ahead on Diethart’s jump of 136 meters, leaving the defending champions in first place with one group to go in the opening round.

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A20 | Wednesday, February 19, 2014 | The Vail Daily

20 14 XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES H

For continuing coverage, go to vaildaily.com/sochi

Maze adds giant slalom to downhill gold Soft snow makes race an adventure

By Howard Fendrich AP Sports Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — This, Tina Maze can say now, was what she had in mind all along: An Olympic performance that hadn’t been seen in 42 years.

So what if she struggled for race after race on the World Cup circuit, unable to duplicate her record-setting season of a year ago?

So what if things grew so dire that she felt compelled to hire a new coach last month?

“This season’s plan,” Maze insisted Tuesday, “was to show my best here.”

Well, if so, it worked. Dealing with the wild weather better than anyone — the thick snowflakes at the top of the hill, the rain in the middle, the sleet at the bottom — Maze turned in a fantastic opening leg and a sufficient second run to win the giant slalom for her second gold medal of the Sochi Games, after last week’s downhill.

The Slovenian skier is the first woman since Marie-Theres Nadig of Switzerland at the 1972 Sapporo Games with enough versatility to master the downhill’s test of pure speed and the giant slalom’s more technical turns at the same Olympics.

AP PHOTO

Slovenia’s Tina Maze celebrates taking the lead in the second run of the women’s giant slalom at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on Tuesday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Maze won gold in the event.

‘THE BEST’ “I’m trying,” Maze said, “to be the best.”

She certainly was that during the 2012-13 World Cup season, winning 11 races en route to the overall title and a record point total. This season, though, Maze was hardly herself for months at a time, failing to earn a victory until her 22nd race, a downhill in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, on Jan. 25. That was a couple of weeks after she installed a new coach, a change her boyfriend, Andrea

Massi, called “a difficult decision.”

As for the dip in form up until now, Massi said: “Maybe she was just keeping it in her pocket for the Olympics.”

On Tuesday, her first run — when she was the first racer down the hill, a big advantage on soft snow — gave her a lead of nearly a half-second, and so she was the last of the top 30 skiers to go in the second session. Her two-leg time of 2 minutes, 36.87 seconds edged super-G gold medalist Anna Fenninger of Austria by

0.07 seconds. Defending champion Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany got the bronze, 0.27 slower than Maze.

More than 50 seconds off the pace, arriving 67th of the 67 women who finished both runs, was pop violinist Vanessa-Mae, who competed for Thailand as Vanessa Vanakorn, using the surname of her Thai father.

SHIFFRIN DEBUTS Mikaela Shiffrin, the 18-yearold American who will be favored

in Friday’s slalom, was fifth in the giant slalom, her Olympic debut, a half-second off the pace.

“I wanted a gold, but ... I think this was meant to happen,” Shiffrin said. “And it’s something I’m going to learn from. Next Olympics I go to, I’m sure as heck not getting fifth.”

She gave credit to the medalists for faring so well in the shifting conditions, something her father, Jeff, also noted.

“I think, and it’s just a personal bias, that these are the kind of conditions that years of experience help you with,” Jeff Shiffrin said. “All sorts of different snow conditions and raining and fog and da-da-da-da-da, and some of the older ladies were able to turn that a little bit to their advantage today.”

One racer, sixth-place finisher Maria Pietilae-Holmner of Sweden, called the way the snow felt to “skiing on sugar.”

Probably not a coincidence that Maze, Fenninger and Rebensburg all have won Olympic golds in the past.

“You’ve got to be the strongest mentally on days like today,” said American Resi Stiegler, who was 29th.

The 30-year-old Maze, who earned silvers in the giant slalom and super-G at the 2010

GIANT SLALOM, A26

Shiffrin says fifth place was ‘meant to happen’ Eagle-Vail racer turns in solid performance in rain, snow, fog

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Mikaela Shiffrin thought she might win her first giant slalom at the Sochi games, in her very first Olympic race.

But she didn’t, and she’s OK with that.

At 18, she figures she has many more years to try.

“I wanted a gold, but also, as I said, I think this was meant to happen and it’s something I’m going to learn from. And next Olympics I go to, I’m sure as heck not getting fifth,” Shiffrin, of Eagle-Vail, said from the finish area Tuesday at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center.

Shiffrin put together two solid runs without major mistakes in challenging conditions. It was pouring cold rain at the bottom

of the course, foggy in the middle and snowing at the top.

“It boiled down to a couple turns, mostly on the pitch, where I slid my skis a little bit and the other girls arced it,” she said.

Slovenian Tina Maze won the gold, her second of these games.

She also took the gold in the downhill.

“It was a great day for me, but as you can see, the weather was playing games with us,” Maze said.

Austrian Anna Fenninger took silver, her second medal of the games, and German Viktoria Rebensburg, who won this event at the 2010 Olympics, got the bronze.

As for the other Americans, Resi Stiegler was 29th and Megan McJames was 30th.

Stiegler said she couldn’t see anything during the first run — she had to wipe her goggles twice.

She complimented the women who were able to race well in those conditions, including her teammate Shiffrin.

“I think she did quite well,”

Stiegler said. “It’s her first Olympics, and she has a lot of pressure on herself. Anything can happen at the Olympics, and she should be happy with how she did today just because it was her first Olympics and it was very difficult today.”

‘SHE WAS READY’ Shiffrin’s father, Jeff, watched from the stands.

“I’ve been able to watch her execute some training this week up close, and that told me she was doing great and she was ready,” he said. “Today, you really can’t see the skiing. I could see there was no huge mistakes.”

The Shiffrins arrived on Saturday and were able to see the men’s super-G on Sunday, where Andrew Weibrecht and Bode Miller podiumed for the United States. Jeff Shiffrin said the family has been able to eat some meals with Mikaela, but can’t spend too much time with her prior to her races.

“Basically, this is a job for her, and I try not to interfere,” he

AP PHOTO

Eagle-Vail’s Mikaela Shiffrin passes a gate in the first run of the women’s giant slalom at the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on Tuesday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. In her first Olympic action of her career, Shiffrin finished in fifth place. said. “If she were to come visit me at work, I wouldn’t change my routine just because she was there.”

Mikaela will race again in her top discipline, slalom, on Friday.

As for the GS, she’ll study what went right and wrong Tuesday and still push for her first win.

She reached the GS podium for

the first time earlier this season at Beaver Creek.

“I was really thinking that my first GS win would be at the Olympics, and that would be such a cool thing to accomplish, but it’s just something that I accept,” she said. “I got fifth today and there are four girls who skied better than I did.”

The Vail Daily

20 14 H

| Wednesday, February 19, 2014 | A23

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Wise wins ski halfpipe’s first gold medal Tuesday Dialed-back run in snowy conditions tops field

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By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — As the wet snow continued to fall Tuesday at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Center, David Wise called an audible.

The big “Sochi run” that he had planned for months, that he was dying to throw down in halfpipe skiing’s Olympic debut, was out due to deteriorating conditions.

So was the “B” run.

The pipe was so sketchy that he had to resort to the “C” run.

On this day, Wise’s “C” run was better than anyone’s best. He barely carried enough speed into his final hit to attempt the right-side double-cork 1260, but he landed it perfectly.

He raised his arms in triumph of what would be a gold-medal winning run.

‘LONG ROAD FOR FREESKIING’ “It’s been a long road for freeskiing to get into the Olympics at all, and I’ve been part of it for a long time, trying to get the recognition that we need to get into the

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

Northstar-sponsored rider David Wise, of Reno, Nev., speaks to reporters after winning the gold medal in the men’s ski halfpipe competition in the Sochi Winter Olympics on Tuesday.

Olympics and get the nod. … To be representing as the first-ever gold medalist in freeski halfpipe is amazing.”

Canadian Justin Dorey had one last shot to unseat Wise from the gold-medal spot.

He landed a double-cork 1260, but fell on his third hit.

Veteran Mike Riddle, of Canada, won

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A26 | Wednesday, February 19, 2014 | The Vail Daily

20 14 H

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Czechs beat Slovakia in Olympic hockey, 5-3 Jagr and company face US in quarters

shots he faced and finished with 24 saves.

The Czechs opened the Sochi Games with 4-2 loss to Sweden, beat Latvia by the same score and lost 1-0 to Switzerland in the preliminary round.

The winless Slovaks, who finished fourth and fifth at the last two Olympics, were perhaps the most disappointing hockey team at the Olympics.

Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, of the many NHL standouts on the Slovaks’ team, said he wished he knew why his team fared so poorly.

By Larry Lage AP Hockey Writer

SOCHI, Russia — Roman Cervenka scored for a second time late in the second period to give the Czech Republic a four-goal lead, and it went on to beat Slovakia 5-3 on Tuesday and advance to an Olympic quarterfinal match against the United States.

“We’re one game away to play for a medal and that’s pretty special,” David Krejci said after scoring the third of the Czechs’ first-period goals.

The Slovaks pulled within a goal in the third, but their loss was sealed when Andrej Meszaros was called for slashing with 53 seconds left. They pulled their goaltender to create an evenstrength situation and Tomas Plekanec scored an empty-net goal 14 seconds later for the Czechs.

“We got the job done, that’s the most important thing,” said Krejci, a Boston Bruins forward.

‘THERE’S NO EASY GAMES’ The Czech Republic will play the Americans on Wednesday for a spot in the semifinals.

“It will be a tough game, but at this point in the tournament there’s no easy games,” said Ales Hemsky, who scored the Czechs’ first goal 6:53 after the puck dropped. “So anyone can win against anybody.”

Ondrej Pavelec, who stopped

‘MILLION-DOLLAR QUESTION’

AP PHOTO

Czech Republic forward Roman Cervenka’s shot lands in the net during the first period against Slovakia at Shayba Arena on Tuesday in Sochi, Russia. The Czechs are set to play the United States in the quarterfinals.

29 shots, didn’t give up a goal until Slovakia’s Marian Hossa scored with 1:03 left in the second period.

Hossa scored again, off a rebound, midway through the third period. Tomas Surovy’s slap shot made the final 11-plus minutes intense in the elimination game until the costly late penalty.

“We came close, but it was too little too late,” said Slovakia’s Michal Handzus.

The rivals used to be a part

GIANT SLALOM

From page A20

Olympics, is quite close to already having four medals in Sochi. She was fourth in the super-combined, and fifth in the super-G — in each instance, merely a 10th of a second out of third place.

Between Tuesday’s GS runs, Maze watched some of Slovenia’s 4-0 victory over Austria to reach the quarterfinals in men’s hockey.

“The guys were so good, they just gave me this will to show even more,” Maze said.

NOTABLE ABSENCE One noteworthy absence from the giant slalom was Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany, who has a gold and silver from the Sochi Olympics but has breathing problems from a cold and is hoping that rest will allow her to be ready for the slalom.

It’s hardly surprising someone might get sick, given the way the weather swung from sunny and above 50 degrees (10 Celsius) last week to damp and dank and about 32 degrees (0 Celsius) on Tuesday.

And yet Maze seemed to enjoy it. When she crossed the finish line and saw on the scoreboard that she’d won, she belly-flopped onto the slushy snow and pretended to swim the breaststroke.

“We are all wet, so I said, ‘Why not?’” Maze said. “It’s been a great day for me.”

one nation until 1993, when Czechoslovakia split into the two countries.

Jaromir Jagr and goaltender Dominik Hasek helped the Czechs win gold in 1998, the first Olympics with NHL players, and bronze in 2006. While Hasek has retired, the 42-year-old Jagr is still skating, shooting and setting up teammates.

The five-time Olympian assisted on Cervenka’s first goal midway through the first period,

HALFPIPE

From page A23

silver, and Frenchman Kevin Rolland took the bronze.

Wise’s wife, Alexandra — holding a giant cut-out of their 2-yearold daughter, Nayeli, who didn’t make the trip to Russia — his twin sisters, Christy and Jessica, and his parents, Tom and Kathy, burst into celebration.

“We brought Nayeli, kind of,” Alexandra said. “She has to be here.”

Wise, of Reno, Nev., is a father, husband and youth group leader.

His teenage teammates call Wise, at 23 years old, “Dad.” Wise is not your typical freeskier, but now he is the face of the sport as it’s exposed to a whole new audience as an Olympic discipline.

“I just want people to be excited about freeskiing,” he said. “I think it’s cool, it’s exciting, it’s really unique, and I want more people to ski.”

Wise grew up in Reno, ski racing around the Tahoe area with his sisters, on the Mount Rose and Alpine Meadows ski teams.

“His coaches would always get mad because he was off in the park screwing around,” Christy said.

putting the puck on his stick with a centering pass in front of the net.

Jagr has been around long enough that he played for Czechoslovakia at the 1991 Canada Cup — when he was 19 — after helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win the first of two straight NHL titles.

Slovakia goaltender Ian Laco, a Kontinental Hockey League backup starting ahead of St. Louis Blues standout Jaroslav Halak, gave up three goals on the first 13

“He would cut out of the race course so he could hit the jump at the bottom,” Jessica said.

He finally convinced his dad to let him go half-time, then full-time to freestyle.

Wise had some success — winning smaller competitions but not the big ones — but really put things together after he got married and had a baby.

“Being a dad has really changed my approach to life in general,” Wise said. “I think it’s more important to be a good husband and father than to be a great skier. It kind of takes the pressure off. I can come out here and do what I love to do and they support me.”

Ski & Snowboard Club Vail athlete and Vail Ski & Snowboard Academy student Aaron Blunck, of Crested Butte, finished seventh. He reflected on the positives of his journey, saying he was thrilled to be part of the Olympics.

“For the debut of freeskiing, it’s just going to make everything bigger and better, and I hope to see a lot more kids doing the sport,” he said.

Aspen’s Torin Yater-Wallace didn’t make finals after failing to put together a clean run.

“Not my night, but was freeskiing’s,” he tweeted.

“That’s the million-dollar question. It’s tough to say,” Chara said. “We had a rough game the first game against the U.S. That game kind of put us really down mentally, our confidence was not there. But we bounced back against Russia and played our strongest game of this tournament. We thought we would follow up on that game and obviously we didn’t.

“It’s a big disappointment and we’ll have to look back and figure out what went wrong.”

Their best showing was Sunday in a shootout loss to Russia, when which Laco made 36 saves to earn a chance to play ahead of Halak. He was pulled from a rout to the Americans and had a goalsagainst average of more than five in two losses.

Slovakia coach Vladimir Vujtek said he stuck with Laco because of how well he played against the Russians.

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

David Wise’s sisters, Christy, left, and Jessica, center, and his wife, Alexandra, right, celebrate Tuesday after he clinched the gold medal in the men’s ski halfpipe competition.

The Vail Daily

| Thursday, February 20, 2014 | A17

20 14 XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES H

For continuing coverage, go to vaildaily.com/sochi

Ted Ligety is Olympic GS champion American gets missing medal of his collection

By Howard Fendrich AP Sports Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — This was the race Ted Ligety knew he should win.

So did everybody else.

And that, Ligety explained Wednesday after becoming the first American man in Olympic history with two Alpine skiing gold medals, was precisely what made the feat so tough.

Sometimes, being a popular pick can be overwhelming. Ligety learned that four years ago, and dealt with the matter far better on this day.

Scraping the snow with his gloves and hips while taking wide turns around gates, his body swaying left and right with a pendulum’s precision, Ligety finished the two-leg giant slalom with a combined time of 2 minutes, 45.29 seconds, winning by nearly a half-second.

His gold is the first for the U.S. Alpine team at the Sochi Games.

Yet Ligety’s overriding emotion as he fell to the ground in the finish area was something other than pure joy.

“It was a huge relief,” said Ligety, a 29-year-old based in Park City, Utah. “All season long, everybody talks about the Olympics, Olympics, Olympics. At a certain point, I was just like, ‘Let’s do it already.

Let’s get this thing over with, so we can stop talking about the

pressure and everything with it.’ So it’s awesome to ... finally do it and get the monkey off the back.”

He used a perfect first run to open a wide lead of nearly a second, then protected that with a conservative second run that was only 14th-fastest down the Rosa Khutor course as the sun peeked out from behind a nearby peak and through sparse clouds. All in all, much more comfortable conditions than the fog, rain and sleet of a day earlier.

‘FIRST RUN WAS FLAWLESS’ “His first run was flawless, free.

He trusted himself. It was his signature skiing,” U.S. men’s head coach Sasha Rearick said. “The second run was a strategic chess match, which he executed brilliantly.”

France earned its first Alpine medals of the Sochi Olympics, with Steve Missillier producing the day’s top second leg to earn silver, 0.48 seconds behind Ligety.

Alexis Pinturault got the bronze, another 0.16 back. Overall World Cup leader Marcel Hirscher of Austria was fourth, while Bode Miller was 20th in what was his last race of the Sochi Games — and, given that he’ll be 40 in 2018, probably of his Olympic career.

Miller, who has won a U.S.-record six Alpine medals, said other racers try to copy Ligety’s revolutionary style in the giant slalom, but “he’s so much better at it than everybody else.”

Ligety maintains momentum by fluidly linking his turns, one into the next, actually taking a longer

AP PHOTO

Ted Ligety takes a gate wide during the men’s giant slalom Wednesday at the Sochi Winter Olympics. Ligety took first with a combined time of 2 minutes, 45.29 seconds and won the second gold medal of his career. path down the slope by steering so far from each gate. Opponents cut much closer to gates, but then lose valuable hundredths of a second each time they jerk their bodies in a different direction.

“He carries so much speed and doesn’t make mistakes. Those are the things that separate him,” Miller explained. “Other guys carry speed for a couple of turns and struggle a bit. He just carries it smooth from top to bottom.”

Asked whether Ligety could have been beaten, Missillier replied: “It is impossible. For me and, I think, for all racers.”

The only other American with a pair of Olympic Alpine golds is Andrea Mead Lawrence, winner of the women’s slalom and giant slalom in 1952.

Eight years ago, at the Turin Games, Ligety grabbed gold in the combined, the very first Olympic event of his career. Oh, how easy everything must have seemed then. He was 21, went from unknown to champion in a blink.

Then came the disappointment of Vancouver four years ago, when Ligety arrived at the Olympics as early as anyone and “just got stale,” as Rearick put it. Expected

to shine again, Ligety failed to finish one of his events and came in fifth, ninth and 19th in others.

“Maybe that’s one of the things he learned in Vancouver, that you’ve got to push it. You can’t play it too safe,” said Ligety’s mother, Cyndi Sharp.

Ligety agrees with that assessment. He used what happened in 2010 to drive his tremendous success since, particularly in his best event. He won the giant slalom at the 2011 and 2013 world championships, and he’s won nine of 14 GS races in the World Cup over the last two seasons.

Ligety breathes a golden sigh of relief Mr. GS finally gets the monkey off his back

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Ted Ligety, his family, his friends, his coaches and his fans all breathed a collective sign of relief.

Ligety demolished the competition and won the gold medal Wednesday in the discipline he dominates on the alpine skiing World Cup circuit.

It’s what everyone expected to happen.

But ski racing, being ski racing, is unpredictable. A straddled gate could mean four more years of heartbreak; four more years of questions, the same he has faced since his ninth-place giant slalom finish in Vancouver.

“It was pretty hard to watch,”

said Ted’s father, Bill. “The expectation was so high, and in ski racing it’s so easy to have little things go wrong.”

“It was very exciting, but it was very nerve-racking,” said Ted’s mother, Cyndi Sharp.

Ligety skied to a lead of 0.93 seconds in the first run, and skied a solid second run to take the gold by 0.48 seconds at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center.

“It was a huge relief,” Ligety said. “I’ve been waiting to win this medal for my whole life. …

All season long, everyone talks about the Olympics, Olympics, Olympics. At a certain point, I was like, ‘Let’s do it already. Let’s just get this thing over so we can stop talking about the pressure and everything with it.’ It’s awesome to be able to come here and be able to compete and finally do it and get the monkey off the back.”

His coach, Sasha Rearick,

echoed Ligety word for word: “To be honest, it’s a huge relief.”

AN AMERICAN FIRST Ligety, a 29-year-old Park City, Utah, native, becomes the first male American alpine skier to win two golds. He also won gold in the super combined in 2006 at the Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.

He failed to medal at the Vancouver Games in 2010, and he has said that was motivation to never leave any time on the hill — to always ski to his full potential.

Since then, he has won 15 of the 31 World Cup giant slaloms. He has now won the last three major GS races, including the 2011 and 2013 World Championships.

“He’s shown for several years that he’s the best GS skier,” said teammate Bode Miller, who finished 20th.

After two days of heavy fog, rain and snow — the women’s giant slalom race Tuesday was run with

AP PHOTO

American Ted Ligety celebrates after winning the gold medal in the men’s giant slalom at the Sochi Winter Olympics on Wednesday. heavy rain at the base — the skies cleared Wednesday.

Steve Missillier, of France, won the silver medal and Alexias Pinturault, also of France, got the bronze. Ligety’s GS rival, Marcel

Hirscher, of Austria, ended up in fourth place.

Among the other Americans, Tim Jitloff was 15th and Jared

LIGETY, A23

A30 | Friday, February 21, 2014 | The Vail Daily

20 14 XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES H

For continuing coverage, go to vaildaily.com/sochi

American Bowman skis to gold in pipe Sarah Burke remembered

By Eddie Pells AP National Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Sarah Burke’s parents looked up the hill and saw the halfpipe workers making one last trip down in the formation of a heart.

They looked the other direction and saw the scoreboard: Maddie Bowman of the United States won gold, Marie Martinod of France took silver and Ayana Onozuka of Japan took bronze.

All around them Thursday, Burke’s parents saw their late daughter’s dreams play out on a crisp, clear night in the mountains above Sochi — a night her dad, Gord Burke, called “perfect.”

His daughter had succeeded not only in bringing women’s halfpipe skiing to the Olympics, but also to the world.

“Far beyond what I thought it would be,” said Gord Burke, who traveled to Russia from Toronto and spent the entire night smiling. “I never really imagined so much love for one person. So much passion and energy.”

Burke was the Canadian freeskiing icon — a four-time winner of the Winter X Games

— who fought hard, first to get women involved in her sport, then to take it to the highest level.

“If she wasn’t skiing in the pipe, progressing the sport, she was talking to the right people and sending the right emails,” said Burke’s husband, Rory Bushfield.

“Gracefully is how she did it.”

WHAT COULD’VE BEEN The International Olympic Committee added halfpipe and slopestyle skiing to the program in 2011. Less than a year later, Burke died after suffering fatal injuries during a training run in the halfpipe. She was 29 and would have almost certainly been the favorite in this event had she been here.

This was still her night, and none of the 23 skiers who dropped into the pipe could argue with that.

Including the gold-medal winner, Bowman. The 20-year-old from South Lake Tahoe, Calif., felt like an outsider when she started in the sport and called meeting Burke “the coolest moment of my life.”

“The first time she met Sarah, she was off by herself,” said Bowman’s mom, Susan. “Sarah saw that she was by herself and brought her over, introduced herself and brought her into the group. It was pretty amazing.”

The silver medalist, Martinod, quit the sport seven years ago.

She had a daughter, Melirose, and worked at a nightclub back home in France. One day about three years ago, Burke came knocking on her door, telling her she needed to un-retire, because the show was going to the Olympics and she wanted to make sure all the best women were there.

“I’m thinking of Sarah every day,” said the 29-year-old Frenchwoman, who painted snowflakes on her fingernails to match the tattoo Burke had on her foot.

“I think I didn’t say goodbye to Sarah yet and I still have to do it, and now I feel I’m able to do it because I did what she asked me to do.”

The bronze medalist, Onozuka, was an Alpine skier before Burke helped get her version of freestyle skiing into the Olympics.

That opened up opportunities in Japan, which has won three medals in the halfpipe at the Sochi Games — the other two came in men’s snowboarding.

“I decided to take up a new profession,” Onozuka said.

‘DREAM WITHOUT FEAR’ Burke’s mom, Jan Phelan, wore a bright purple jacket over an aqua T-shirt that said “Dream

HALFPIPE GOLD, A36

AP PHOTO

David Wise, of the United States, the men’s halfpipe gold medal winner, picks up Maddie Bowman after she won the gold medal in the women’s ski halfpipe final at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Thursday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.

Bowman exceeds expectations, brings home gold South Lake Tahoe skier tops first-ever women’s Olympic halfpipe competition

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Maddie Bowman dropped into the pipe under the lights. She was leading the competition, but the formidable Frenchwoman Marie Martinod was waiting in the wings.

“Come on, sweetie,” Bowman’s dad, Bill, yelled from the crowd.

Maddie cleanly landed a right-spinning 900 — two and a half rotations — and a left-spinning 540 — one and a half rotations — with a mute grab.

“Good job!” her father screamed.

She continued down the pipe with a left cork 900 and a right 720.

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM AP PHOTO

Maddie Bowman waits for her score on Thursday after her first run in the women’s ski halfpipe final at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park at the Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.

“Maddie B! Maddie B!” said her grandmother, Lorna Perpall, wearing a stars and stripes head scarf.

She landed her final trick a switch 720, and the crowd exploded.

The score was an 89, the highest of the day. Up on the big screen, Maddie Bowman, who is 20, opened her month and put her hands to her cheeks like Macauley Culkin in “Home Alone.”

But Martinod was still to come.

Maddie Bowman’s grandmother Lorna Perpall, and mother, Sue Bowman, embrace after Maddie won gold Thursday night in the women’s Olympic halfpipe competition.

‘ALLEZ, MARIE’ The raucous French fans wore sunglasses, white hats and red capes, blew whistles and chanted: “Allez, Marie!”

Martinod, 29, had retired but come back to compete for a gold medal at the urging of Sarah Burke, a pioneer of freeskiing who died in a training accident in a Park City, Utah, halfpipe two years ago. Burke was on the minds of many competitors in Thursday’s first-ever women’s Olympic ski halfpipe event.

Martinod’s run was spectacular, but she skidded slightly on the landings.

The score came up: 85.4.

Maddie Bowman, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., had won the gold.

The Bowman family looked at the scoreboard, then at each other in shock. Their eyes welled up with tears.

“I can’t believe it,” Perpall said again and again.

Perpall, 78, who lives in Placerville, Calif., traveled to Russia at the insistence of Maddie Bowman, her oldest granddaughter.

They are extremely close. She wore a shirt that said “Badass

BOWMAN, A36

The Vail Daily

20 14 H

| Friday, February 21, 2014 | A33

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Del Bosco finds tough luck at Sochi Winter Olympics

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Changing conditions slow down Eagle-Vail native in ski cross quarterfinals

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By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — A couple of misjudged jumps and some bad luck.

That was all it took to knock Eagle-Vail native Chris Del Bosco out of the Olympic ski cross competition on Thursday.

“You can be skiing well and be the fastest guy, and one little mistake and it’s over,” said Del Bosco, who had the second-fastest qualifying time earlier in the day. “That’s what I love and hate about it. I love it when it goes your way and hate it when it doesn’t go your way.”

Del Bosco, who races for Canada, had a great start to the quarterfinal heat, but he didn’t cleanly clear a couple of jumps at the top, losing speed. Changing snow conditions on the warm and sunny day at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park made judging the jumps difficult, he said.

One of the other racers then clipped his tails, and Del Bosco could never recover.

DEL BOSCO, A36

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A36 | Friday, February 21, 2014 | The Vail Daily

20 14 H

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

HALFPIPE GOLD

From page A30

Without Fear” — a credo the family uses to promote the Sarah Burke Foundation, which funds winter sports athletes who need a boost.

For a while now, Bushfield, Phelan and Gord Burke have known this trip was coming. They didn’t hesitate to make it.

“It was Sarah’s dream to be here, so, we’re here,” Phelan said. “The halfpipe is opening for the women and I miss her like crazy. It really hasn’t been too hard until right now.

The moment.”

Burke’s father spent the contest shifting attention between the action in the halfpipe to the people who came to meet him and shake his hand. He shared stories, including a few about the early days, when his daughter would head to men-only contests and ask, politely, if she could sign up.

“They’d say, ‘We’d love to have you but we can’t give you a girl’s event if there are no girls,’” Burke said. “So, she’d ski against the guys. Then, she’d be out there encouraging her friends to get involved. She just had that dream that the girls could have fun out there, too.”

They had fun Thursday night. Bowman was the star.

HIGH-FLYING TRICKS Her runs were technically precise and high flying. The winning score of 89 came thanks to one straight-air jump more than 10 feet above the halfpipe, followed by a pair of 900-degree spins, along with two 720-degree spins, one of which she landed backward.

But the most winning moment may have

SKI CROSS

From page A32

Rather than advance to the semifinals, Oehling Norberg ended up third when his last-second lunge with his arms was edged out by Korotkov’s flop across the line.

“I just lost my balance,” Oehling Norberg said. “It’s my fault.”

That wasn’t always the case in an event where hard luck doesn’t necessarily lead to hard feelings.

DEL BOSCO NARROWLY MISSES Chris Del Bosco of Canada narrowly missed out on bronze in Vancouver in 2010 when he smashed into a gate in the finals.

In Sochi, he was second fastest in qualifying, then went out in the first round of elimination races after failing to find any sort of rhythm over the series of rolling mounds, banked turns and a massive leap at the end that is the equivalent of jumping out of a six-story building at 50 mph.

John Teller of the U.S. spent most of a first-round elimination race battling with Midol for position. Three times they touched, with Teller losing his momentum after the final clash, his unlikely pursuit of an Olympic medal gone.

“That’s ski cross,” the part-time auto mechanic said.

Maybe, but the 24-year-old Chapuis has discovered consistency in a sport where every trip down the mountain is equal parts courage and chance.

The former alpine skier won the world championship last year and had four top-10 World Cup finishes this season. He spent some time in Turkey last week trying to “reset” his body for the bruising Olympic course in the Caucasus Mountains.

While short on details about his

Maddie Bowman, of South Lake Tahoe, Calif., catches air out of the halfpipe during Thursday’s women’s ski halfpipe event at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Bowman won the women’s superpipe title at the 2014 Winter X Games in Aspen.

AP PHOTO

Maddie Bowman celebrates her gold medal in the women’s ski halfpipe on Thursday at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park at the Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. come a few minutes after her first run, when one of Bowman’s main competitors, American Brita Sigourney, fell hard and scraped her face on the bottom of the pipe, leaving a nasty gash in her nose. Sigourney’s coaches and medical staff rushed out to help her. Rushing up right behind them in her ski boots was the woman wearing bib No. 2 — Bowman.

“I think all the girls came out here and showed the world who we are and what we do,” she said. “I think everyone should be proud of that tonight.”

Long after Bowman had sealed her win and the music and the fanfare had ebbed, Burke’s parents lingered in the stands, going over the evening.

The consensus: A beautiful night.

“The spirit here was so good,” Phelan said. “Sarah would’ve loved it.”

preparation — “It is my secret, I’m not going to tell you,” he said with a laugh — Chapuis was dedicated to the vision his team had of making a statement in what is now France’s best-ever showing in the Winter Games.

“We had set some goals for ourselves,” Chapuis said. “I’m not the only one. Our entire team, we were training all summer.

We all had really serious training so we wouldn’t stay behind.”

The Frenchmen rarely were while pushing their country’s medal total in Sochi to 14, well above the 11 France won in both Salt Lake City and Vancouver.

While Chapuis’ gold may not have been a surprise, it was a stunner to find his two good friends flanking him on the podium.

In six years of World Cup racing, Bovolenta had never finished higher than sixth. Midol had only reached one final, finishing fourth, since joining the national team in 2011.

Bovolenta hardly seemed bothered by the smooth pass for the lead Chapuis made early in the final. Chapuis is the better skier and the team leader. Bovolenta called the finish “perfect,” perhaps because he spent most of it tucked in behind Chapuis trying to protect his silver medal.

Behind them, Midol was busy fending off Canadian Brady Leman, whose attempts to break up a sweep ended when he lost an edge and wiped out two-thirds of the way down the mountain.

The three good friends draped themselves in the French flag afterward, giddy as the vision of which they had long spoke had come to life.

“It’s a great victory,” Chapuis said. “It shows what kind of work we have done.”

And the work there still is to do.

“We’ll drink a little bit,” Midol said. “We’ll see. A big party it will be.”

AP PHOTO

BOWMAN

Grandma” with the American flag.

The flower ceremony took place on a podium behind a barrier, out of view of the family.

“But tomorrow they’ll have the medal ceremony, and I’m going to be there!”

Perpall said. “It’s just such an incredible feeling. It’s really quite indescribable.”

Her younger brother, Alec, who is also a competitive freeskier, celebrated with the family.

“I knew she had it in her,” he said. “I could tell.”

family felt relieved that she could deliver on expectations.

“I had all sorts of thoughts going through my mind, especially the last few days, but wasn’t sure what was going to happen,” Bill Bowman said. “She got it done.”

All four Americans made the final. Brita Sigourney was sixth, Annalisa Drew was ninth, and Angeli VanLaanen was 11th.

Drew, who trains with Ski and Snowboard Club Vail, attempted a 1260 on her second run but couldn’t land it.

“I’m so excited,” she said. “I’m so happy to be here. I’m just happy to make it into finals, to be honest, and I did that.”

RUNS IN THE FAMILY

‘ALL THE EMOTIONS’

Maddie Bowmans’ mom is a ski-racing coach and her dad is a former racer who runs racing programs, but they both said they never pushed Maddie to compete, either as a racer, which she did until she was 16, or as a freeskier.

“She pushes herself,” Sue Bowman said.

“She’s really self-motivated.”

Maddie had been the gold-medal favorite in Thursday’s competition, and the

Maddie Bowman finally made her way over to the reporters waiting to speak to her, with an American flag draped around her shoulders. What was she thinking?

What was she feeling?

“I’m thinking and feeling that this isn’t real,” she said. “I think I was pretty shocked when it happened and happy and excited and all the emotions. All of them.”

From page A30

DEL BOSCO

From page A33

“Just bummed out,” he said. “I was skiing so well and couldn’t adapt to the conditions, and that was it.”

TOUGH LUCK Canadian ski cross coach Eric Archer lamented the bad luck for Del Bosco.

“He was sitting OK in second place and then the guy from behind got between his skis and just kind of wiped his tails out,” Archer said. “There’s not much you can do about that, and it happens all the time.”

Del Bosco’s parents, Pam and Armando “Del” Del Bosco cheered Chris loudly with a strong contingent of Canadians.

“He’s been skiing well all week,” said Del Del Bosco. “One mistake. That’s all it took.”

Del Bosco had two top-five finishes in World Cup races this past month in Val Thorens, France, after getting off to a slow start this year. This past season, he was out for much of the year with a shoulder injury, but came back to place second in the test event in Sochi.

He placed an agonizing fourth in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics after he

attempted to go for a pass to improve his bronze-medal position.

His Sochi finish is even tougher to accept, he said.

“Anywhere not on the podium sucks, but to go out in the first round when you know you’re skiing well is tough to swallow,” Del Bosco said.

FRANCE SWEEPS PODIUM France swept the podium. Jean Frederic Chapuis won gold, Arnaud Bovolenta took silver and Jonathan Midol got the bronze.

American John Teller did not advance out of the quarterfinals.

Del Bosco, 31, was a junior national champion alpine ski racer but was kicked off the U.S. team and stripped of his title because of problems with drugs and alcohol. He committed to becoming sober and, thanks to a chance encounter, landed with the Canadian team as a ski cross racer (his father was born in Canada).

“I’ve gained so much by the changes I’ve made in my life,” he said. “All this stuff is icing on the cake for me. I get to do what I love to do, and I wouldn’t trade it. Just some days it doesn’t go your way. ... We’ll pick up the pieces and keep going.”

The Vail Daily

| Saturday, February 22, 2014 | A27

20 14 XXII OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES H

For continuing coverage, go to vaildaily.com/sochi

‘A magical moment, I’m just so happy for her’ Shiffrin’s performance gives a scare and joy

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Mikaela Shiffrin was cruising to a gold medal halfway down the slalom course in the Olympics.

Then, in a split-second, everything was in doubt. She hit some soft snow and her left ski went high in the air. She struggled to regain her balance.

“I thought it was over,” said her coach, Roland Pfeifer.

“Roland and I definitely had a heart attack,” said her mom, Eileen.

But, just as quickly, Mikaela aggressively recovered, re-established control and fluidly skied to the finish. She took a moment to look up at the scoreboard, and when she did, she saw that she had won the gold medal by 0.53 seconds.

“I was a little bit scared to look at it,” she said. “I was like, ‘I gave it away, I know it.’”

Shiffrin, 18, of Eagle-Vail, becomes the youngest-ever slalom Olympic gold medalist. It’s the first gold medal in women’s slalom for the United States since Barbara Cochran won in 1972.

The Ski & Snowboard Club Vail alumna has now won an Olympic

gold, a World Championship and a World Cup slalom globe, and she’s still a teenager.

“It’s an amazing feeling to win an Olympic gold, and it’s going to be something that I chalk up as one of my favorite experiences for the rest of my life, but my life’s not over yet,” Shiffrin said.

Shiffrin’s parents, Jeff and Eileen, celebrated in the finish area at Rosa Khutor Alpine Center as reporters mobbed their daughter.

‘MAGICAL MOMENT’ “It’s a magical moment,” said Jeff Shiffrin. “I’m just so happy for her.”

Eileen has traveled on the World Cup circuit with Mikaela, serving as an adviser, representative and coach, as well as mom.

“I think she’s one of the best slalom skiers on the World Cup on any given World Cup,” Eileen said. “On any given day there are a handful of other girls, too, that are awesome slalom skiers. But in my mind, Mikaela — when she skis her best — it’s the best skiing.”

Shiffrin skied a great first run with no major mistakes, building a 0.49-second lead over the next-closest competitor, Maria Hoefl-Riesch, of Germany, the defending champion in the Olympic slalom.

When Shiffrin — the favorite to win — was heading up the lift for the second run, she started to realize how close she was to

AP PHOTO

Eagle-Vail’s Mikaela Shiffrin skis past a gate during the women’s slalom at the Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia. Shiffrin, 18, is the youngest-ever slalom Olympic gold medalist. getting a gold medal, tearing up at the prospect of being an Olympic champion. But she regained her composure, listening to some music and doing word searches.

“She said, ‘You know, I just really like to ski slalom. I’m just going to go ski slalom and not worry about this any more,’” Eileen said.

Under the flood lights after darkness fell for the second run, Hoefl-Riesch faltered, ending up

fourth. Two-time Sochi medal winner Tina Maze, of Slovenia, who sat in third after the first run, couldn’t put anything together in her second run, either, falling to eighth.

Austrian Marlies Schild, the all-time leader in women’s World Cup slalom victories and one of Shiffrin’s role models, put down a blazing second run, the fastest of the day, to finish second and get

the silver. Kathrin Zettel, also of Austria, won the bronze.

‘SHE’S AMAZING’ Shiffrin began her second run by widening her lead, but the bobble in the middle of the course cut it in half. She still recovered to win by more than half a second.

“She’s amazing,” Schild said of

SHIFFRIN, A33

Shiffrin wins Olympic slalom gold medal Friday She’s really only 18?

By Howard Fendrich AP Sports Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Normally so composed, so in control, so not-very-teenlike on and off the slopes, Mikaela Shiffrin suddenly found herself in an awkward position halfway through the second leg of the Olympic slalom.

Guilty, perhaps, of charging too hard as she swayed this way and that around the course’s gates, Shiffrin briefly lost her balance.

Her left ski rose too far off the snow. Her chance at a gold medal in the event she’s dominated for two years was about to slip away.

“Yeah, that was pretty terrifying for me. There I was, I’m like, ‘Grrreat. I’m just going to go win my first medal.’ And then, in the middle of the run, I’m like, ‘Guess not,’” the American said with a laugh Friday night. “So like, ‘No. Don’t do that. Do not give up. You

see this through.’ My whole goal was to just keep my skis moving.”

Somehow, she did just that.

Shiffrin stayed upright, gathered herself and, although giving away precious time there, was able to make a big lead from the first leg stand up. She won by more than a half-second to become, at 18, the youngest slalom champion in Olympic history.

‘MY LIFE’S NOT OVER YET’ “It’s going to be something that I chalk up as one of my favorite experiences for the rest of my life,” Shiffrin said. “But my life’s not over yet.”

No, Mikaela, it’s not. It’s only just beginning. Think about this for a moment: How might a typical American teenager have spent her Friday night? At the mall with friends? At a movie? At a high school dance?

Shiffrin spent hers outracing the best skiers in the world down a floodlit Rosa Khutor course, knocking aside gates with her

neon yellow pole handles. She was fastest in the first run, then sixth-fastest in the second, for a combined time of 1 minute, 44.54 seconds.

A pair of Austrians won silver and bronze: Marlies Schild was 0.53 behind Shiffrin, and Kathrin Zettel was 0.81 back. At 32, Schild is the oldest Olympic slalom medalist ever — old enough to have been someone Shiffrin looked up to as, well, even more of a kid than she is now.

“I won my age class,” Schild joked.

She holds the record with 35 career World Cup slalom wins and now owns three Olympic medals in the discipline, two silvers and a bronze.

CHANNELING MARLIES “You know what’s surreal? That Marlies and Mikaela are on a podium together,” said Shiffrin’s father, Jeff. “Marlies, she’s battled, she’s had injuries, but she’s been the queen of slalom. Mikaela has

AP PHOTO

Gold medal winner Mikaela Shiffrin skis past a gate in the women’s slalom at the Winter Olympics on Friday in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.

Austrians Marlies Schild and Kathrin Zettel rounded out podium. said, ‘I’ve channeled Marlies.’”

Shiffrin has won nine of the last 19 World Cup or world championship slaloms; no one else has won more than two in that span. Last year, her slalom world title made her the youngest champion in any event since 1985.

Talk about precocious. And serious-minded, too. Since she was

about 13, Shiffrin has jotted down thoughts in notebooks, about skiing, yes, but also about what sorts of questions might arise from reporters.

“I first met her when she was 16, and I realized right away that she is one of a kind,” said Roland

SLALOM, A33

The Vail Daily

20 14 H

| Saturday, February 22, 2014 | A33

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Dutch clinch 22nd speedskating medal in Sochi Dominance continues

The Americans will not even have bronze and their elimination assured them the first medal-less Olympics in speedskating since the 1984 Sarajevo Games.

By Raf Casert AP Sports Writer

SOCHI, Russia — One orange-clad team set an Olympic record and another assured the Netherlands of at least a 22nd speedskating medal at the Sochi Games.

In short, it was just another day at the big oval for the Dutch.

And even without a gold medal to skate for, their two pursuit teams dominated with such ease it seemed they hardly broke a sweat. “We have nothing yet,” said Sven Kramer after reaching the final. “Well, yeah, we have a guaranteed silver,” highlighting that only Dutch standard in Sochi is gold.

DUTCH DOMINATE

AMERICANS STRUGGLE It is something traditional powers like the Americans and Norwegians can only dream of. They joined Germany in the knowledge they will not win a single speedskating medal in Sochi.

Both American teams were immediately eliminated in their quarterfinal, completing the first U.S. speedskating shutout in 30 years.

The American men’s trio had an awful start when Jonathan Kuck took too long to catch up with the two ahead of him and never recovered. “We were out of sync,” Shani Davis said. “Probably we didn’t practice it enough.”

The Dutch meanwhile, have been dedicated to the team pursuit since the summer, with lots of practice. It showed. They twice

AP PHOTO

Speedskaters from team Netherlands, from top, Jan Blokhuijsen, Koen Verweij and Sven Kramer compete in the men’s speedskating team pursuit quarterfinals Friday at the Adler Arena Skating Center during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. While the Netherlands have 22 medals from the speedskating events at Sochi, the Americans will not win a single speedskating medal at the Olympics. routed opposition, first France, then Poland, to get to their first final in the event since it was introduced in 2006.

Sven Kramer, Jan Blokhuijsen and Koen Verweij coasted past France by 8.70 seconds in the quarterfinals, then went even faster in the semifinals. Nearly catching Poland and just missing an Olympic record, the Dutch won by a staggering 11.30 after

SLALOM

From page A27

Pfeifer, the U.S. women’s technical coach.

“She wants to know everything about skiing. The way she trains, the volume she trains, she probably is 25 already.”

Shiffrin got a cold while in Russia, so she spent Friday morning drinking orange juice and trying to relax.

After her terrific opening run, she listened to music and did word searches.

Like a kid killing time between classes.

In her Olympic debut, Tuesday’s giant slalom, Shiffrin finished fifth. But the slalom is her specialty.

‘I STARTED TEARING UP’ “I did envision this moment so many times,” said Shiffrin, who wore a starsand-stripes “USA” temporary tattoo on her neck. “On the chairlift ride to the start in the second run, I started crying a little bit. I started tearing up, because I was like, ‘This actually might happen, and I don’t know what to think if it does.’”

Older, more accomplished racers faltered.

Three-time Olympic gold medalist Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany was in second after the afternoon’s opening run but faded to fourth in what she said would be her last Winter Games race.

Tina Maze of Slovenia, who won Sochi

eight loops around the oval.

They will face South Korea in Saturday’s final. Unless the Dutch make a silly mistake — which has happened before — it seems no one can deny them gold.

In that knowledge, Kramer made it clear nothing was assured yet.

“We’ll have to watch out because the Koreans really set a sharp time,” Kramer said. “Shows they will be really good for the final.”

golds in the downhill and giant slalom, went from third in the opening leg to eighth.

“She’s young. She’s free. She doesn’t think too much,” Maze said about Shiffrin.

“She’s just doing it easy. For that age, I’m really impressed.”

Shiffrin’s gold gave the United States five Alpine medals, second to Austria’s seven. With one event remaining, the men’s slalom Saturday, it’s the second-highest total for the U.S., after eight in 2010. That American team, though, had Lindsey Vonn, now sidelined by knee surgery.

For quite some time, Shiffrin has been likened to Vonn, the four-time World Cup champion and two-time Olympic medalist.

Both are based in Colorado. Both are charismatic. Both were successful early and marked for greatness.

“People have said that I’m ‘the next Lindsey Vonn’ several times, and it’s the same thing with being ‘the young Tina Maze’ or whoever. It’s amazing to be compared to them, and I’m really honored to have that comparison. But I don’t want to be ‘the young Tina Maze’ or ‘the next Lindsey Vonn,’” she said. “I want to be Mikaela Shiffrin.”

Which is a pretty good thing to be right now.

Still, the difference is huge, just looking at the skaters. Kramer already won gold in the 5,000 and silver in the 10,000, Verweij was .003 seconds short of gold in the 1,500 and Blokhuijsen took silver in the 5,000. The South Korean team has yet to win a single medal.

Lee Seung-hoon of South Korea knew what he was up against.

“Whatever happens, we will at least have a silver,” he said.

The Dutch are having their best-ever games, and even if the women are not yet assured of another medal since they only had one qualifying run, it is tough to see who will get close to them.

Ireen Wust, Lotte van Beek and Jorien ter Mors gave every indication that they’ll make it 23 medals for the orange wave, setting an Olympic record of 2 minutes, 58.61 seconds while comfortably beating the United States by 3.60 in the quarterfinals.

Like the men, the Dutch women have never won the event. The women lost their quarterfinal pairing to eventual gold medalist Germany in both 2006 and 2010, forcing them to settle for fifthand sixth-place finishes.

Friday’s smooth Olympic record race made Wust, who already has a gold and three silvers in these Olympics, think back of the last failure at the 2010 Vancouver Games. “It makes me think ‘What in God’s name were we doing in Vancouver’?”

Two-time defending champion Germany didn’t even quality for the women’s team pursuit in Sochi, and there appears to be no one who can halt the Dutch.

The only consolation for the other countries at Adler Arena — the Netherlands can win only one medal in each of the team pursuits.

Eagle-Vail’s Mikaela Shiffrin, left, and Austria’s Marlies Schild celebrate winning gold and silver in the women’s slalom Friday at the Winter Olympics in Krasnaya Polyana, Russia.

AP PHOTO

SHIFFRIN

From page A27

Shiffrin. “She’s racing like an athlete that’s skied in World Cup for years. It’s fun to compete against her but it’s also really hard because she’s really good in every condition. …

I think she really deserves this gold medal.”

Dr. Bill Sterett, of Edwards, the head doctor for the women’s team, watched from the start gate and then was in the finish area for the flower ceremony.

“Spectacular,” he said. “It’s a little Vail girl. … To be able to have Mikaela launch into such a big stage from here is just spectacular.”

Shiffrin will now enter a whirlwind of media obligations, from Sochi to New York and beyond, for the foreseeable future.

“From what I’ve heard, there’s a lot more media, but maybe (my life) won’t change so much, it’ll just change in the way I want it to change,” Shiffrin said. “I’m going to be the same girl and still be looking for more speed on the mountain.”

The Vail Daily

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| Sunday, February 23, 2014 | A21

XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Sochi Notes: A day to explore the Olympic scene Editor’s note: In Notes from Sochi, Vail Daily Managing Editor Ed Stoner documents the behind-thescenes adventures, mundaneness and miscellany of his Olympics assignment.

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

SOCHI, Russia — After more than two weeks covering the Olympics, on Saturday I finally had a free day to explore the town.

I arrived to my hotel after 2 a.m. following Mikaela Shiffrin’s historic gold, got some rest and headed out in the late morning to take the train to the coastal cluster.

I walked into the brand-new train station in Krasnaya Polyana, just a short walk from my hotel, and went up the stairs to the track. The train was right there.

It took me a second to figure out how to open the doors — there is a green button you have to press.

The train was pretty empty, and it moves at a good pace down the valley. I had taken this trip several times, but always on the media bus.

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

The Canadian curling team receives its gold medal in the Olympic Park on Saturday.

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

Speed skaters warm up Saturday evening for the team pursuit event in the Adler Arena Skating Center.

STATE-OF-THE-ART TRAIN This state-of-the-art train, along with the accompanying road, cost more than $8 billion to construct. It even has power outlets to charge your phone or laptop while you’re riding along.

It stops at a few stations headed down the valley, and then arrives at the Olympic Park and the Olympic Village.

But on Saturday I stayed on and continued to the town of Sochi, and took in the Black Sea as it appeared out of the left side of the train traveling up the coast through the city of Adler.

When we arrived in Sochi, it was a bit of a shock to be suddenly in an urban environment after spending the past two weeks up in the ski village. There were people everywhere, and it definitely felt more like a “real town” than the brand-new village of Rosa Khutor.

ED STONER | ESTONER@VAILDAILY.COM

The high-speed train travels from the mountain cluster to the coastal cluster to the city of Sochi.

I walked around for a bit, into some busy retail areas, and also into some neighborhoods. On one street, women were selling pets — dogs, hamsters and parakeets.

There were lots of banks, lots of pharmacies.

I headed back to the train station and went to the Olympic Park, via the train in the opposite direction. I took the long walk through the park, stopping early on to grab a tasty donut with

chocolate filling from a vendor.

On the first part of my walk I passed by all of the exhibitor “houses” — Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Volkswagen, Samsung, etc. There was also one for the Russian fans, and one for the Pyeongchang 2018 Games. All of the lines to get into these houses were super long.

A lot of Russian fans come to the Olympic Park, but don’t have tickets to events. They just walk around and check out the flame, the houses, the medals ceremonies and the concessions.

OLYMPIC FIRSTS I headed over to the Adler Arena Skating Center to check out speed skating for the first time.

The team pursuit was happening.

I watched the Netherlands destroy Japan by about 12 seconds.

The Russians also competed to the pleasure of the home contingent, but they lost to Poland.

There was definitely a more international feel in the press area — not a lot of American press.

In the “media lounge” (read: cafeteria) at the venue, I actually had a pretty good meal

— schnitzel with rice and cherry pie. Those coastal cluster chefs really know what they’re doing.

After a short time at the event, I left to go to the Main Press Center, where I had to mail some letters from the post office there.

The MPC has all kinds of things in it for the working journalist such as myself, including a gym, a hair salon, a souvenir shop, a mini-mart, a food court, a McDonald’s and massage chairs.

My next stop was the bronze medal game at the Bolshoy Ice Dome. This stadium is the best-looking one of them all, in my opinion. It’s meant to resemble a frozen ice droplet. The roof actually doubles as a scoreboard.

When I arrived, it was still showing 0-0 between Finland and the United States.

A few minutes later, Finland scored one goal, then another.

The Finnish fans were out in force. There were also a lot of Russians there, and they cheered like crazy when speedskating triple gold medalist Viktor Ahn was shown on the big screen.

I stayed through the early third

period. By that time it was 4-0, and as I was walking in front of the stadium, the roof flashed to 5-0.

MEDALS CEREMONY As I was getting ready to head home, I swung by the Olympic flame to take some photos, and then ran into the medals ceremony for men’s curling. It was the first medals ceremony I’ve seen — in the mountain cluster, they just do flower ceremonies. It was cool to see these guys receiving their gold medal and watching as their flag was raised.

After a long day, I headed back to the Main Media Center to catch the bus back up to the mountains.

The woman at the transport desk said it would be 53 minutes until my bus arrived, but the guys at the curb said it would just be 10, and they were right.

I arrived home at 11 p.m. — another long day in the books. I’m headed back down to the coastal cluster tomorrow to interview Mikaela Shiffrin and attend closing ceremonies. I can’t believe the finalday is already upon us!

Wild completes sweep in snowboard parallel slalom American-born Russian takes gold

By Will Graves AP Sports Writer

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia — Facing a nearly impossible deficit against a four-time world champion he’d never outraced, all the unorthodox choices snowboarder Vic Wild made to keep his career alive converged over 30 glorious seconds of perfection.

His banged-up body patched together by the best doctors his

adopted country can provide, his perfectly assembled board riding like a lightning bolt, his newfound fans screaming his name and waving a very different kind of red, white and blue, the man who eschewed his homeland for his heart, made Olympic history.

RALLYING TO VICTORY Wild rallied to victory in the men’s parallel slalom on Saturday, stunning Austria’s Benjamin Karl in the semifinal then edging Zan Kosir by .11 seconds to cap four dizzying days that validated his decision three years ago to marry

Russian snowboarder Alena Zavarzina and move to Moscow with his talent in tow.

The 27-year-old native of White Salmon, Wash., but now residing in Moscow won the parallel giant slalom Wednesday then bookended it with an even more stunning triumph in the Olympic debut of the shorter, trickier parallel slalom race.

The roars of “Vitya” still ringing in his ears after a raucous flower celebration, Wild exhaled; the pressure valve that’s been a fixture in his life since he left the U.S. was finally released.

AP PHOTO

Russia’s Vic Wild celebrates his gold medal in the men’s snowboard parallel slalom final at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Saturday.

Sports A16 | Monday, February 24, 2014 | Vail Daily

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XXII OLYMPICWINTER GAMES

Canada rules rink, a flame dies, Olympics end Costliest games in history come to close

By Fred Lief AP Sports Writer

SOCHI, Russia — The Olympic flame was snuffed out. No chance of that for the Canadian hockey team, champions again.

The Sochi Games completed a 17-day run Sunday with Canada’s 3-0 victory over Sweden in the men’s hockey final, the last of 98 gold medal events.

The end of the $51 billion extravaganza came on a day when Russia captured the medals race, and IOC President Thomas Bach lauded the host city for its “amazing” transformation.

Only three sports were on the schedule, with the other gold medals coming from Russian cross-country skier Alexander Legko and bobsledder Alexander Zubkov leading the way for the hosts in the four-man.

The fifth and sixth doping cases surfaced, involving NHL and Sweden star Nicklas Backstrom — by far the standout name of the group — and Austrian cross-country skier Johannes Duerr.

At the closing ceremony, the athletes stuck to tradition by mugging for cameras and taking a last celebratory prance. The flag was handed over to the next winter host, and a giant mascot bear blew out the flame and sent the Olympics on their way to

Pyeongchang, South Korea.

HOCKEY The Canadians won gold for the third time in the last four Olympics, taking all six of their games in Sochi. Jonathan Toews scored in the first period and captain Sidney Crosby scored his first goal of the tournament in the second.

Chris Kunitz also scored and Carey Price made 24 saves for Canada. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 33 shots for the injury-depleted Swedes. “We’re just an amazing team to watch, the way we work together,” Toews said. “We were just all over them.”

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING Alexander Legkov got down to work in a hurry. He led a Russian sweep of the men’s 50-kilometer cross-country race. He was followed by Maxim Vylegzhanin and Ilia Chernousov. That assured Russia of finishing with the most medals. It was also the host nation’s first gold in the sport in Sochi. “This is priceless,” Legkov said. “It’s more valuable than my life.”

BOBSLED After struggling these last years, Alexander Zubkov set things right. He drove Russia to victory in the four-man sled, adding to his two-man title in Sochi. He is the sixth pilot to sweep those events at an Olympics but the first to do so in his home country.

Steven Holcomb, the 2010 Olympic champ, won bronze to give

AP PHOTO

Canadian hockey team members Dan Hamhuis, goalkeeper Carey Price, Jonathan Toews and Shea Weber celebrate their, 3-0, win over Sweden in the men’s gold medal game at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Canada came in fourth in the medals race. the U.S. seven sliding medals in Sochi, tops among all countries.

Oskars Melbardis of Latvia took the silver. Germany had no medals in the four-man for the first time since 1968.

DOPING Sochi had six doping cases; Vancouver had one four years ago. As IOC President Thomas Bach sees it, that’s good news — the drug cheats are getting caught. “The number of the cases for me is not really relevant,” he

said. Nicklas Backstrom, who plays for the NHL’s Washington Capitals, tested positive for a substance found in allergy medication that Sweden’s Olympic Committee said he had been taking for seven years. Austrian cross-country skier Johannes Duerr was cited for the blood booster EPO, the most serious of the Sochi cases.

MEDALS The arithmetic was clear: Russia was king of the medals, be it

total or gold. The host country finished with 33 medals overall and 13 gold. Russia started the day tied with Norway for the most gold. It’s the first time Russia has topped both medals tables since the breakup of the Soviet Union.

The U.S. won 28 total, including nine gold. Norway had 26 medals, 11 of them gold. Of the Netherlands’ 24 medals, 23 came in speedskating. “Nobody believed that Russia would even be in the top three in total medals,” Zubkov said. “But we have won.”

Eagle-Vail’s Olympic champion feels the golden glow Mikaela Shiffrin is doing nonstop interviews after winning slalom

By Ed Stoner estoner@vaildaily.com

SOCHI, Russia — Mikaela Shiffrin had spent the last 36 hours being led from interview to interview, being asked the same questions.

What’s it like to have a gold medal?

What does it mean to you?

How does it feel?

She’s still trying to figure out the answers.

“I don’t really know how it feels, but it’s definitely good,” she said Sunday. “Definitely a positive thing.”

But she’s happy to do the interviews, even fighting a cold, as she helps hype skiing to the American public in a way that’s only possible every four years and becomes a household name in the process.

Shiffrin, 18, of Eagle-Vail, won the slalom gold medal Friday night, becoming the first female American winner of the Olympic slalom since 1972. She came into the event as the favorite, and lived up to those expectations in a big way.

“Right after the races we went straight down to the coastal cluster and did an interview with Bob Costas,” Shiffrin said. “Then I didn’t get back to the hotel until 3:30 and I went straight to bed and then got up the next morning and did a ton of interviews again, so it’s been really exciting. It’s cool to see how much support there is in the United States and here, and

just everybody seems so excited.”

VAIL LESSONS Shiffrin is now at the pinnacle of alpine skiing, but she’s still thinking about the Vail locals who helped her get there.

Two of Shiffrin’s biggest focuses in skiing are having fun and learning. She credited Ski and Snowboard Club Vail coaches Simon Marsh and Rika Moore as being key to both those things.

“Simon, he just taught me passion for skiing,” she said. “I still see his group of 10 little ski guys who are ripping around the mountain, and they’re all fighting over who gets to sit on the lift with him and how much fun it’s going to be. And I remember being that kid, wanting to sit next to him on the lift, and he really

SHIFFRIN, A18

AP PHOTO

U.S. alpine skier Mikaela Shiffrin talks about her gold medal win in the women’s slalom during a news conference at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. She is the youngest woman to win an Olympic slalom.

A18 | Monday, February 24, 2014 | The Vail Daily

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SHIFFRIN

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sparked my passion for the sport.”

That passion continued right through to the second run of her gold medal performance. Casting aside all the pressure, she told her mom, Eileen, that she just wanted to go out and ski slalom because that’s what she loves to do.

“I started the sport because I was passionate about it, because of Simon and my parents, and I’ve continued it and gotten to this point because I’ve kept that passion,” Shiffrin said.

She recalled begging Moore to teach her how to cross-block gates, even when she was too young to actually do it.

“Finally, she said, ‘OK, I’ll teach you, but you have to promise not to do it until you’re big enough to do it right,’” Shiffrin said. “So, she taught me and I would take one run a day where I tried it out and the rest of them I’d ski around the gates. When I was finally able to do it properly, I picked it up like that, thanks to her.”

SUPER SUPPORT Shiffrin was able to take a break from the media interviews for a few minutes Sunday at the Procter and Gamble House in the Olympic Park as part of the “Thank You, Mom” campaign. The house allows U.S. athletes and their moms to have some comforts of home while competing at the games.

Shiffrin and her mom, Eileen, who travels with Mikaela on the World Cup, got some pampering at the salon, which Mikaela said was actually the coolest thing that’s happened to her in the past couple days — besides winning the gold medal.

“The first thing they said was, ‘Let’s do a facial!” and I’m like, “Yes, we’re doing a facial!’ and then I got my hair pampered, and my mom’s sitting

right next to me, and she’s getting her nails done, and I said, ‘This is amazing! Why didn’t I come down here sooner?”

Well, first she had to win a gold medal. Shiffrin competed in the giant slalom on Tuesday and earned a fifthplace finish in the discipline that’s not her best, but is quickly improving.

Her teammate Julia Mancuso, who won bronze in these games and has won more Olympic medals than any American woman in alpine skiing, including the 2006 gold in giant slalom, gave Shiffrin a lot of support during the GS, which was huge for Shiffrin.

“To be at my first Olympics and be competing alongside her and to have her be supporting me meant more to me than I thought it would,” Shiffrin said. “She didn’t finish the first run but she came up to me and said, ‘Kill it out there. You rip the second run, and we’re rooting for you.’ I was just like, that’s really cool. That’s Julia Mancuso.”

Shiffrin also had a cheering contingent from Vail. Her good friend Thomas Walsh, a fellow ski racer from Vail who has battled Ewing’s sarcoma, came to the Olympics with the MakeA-Wish Foundation. She was able to talk with him after the GS, which took place in the pouring, cold rain.

“That just made it so worth it for me to see him out there after everything he’s been through,” Shiffrin said. “He makes me feel so important, and it’s pretty cool.”

Shiffrin will now go to New York for more media and then head back to Europe to finish out the World Cup season. She expects to be back in Vail some time in April.

WHAT’S NEXT Her parents, Jeff and Eileen, have always reinforced that Mikaela needs to practice and prepare for the next step, reach it and then look to the next goal.

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AP PHOTO

Gold medal winner Mikaela Shiffrin poses for photographers with the American flag at the Sochi Winter Olympics. Shiffrin will now go to New York for more media and then head back to Europe to finish out the World Cup season.

The skiing prodigy is already thinking about what’s next. In a press conference Saturday, she told members of the media her goal for the 2018 Olympics is to win five gold medals.

But before that, she’ll compete in the 2015 World Alpine Skiing Championships in Beaver Creek, just a few miles from her home. She said her focus will be GS and slalom, but didn’t rule out possibly racing in super-G or downhill.

“We’ll see,” she said. “I’m trying to kind of take it day by day and just make sure I’m prepared for what events I’m going to race,” she said.

For now, though, she’s soaking in the Olympic gold medal, which goes alongside her World Championships gold medal and her World Cup slalom globe. It’s completely different from her other accomplishments, but perhaps the greatest yet.

“The Olympics are completely different because it’s the one race,” Shiffrin said. “So, I’m equally as proud of this as any of my accomplishments, maybe more so, because it really did boil down to two runs about two minutes long, and I just had to ski my best.”

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