Bode Miller Wins Bronze At Olympic Alpine Skiing Event
At the age of 36, Bode Miller became the oldest athlete to win an Olympic medal for Alpine skiing after he the bronze medal at the men’s super-G. He shared the medal with Jan Hudec of Canada, who finished the course at exactly the same time as Miller.
Miller and Hudec finished behind Andrew Weibrecht and Kjetil Jansrud, who won the silver and gold medals, respectively. Miller became emotional after winning the medal. He explained later that he was thinking of his brother Chelone, who succumbed to a seizure a year ago.
Weibrecht said Sunday was among the most memorable moments in his life. He came off multiple surgeries and did not have an easy time during the World Cup. He said he had to make some evaluations on the things that he needed to do.
The bronze was the sixth Olympic medal of Bode Miller in his career. It appeared that he was on his way to get the gold medal even with the mistake he made in his last jump. However, he was overtaken by Jansrud, who was followed by Hudec. Weibrecht followed soon after.
Aside from the gold in Alpine skiing, Jansrud also finished third in the downhill race. The Norwegian said he was jolted by Weibrecht and felt scared for a bit before he realized that he needed to finish strong. Miller provided support to Weibrecht by giving practical information about the course.
The win of Jansrud was the fourth straight for Norway in the event. The country equaled the record of the men’s team of Austria as it won the slalom four times in a row from 1952 to 1964. Norway initially won the title in 2002.
The winner in 2010, Aksel Lund Svindal, finished seventh in the event while Ted Ligety finished at fourteenth place, which was a disappointing turn of events for the world champion. The Sochi Olympics is the fifth Olympics of Bode Miller.