SOCHI – USA downhill skier Bode Miller appears to be on track for his most successful Olympic competition to date after the final men’s downhill training run on Saturday that saw six other racers crash.
Miller, who admitted given the conditions his primary goal for the day was self-preservation, excelled on the day. Miller raced through the beginning of the course, reaching speeds of 90 miles per hour, appeared to be enjoying himself too much to scale back his ambition.
“I would really love to attribute what happened out there today to great conditions, but really they were terrible,” Miller tells our Olympic correspondent. “You always hear about how great Russian vodka is, and it is certainly not overrated. I have not felt this great since some British skiers shared some amazing Scotch with me in 2002 at Salt Lake.”
If he were to claim the gold medal in the downhill, the 36-year-old Miller would be the oldest man to win an Olympic Alpine event. Kjetil Andre Aamodt was 34 when he won the super-G at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
Miller reportedly spent the morning drinking Vodka with US bobsled competitor Johnny Quinn before today’s training run.
“We were sitting up in my room taking a few shots of Stoli vodka,” Quinn tells us. “I got up to use the bathroom and I heard Bode say he had to go ski real quick. I tried to walk out and wish him luck but he locked by bathroom door. I could hear him laughing all the way down the hall. I had to practically tear the door down to get out. That is classic Bode, glad to see him back in it.”
Miller won two silver medals during his first Olympics in 2002 at Salt Lake City. Miller then failed to win any medals in Turin, complaining frequently about the awful hangovers he receives after drinking wine. Miller then returned in 2010 at the Vancouver Olympics to win his first gold medal.
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