Austrian Mayer Takes Downhill as Miller Stumbles -- On the Scene

Matthias Mayer became an Austrian legend on Sunday, joining six of his country’s greatest champions as an Olympic downhill gold medalist.

Mayer, 23, skied brilliantly on the grueling 3,495-meter Rosa Khutor course, clocking a winning time of two minutes, 6.23 seconds.

"Today, I really had a good feeling in the morning. I knew I could be fast on this hill, and now I’m the fastest," an emotional Mayer said after his victory. "It’s just unbelievable, an amazing feeling."

Starting eleventh, Mayer’s time held up through all the top-seeded racers, including pre-race favorite Bode Miller, who couldn’t find the speed he displayed earlier this week in training. The five-time U.S. Olympian finished eighth.

"Bode was in front of me at the first intermediate and then he was sixth in the finish, so I knew maybe this could be a medal and (Christof) Innerhofer came so close to me too," Mayer said, referring to the Italian who was just 0.06 seconds slower, claiming a silver medal. "I’m just so happy right now."

Miller said, "Obviously, I’m disappointed to not have a better result next to my name. It’s one of those days where it’s hard to say where the time went because I skied pretty well and was aggressive. I just made a few small mistakes."

Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud took bronze, 0.19 ahead of his teammate Aksel Lund Svindal, who ended fourth.

The steep and sinuous Rosa Khutor course did not disappoint, providing plenty of excitement for spectators, journalists, and skiers watching on the giant screen. Racers soared spectacularly through the air off the Russian Trampoline, Lake, and Deer Jumps.

The Rosa Khutor Alpine Center grandstand was about 90 percent filled for the showcase event on a mostly cloudy day. Although the crowd was enthusiastic, the atmosphere was lacking of the flag-waving, bell-clanking, party-like hoopla typically seen at World Cup races.

Saturday’s race started fifteen minutes past the scheduled 11:00 am start time due to a problem with one of the chairlifts transporting skiers up the mountain.

However, racers had mostly positive words about racing on the world’s biggest stage in Russia.

"I was here two years ago and it was kind of like a mud pit, so coming back now, it’s amazing," said U.S. skier Travis Ganong, who was fifth Sunday. "All the work that went into this to allow us to have this race today is mind-boggling. These mountains are inspiring, too."

"For me, it’s one of the nicest downhill courses. It’s technical, a little dangerous, and with big jumps," said Czech skier Ondrej Bank. "The course has been very well prepared. Today is a really a nice downhill but there are no people watching on the sides of the course."

Alexander Glebov was the only Russian skier competing Sunday, finishing a respectable 23rd.

"It was crazy. The emotions were high," said Glebov. "I went to the Opening Ceremony and I really felt the spirit when we walked into the stadium and I was so fired up for this race.

"Today, I was kind of nervous at the bottom, but already everyone was cheering for me on my way to the start. I was just happy to have this experience."

Sunday’s race starting order had to be re-assembled after a mistake during Saturday night’s bib draw. A number was incorrectly placed back in the bag after already being drawn, and U.S. skier Marco Sullivan was assigned the eleventh position, a start number he is not eligible for based upon his World Cup ranking. As a result, the entire draw had to be re-done resulting in some racers receiving new start positions. The mix-up could have impacted the race.

"I was starting four, and then they re-did the bib draw and I got 28," said Manny Osborne-Paradis. "It sucks being in a sport where the start number means so much.

"You think at the Olympic level, this wouldn’t happen," the veteran Canadian said. "Somebody made a mistake."

Other top racers were also affected by the incident.

Mayer is the first Austrian skier to win the Olympic downhill since Fritz Strobl won gold in Salt Lake 2002. The young Austrian joins his countrymen Strobl, Patrick Ortlieb, Leonhard Stock, Franz Klammer, Egon Zimmerman, and Toni Sailer as Olympic downhill gold medalists.

Austrian head coach Matthias Berthold summed up what Mayer’s accomplishment means for the ski-crazed nation.

"Well, the kid probably needs a couple of days to realize what he has done today," Berthold said. "I believed in him and was quite convinced that he could get on the podium. Today, he did everything just right

"For the Austrian ski team it is huge. It will give the whole team a lot of confidence."

Mayer said he was inspired by watching Austrian icon Hermann Maier ski at the Nagano Olympics and that his other idols are countryman Stephan Eberharter and, ironically, Miller and Svindal, both of whom he beat Sunday.

Mayer’s father, Helmut Mayer, was the bronze medalist in the super-G event at the 1988 Calgary Games.

Asked about what it will be like at the Austria House tonight, the new Olympic champion Mayer said, "We’re going to celebrate my medal, of course."

Written by Brian Pinelli in Sochi

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