Miller wins elusive gold in super-combined
Last Updated: Sunday, February 21, 2010 | 5:48 PM ET
By Jesse Campigotto, CBC Sports
Bode Miller skied a brilliant slalom leg to surge to victory in the super-combined. (Alessandro Trovati/Associated Press)Bode Miller won the Olympic men's super-combined on Sunday, giving the American his first Olympic gold and a medal of every colour at the Vancouver Games.
Miller, who took silver in the super-G and bronze in the downhill, skied a brilliant slalom leg in Whistler, B.C., to jump from seventh place after the downhill portion and claim the first Olympic title of his fine career.
"I skied with 100 per cent heart — I didn't hold anything back," Miller said.
"It's just awesome. There's nothing else to say. The way I executed, the way I skied, is something I'll be proud of the rest of my life."
Croatia's Ivica Kostelic took the silver, 0.33 of a second behind Miller. Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland got the bronze, 0.40 of a second back.
Downhill leader Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway, the last skier with a chance to beat Miller, missed a gate in the slalom and was disqualified.
Defending champion Ted Ligety — Miller's U.S. teammate — finished fifth. A strong slalom skier, Ligety made up ground in that leg but suffered from the new Olympic format that calls for just one slalom run instead of the two used in 2006.
Miller had trouble holding on at the bottom of the slalom run, and he could feel his legs starting to give out.
"My legs started feeling really wobbly," he said. "I didn't even feel like I was looking at the gate anymore."
Miller, 32, has become the surprise alpine star of the Vancouver Games. That honour was supposed to belong to U.S. women's standout Lindsey Vonn, who won the downhill but settled for bronze in the super-G and crashed out of the combined.
"I felt awesome about it," he said. "But still, it's incredibly emotionally exhausting to do it like that.
"I've got one leg that's injured and another leg that's on my boat already," he added, looking forward to his post-season vacation.
With Miller leading the way, the U.S. team has captured eight alpine medals in Vancouver — two of them gold. Austria, the sport's traditional power, has just two medals after being shut out again on Sunday.
Miller was supposed to do what he's doing now in 2006, when he arrived in Turin as a threat to reach the podium in all five disciplines but came away empty-handed and was accused of partying too much.
The New Hampshire native, a two-time world overall champion, in 2002 in Salt Lake City.
Canada, still looking for its first alpine medal in Vancouver, didn't expect to contend in the men's super-combined, and the results reflected that.
Montreal's Ryan Semple finished 15th, Whistler's Michael Janyk was 26th, Louis-Pierre Helie of Berthierville, Que., was 30th, and Tyler Nella of Burlington, Ont., was 32nd.
