Patrick Kueng wins gold in downhill at world championships
BEAVER CREEK, Colo. (AP) - Patrick Kueng of Switzerland ruled the downhill at the world championships Saturday, winning the race with a consistent and concise run that was just enough to hold off American Travis Ganong.
Kueng earned his first world title by completing the demanding course in 1 minute, 43.18 seconds. Ganong was second, finishing 0.24 seconds behind Kueng, while Beat Feuz of Switzerland picked up bronze.
"It's incredible," Kueng said. "I had a really good run. My skis are so fast."
The Austrians, a nation known for producing downhill winners, didn't have a finisher in the top 10. Even more, the first country of ski racing hasn't had a downhiller on the podium at worlds since Michael Walchhofer earned a bronze in 2005.
Coincidentally, that's the last time the Americans had a skier on the downhill podium at worlds, when Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves finished 1-2.
Miller didn't race Saturday after having surgery to fix a severed right hamstring tendon following a bad crash in the super-G.
Ganong and the rest of the team picked up the slack.
Steven Nyman had the fastest early run before being knocked out of the lead by Feuz. Nyman was fourth and teammate Andrew Weibrecht, racing back in the pack at No. 35, had an electric run going before slowing near the finish. He wound up tied for ninth.
"The great champion that everybody expected to do something unfortunately had a bad accident," U.S. men's coach Sasha Rearick said of Miller. "But the rest of the guys stepped up. They skied relaxed, free and sent it."
Especially Ganong. He's loaded with confidence these days after winning his first World Cup race on Dec. 28 in Italy. And now this, his first medal at world championships.
"It's a very good day," said the 26-year-old Ganong, who's from Squaw Valley, California. "Skiing downhill is as fun as it gets. But when you do well, it's unbelievable. It's a perfect day."
Ganong got some prerace advice from Rahlves, who's well-versed in the nuances of this course. The other night, Rahlves even brought out the video of his 2003 World Cup win at Beaver Creek, when Rahlves flew down the course, to show Ganong. Rahlves pointed out places where Ganong could gain speed. Ganong carefully listened.
"What Daron always teaches me is to look for aerodynamics in specific places so you can take the turn deep to get into that aerodynamic position," Ganong explained. "You can't stay aerodynamic if you get tossed around sometimes.
"I pushed hard and had a great run."
Nyman was a big help, too. The veteran racer from Sundance, Utah, called up to the start house after his run and gave Ganong feedback on the hill.
The gist? Attack the course.
"He just said, 'You can do whatever you want. You can push the line,'" Ganong recounted. "I turned my brain off, put a smile on my face and had some fun."