Bode Miller Finally Wins His First Gold Medal

Posted by Ralph Routon

Bode Miller waited through more than a dozen years and three Winter Olympics as a world-level skier, but the mercurial 32-year-old American from Franconia, N.H., finally won his first Olympic gold medal Sunday afternoon.

Bode Miller

After a steady downhill run in the morning, Miller attacked the slalom course and made it to the bottom in a total time of 2:44.92, and none of the favored Europeans could catch him on Whistler Mountain. Slovenia’s Ivica Kostelic, rated as the strongest slalom skier in the field, would up 0.33 of a second behind.

It was Miller’s third medal of these Winter Games – a perfect set of gold, silver and bronze – tying the most ever won by an Alpine skier for any nation at a single Olympics, and it was the fifth medal of Miller’s career. He’s also only the third skier ever to win medals at three different Winter Games.

“I don’t know how long we can keep this up,” Miller said. “I can’t ask for anything more.”

Fellow American Ted Ligety, who won the super combined in 2006, had the fastest slalom time but had to settle for fifth overall.