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AP
SESTRIERE, Italy - The gold medal was decided, or so everyone thought.
Bode, The Herminator and the rest of Alpine skiing’s big boys were already done for, and a few were even congratulating the apparent champ at the bottom of the hill.
And then, smooth as can be on a torn-up course, a racer given little chance to win did just that — and by the largest margin of victory in an Olympic men’s downhill in 42 years. Barely leaving a trail of spray, Antoine Deneriaz of France cut down the icy, sun-sparkled mountain Sunday to become the latest in a string of surprise champions in the sport’s premier event.
“At the start I was thinking, ’Do it! Do it! I have to attack! Attack!’ All the way, I felt like I was going fast. But when I saw my time, I thought, ’Grandiose!”’ said Deneriaz, who finished in 1 minute, 48.80 seconds.
“No one,” he said, “believed it could be true.”
Least of all Austria’s Michael Walchhofer.
After flailing through an early jump, the reigning World Cup downhill champion gathered himself and powered to an impressive time as the 10th man down the hill, then watched with delight while other favorites couldn’t match him.
One by one they failed: two-time gold medalist Hermann Maier of Austria, then overall World Cup champion Bode Miller of the United States, then his teammate, popular pick Daron Rahlves.
“It would have taken a hurricane wind to get me into first,” Miller said. “The way Deneriaz skied today, he was pretty much untouchable.”
Deneriaz, 29, joined other unlikely Olympic downhill gold medalists: Leonhard Stock of Austria in 1980, Bill Johnson of the United States in 1984, Tommy Moe of the United States in 1994 and Jean-Luc Cretier of France in 1998.
Miller began his run brilliantly, but his errors piled up, particularly on two late turns, and he wound up fifth, a spot ahead of Maier. Defending Olympic champion Fritz Strobl, another Austrian, was eighth despite skiing with a broken hand. Rahlves placed 10th on a course he has won on before.
So much for that U.S.-Austria rivalry in the Alps, eh?
“We lost. It’s disappointing,” U.S. coach Phil McNichol said. “We had two of the best guys in the race but came up a little short.”
Miller said he “had a couple beers but then was in early” Saturday night. Ever on his own terms, Miller skipped a chance to inspect the hill Sunday morning.
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When Miller finished out of contention, Walchhofer permitted himself a smile.
“My heart stopped,” the Austrian said.
Later, he pumped a fist.
Rahlves and others went over to chat and slap his back, even with dozens of skiers yet to compete. After all, Walchhofer’s time surely was out of reach for the less-heralded waiting atop the mountain.
As starter No. 30, the last of the top entrants, Deneriaz was essentially an afterthought:
A talented skier, to be sure, but one facing a piste already chopped by all those earlier runs.
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A guy who wrecked his left knee during a practice run 13 months ago.
Who ranks 38th in the World Cup standings.
Who hadn’t finished better than seventh in a downhill all season.
Whose last of three career World Cup wins was in 2003.
Clearly, the Olympic title was Walchhofer’s, right?
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Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
