|
 |
Austria's Strobl grabs downhill gold
By Ray Grass
Deseret News Olympic specialist
SNOWBASIN — There were no "real" shocks coming out of the first alpine event of the 2002 Olympics, just some minor tremors in the world of speed skiing.
Fritz Strobl of Austria won, but he was one of the odds-on favorites. He's ranked No. 2 in World Cup downhill racing.
Lasse Kjus of Norway was second. At 30, he's one of the senior skiers on the tour, and while he has been struggling this year, he said he knew a silver run was in him.
Stephan Eberharter of Austria was third. He was favored. He is this year's World Cup downhill champion. But, as he said, "It was a good race, a bronze race . . . I'm happy."
America's Daron Rahlves, Sugar Bowl, Calif., was expected to place high but had a poor race and finished 16th. Teammate Marco Sullivan, of Tahoe City, Calif., at 21 one of the youngest skiers on the hill, was hoping for a good finish and instead had a great finish — 9th.
Before packed seating and shoulder-to-shoulder standing room around the finish, 55 of the world's fastest skiers opened the alpine events under conditions skiers called "perfect." The air was cold, keeping the snow hard and consistent for all racers, and the cloudless skies left no limits on visibility.
It all came down to skiing the perfect line, holding the skis on the snow and staying aerodynamically sleek at speeds bumping 90 miles an hour at times.
Strobl said the race started well for him. "I was slightly nervous, but I took this race as if it were a normal downhill. I felt good during the run, and I knew I made no major mistakes," he said through an interpreter. "I was more nervous after the run than before."
His interval times, in fact, show the 29-year-old skier from Lienz, Austria, was nearly perfect. He was slow starting, holding the eighth fastest time at the first clock, but through the next five timers he was the fastest skier.
Kjus, by contrast, fell between second and five on interval times, and Eberharter was between second and seventh.
Strobl's time was one minute, 39.13 seconds on the two-mile-long course. Kjus clocked a 1:39.35 and Eberharter a 1:39.41. Fourth was Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway and fifth was Claude Cretier of France. Sullivan's time was 1:40.37.
Eberharter admitted he came into the race with no real expectations. He's had a good World Cup season, he said, which shouldn't be overshadowed. He's won five of seven downhills. Strobl won one. But he said he was going to take this race as he would a regular World Cup, do his best but not be disappointed if he didn't win.
"I was prepared for not winning the gold. The pressure was on me, especially from the people at home. But life can go different ways, so I was prepared," he said.
Kjus admitted he has been struggling but added, "I am capable of skiing with the best. If I was able to get out (and ski well) today, I didn't know," he said. "Today it went my way and I'm happy."
Jakub Fiala of the U.S. team was 27th and teammate Scott Macartney was 29th. After the race, Fiala said even though he didn't ski well "I was so overwhelmed by the crowd at the bottom, how can you be disappointed with that?"
The women took over the resort today for the running of the women's downhill. Race time was 10 a.m.
The men will return on Wednesday for the combined. Top contenders are expected to be Kjus and America's Bode Miller
E-MAIL: grass@desnews.com
|
|
February 11, 2002
|
