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MONDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2014 SPORTS Bode’s last ride begins with a whimper KRASNAYA POLYANA: In a couple of days, after a change or how I feel.” recovered from mistakes that would have crashed won the downhill gold Sunday with a very cautious, few more races, Bode Miller will make it official. Or (Translation: “If I’d known I was going to finish almost anyone else. Yet for someone who inspired technical run, counts Miller among his idols. So does not. The most decorated skier America has ever pro- eighth, I would have stayed in bed.”) Miller: “It’s so much awe in others, he should have won more. US teammate Marco Sullivan, who a day earlier duced, and one of the most talented the sport has tough when you have to judge yourself, because the At the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, Miller came in spoke about Miller’s inimitable style in almost-mysti- ever seen, will be done with the Olympics at age 36, clock doesn’t really seem to judge you fairly.” without expectations and exited with two silvers. By cal tones. “The angles his body can stack up, his after competing in five Winter Games and winning (Translation: “If there were style points in skiing, the time the Turin Games rolled around in 2006, he bone structure in a way, that it just looks like he is ... five medals - so far - but without the gold in the one like figure skating or that goofy new slopestyle was considered a lock to medal in all five races, only it’s effortless,” Sullivan said. “The turns he is making, discipline he wanted most. snowboard race, I’d have won every event I ever to squander his best moves off the course and inside there is so much pressure coming up from the ski Bode being Bode, getting him to admit either is a entered.”) a disco. At the 2010 Vancouver Games, instead of and the way he’s absorbing it and making it happen longshot. After finishing eighth in the downhill, the Miller: “Just like I’ve said a million times, I’m not partying like an Olympian, Miller finally skied like - it is just like, it is just the way it should be.” first of five men’s races here, Miller paused for a long always so attached to the result. I would have loved one, winning a medal in each color and pretending Sullivan was echoing what skiers of every nation- time at the bottom of the course Sunday and stared to get a gold medal today or any medal, but I was that he couldn’t care less. ality and style have said about Miller since he first back up the hill for a long time. Asked what he was making sure that I knew where I was at, before I had “Why perform now?” Miller said at the time. exploded onto the scene: namely, that they don’t thinking at that moment, he launched into one of to go deal with everybody else telling me what they “Because most likely, it’s what I wanted to do.” Miller understand why he doesn’t win every time out, let those rambling answers that make it hard to know thought.” (Translation: “I wish you guys would just also wanted to revolutionize the sport, and he did. alone how he does what he does. Neither, apparent- how much he believed and how much was said sim- disappear.”) Frankly, what should have been a sweet He grafted the style, equipment and attitude he ly does Miller. “I would have loved to win, obviously,” ply to get a rise out of his audience. story about the closing flourish by an aging skier to picked up from snowboarding and gradually con- he said finally. “This is the premier event, and it’s As someone with extensive experience interview- cap one of the great careers in Olympic Alpine histo- vinced nearly everyone in the Alpine establishment something I’ve thought about quite a bit. But when ing Miller, who also happens to be one of the most ry can’t be told without asking “What if?” to embrace and copy it. Yet the genius that enabled it’s out of your control, that kind of takes the disap- entertaining and exasperating athletes I’ve ever run Miller’s talent has always been equal parts bless- him to survive one close call after another was the pointment away, more or less. I mean, I don’t think I across, my translation follows his remarks in paren- ing and burden. In addition to the five Olympic same thing that lured him out onto the edge again would change much, the way I skied. I think I skied theses. What Miller said: “I was just going through medals, he won two overall World Cup titles and left and again. well enough to win, but it just doesn’t happen the run, seeing if there was anything that I would rivals gaping at his margins of victory and how he Matthias Mayer, the 23-year-old Austrian who sometimes.” Or at least not often enough. — AP SOCHI: Russia’s Julia Lipnitskaia performs in the Women’s Figure Skating Team Free Program at the Iceberg SOCHI: Men’s biathlon 10k sprint medalists (from left) Czech Republic’s Jaroslav Soukup, bronze, Norway’s Ole Einar Skating Palace during the Sochi Winter Olympics. —AFP Bjoerndalen, gold, and Austria’s Dominik Landertinger, silver, pose with their medals at the 2014 Winter Olympics. Russia takes first gold, Mayer takes downhill SOCHI: Veteran Yevgeny Plushenko and precocious Julia 06.23sec on the 3.5km-long course at Rosa Khutor, high claimed the 7.5km sprint. of Italy took bronze, as he did in 1994 and 2010. Lipnitskaia lifted Russia to its first gold medal of the Sochi above the Black Sea. It was the first Austrian downhill gold The Russian-born Kuzmina won in a time of 21min Loch is the third athlete to win multiple gold medals in Olympics yesterday while Austrian skier Matthias Mayer since Fritz Strobl at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. 06min 8sec to see off Russia’s Olga Vilukhina who was this event after compatriot, friend and mentor Georg stormed to the blue riband men’s downhill title. Mayer also bettered his father Helmut’s silver-medal 19.9sec behind. Vita Semerenko of Ukraine took bronze, Hackl and Zoeggeler. — Agencies Under the watchful eye of Russian President Vladimir showing in the super-G at the Calgary Games in 1998. “Of 21.7sec behind the champion. Switzerland’s Dario Cologna Putin, 31-year-old Plushenko and slender 15-year-old sensa- course it means a lot to me,” an emotional Mayer said. “It’s took the men’s Nordic skiathlon, hanging on for the second tion Lipnitskaia ensured a home triumph in team figure really difficult to go down the track without mistakes.” Olympic gold of his career. Cologna finished in 1hr 08min Olympics medals table skating. Italian Christof Innerhofer took silver at just six-hundredths 15.4sec ahead of Marcus Hellner of Sweden, with Martin Plushenko took the men’s free skate final and Lipnitskaia of a second behind while Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud claimed Johnsrud Sundby of Norway claiming bronze. Later yester- SOCHI, Russia: Olympics medals table yesterday (after then sealed victory with a stunning free skate to a standing bronze a further 0.04sec adrift. day, Switzerland’s Simon Ammann, the 2002 and 2010 dou- five of eight gold medal events): ovation at the Iceberg Skating Palace. World downhill champion Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway ble Olympic champion, will aim to become the first ski “I’m 31 years and this means everything to me. It’s so was fourth while another strong favorite, Bode Miller of the jumper to win five gold medals when the normal hill final is Gold Silver Bronze Total much history,” said 2006 Olympic champion and two-time United States, was a disappointing eighth. staged. Norway 2 1 3 6 silver medallist Plushenko. Plushenko scored 168.20 for the Russia had got on the medals table earlier when Olga But the favorites will be Kamil Stoch of Poland, the cur- Netherlands 2 1 1 4 free skate to “The Best of Plushenko” with Kevin Reynold Graf took bronze in the 3,000 metres women’s speed skat- rent World Cup leader, and Austria’s Gregor Schlierenzauer, United States 2 0 1 3 achieving 167.92 and Japan’s Tatsuki Machida 165.85. ing behind winner Ireen Wust of the Netherlands and silver the 2010 team gold medal winner on the large hill. Canada 1 1 1 3 Lipnitskaia then outshone her more experienced team- medallist Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic. Wust Meanwhile, German Felix Loch produced two nerveless Austria 1 1 0 2 mate who won his first world medal before she was born. To held her nerve to steal gold from defending champion slides, smashing his track record in the process, to secure a Slovakia 1 0 0 1 the music of “Schindler’s List” she skated sublimely to score Sablikova and recapture the Olympic crown she first won in second successive Olympic men’s singles luge gold yester- Switzerland 1 0 0 1 a personal best 141.51 and to seal the title ahead of 2006. Jamie Anderson gave the United States a slopestyle day. Loch, who has dominated luge since becoming the Sweden 0 2 0 2 America’s Gracie Gold and Italy’s Valentina Marchei 112.51. snowboarding double following Sage Kotsenburg’s victory youngest gold medalist in the sport in Vancouver aged 20, Czech Republic 0 1 1 2 Lipnitskaia celebrated in “kiss and cry” corner by proudly in the men’s competition.