Bode Miller
Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2006 5:45 pm
was it the ankle or the hype that caused his lack of gold? I heard Miller in an interview saying that Medals were not his desire that he felt pushed to be the Olympic Golden Boy, I wonder if this was his was of basically saying "screw you" and now they are bleming his performance on his ankle.
Miller hurts ankle playing hoops
Slumping U.S. star still expects to make slalom run
Posted: Wednesday February 22, 2006 7:43AM; Updated: Thursday
TURIN, Italy -- Struggling U.S. skier Bode Miller, who has failed to win a medal in four events at the 2006 Olympic Games, will race in Saturday's slalom event despite a minor ankle injury suffered Tuesday while he was playing basketball with teammates at a gym in Pinerolo, near the Olympic Alpine headquarters in Sestriere.
Phil McNichol, head coach of the U.S. men's Alpine team, had told two reporters after Miller's sixth-place finish in the giant slalom that Miller might not be entered in the two-run slalom. However, McNichol told SI.com on Wednesday afternoon that Miller will be one of the four U.S. starters in the race. (The others are medal favorite Ted Ligety, who took the gold medal in combined, Chip Knight and Jim Cochran.)
Miller was playing basketball with teammates Tuesday when he rolled his right ankle. Both McNichol and Lowell Taub, Miller's New York-based agent, confirmed that Miller had hurt the ankle. "It's my understanding that as of today the injury seems minor and that Bode will race in the slalom," said Taub, who is in Italy for the Olympics.
"It's not a serious injury," said McNichol.
It is commonplace for ski racers to play dry land sports to help maintain fitness during competition. In December, Miller played basketball with teammates in Colorado on the evening before winning the World Cup giant slalom in Beaver Creek, his only World Cup victory of the season.
The slalom is Miller's last chance to salvage a medal from the Olympics (he won two silvers in Salt Lake City), but he is considered a long shot in the race. As recently as 2002, Miller was one of the top slalom skiers in the world, but in 2003 he began skiing all four disciplines. Lack of training time and equipment issues have dulled Miller's effectiveness in slalom.
Miller has completed only two of the seven World Cup races this year. His best finish is eighth place on Jan. 15 in Wengen, Switzerland, when Miller had the fastest split time on the second run. On that day, Miller said, "I'm finally at the point where I can press the accelerator instead of just trying to stay on my feet." However, he subsequently finished 18th in the slalom at Kitzbuehel and didn't finish the slalom in Schladming, Austria.
In the Olympic combined downhill-slalom, Miller was disqualified for straddling a gate in the first run of slalom and described his skiing afterward as "just bad."
One team source told SI.com, "Bode's still got great one-run speed, but it's hard to imagine him finishing two runs at this point. But he's still Bode.''
Worth noting is that Miller's last World Cup slalom victory was on Dec. 13 in Sestriere on the same hill that will host the Olympic slalom.
Miller hurts ankle playing hoops
Slumping U.S. star still expects to make slalom run
Posted: Wednesday February 22, 2006 7:43AM; Updated: Thursday
TURIN, Italy -- Struggling U.S. skier Bode Miller, who has failed to win a medal in four events at the 2006 Olympic Games, will race in Saturday's slalom event despite a minor ankle injury suffered Tuesday while he was playing basketball with teammates at a gym in Pinerolo, near the Olympic Alpine headquarters in Sestriere.
Phil McNichol, head coach of the U.S. men's Alpine team, had told two reporters after Miller's sixth-place finish in the giant slalom that Miller might not be entered in the two-run slalom. However, McNichol told SI.com on Wednesday afternoon that Miller will be one of the four U.S. starters in the race. (The others are medal favorite Ted Ligety, who took the gold medal in combined, Chip Knight and Jim Cochran.)
Miller was playing basketball with teammates Tuesday when he rolled his right ankle. Both McNichol and Lowell Taub, Miller's New York-based agent, confirmed that Miller had hurt the ankle. "It's my understanding that as of today the injury seems minor and that Bode will race in the slalom," said Taub, who is in Italy for the Olympics.
"It's not a serious injury," said McNichol.
It is commonplace for ski racers to play dry land sports to help maintain fitness during competition. In December, Miller played basketball with teammates in Colorado on the evening before winning the World Cup giant slalom in Beaver Creek, his only World Cup victory of the season.
The slalom is Miller's last chance to salvage a medal from the Olympics (he won two silvers in Salt Lake City), but he is considered a long shot in the race. As recently as 2002, Miller was one of the top slalom skiers in the world, but in 2003 he began skiing all four disciplines. Lack of training time and equipment issues have dulled Miller's effectiveness in slalom.
Miller has completed only two of the seven World Cup races this year. His best finish is eighth place on Jan. 15 in Wengen, Switzerland, when Miller had the fastest split time on the second run. On that day, Miller said, "I'm finally at the point where I can press the accelerator instead of just trying to stay on my feet." However, he subsequently finished 18th in the slalom at Kitzbuehel and didn't finish the slalom in Schladming, Austria.
In the Olympic combined downhill-slalom, Miller was disqualified for straddling a gate in the first run of slalom and described his skiing afterward as "just bad."
One team source told SI.com, "Bode's still got great one-run speed, but it's hard to imagine him finishing two runs at this point. But he's still Bode.''
Worth noting is that Miller's last World Cup slalom victory was on Dec. 13 in Sestriere on the same hill that will host the Olympic slalom.