SELAH, Wash. - Holly Mahre wasn’t about to let her husband display the dusty crystal globe without first grabbing a rag and giving his World Cup trophy a quick wipe down to remove a layer of grime. Same went for the gold-framed display of three pictures surrounding his 1984 Olympic gold medal.

Phil Mahre, 50, claims his past is just that — he even auctions off the Olympic medal for months at a time to raise money for charity.

And yet, the former U.S. skiing star is trying to recapture some of his glory from a quarter-century ago.

The two-time Olympic medalist and three-time World Cup champion is attempting to qualify for next year’s U.S. Alpine Championships, where he hopes to compete in the slalom or giant slalom as a half-centurion.

“By my mid to early 40s I thought about it some, that I might start competing again just for the heck of it,” Mahre said. “And the more I thought about it, the more I thought, ’Why not?”’

Mahre says it’s not a full-fledged return, and avoids referring to it as a comeback. He claims it’s not a mid-life crisis. And Mahre sees more than a few questioning looks when he heads to the hill — even his own sister wondered aloud when he would grow up.

After all, the comeback of a fellow 1984 skiing gold medalist ended very badly. Mahre’s Olympic teammate, Bill Johnson, suffered a severe brain injury during a 2001 crash at the U.S. Championships while attempting a return in the downhill.

Mahre isn’t deterred. He calls this a “mid-life awakening” — and declares it a realistic and obtainable goal.

“My 40s had passed me by, I had raised my family, how about 50? My dad went to (Mount) Everest when he was 54 and 56, and summitted (Mount) McKinley when he was 69,” Mahre said. “I feel like I’m in my 20s. I don’t feel like I’m 50 years old. I feel like I’m in my mid 20s.”

From 1980-84, the success of Mahre and fraternal twin Steve defined a large portion of America’s skiing history. Phil won 27 World Cup races in the slalom, giant slalom and combined, and seven World Cup season championships in those disciplines. Along with those honors were the three straight overall World Cup titles from 1981-1983 — along with Tamara McKinney (1983) and Bode Miller (2005), he is the only American to capture the overall title.

Steve Mahre added nine World Cup victories and the gold medal in the giant slalom at the 1982 World Championships.

Then came the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, where the brothers finished 1-2 in the slalom — on the same day that Phil’s first son, Alex, was born. Mahre says it’s the only exact race date he knows, and not because of the medal. He was informed of his son’s birth on national television.

The brothers have done well, through investments and their ski academy at Deer Valley, Utah. They often are invited by large corporations to ski and speak at client outings.

But the idea of making a competitive return stuck in Mahre’s mind. His decision was cemented by watching American Ted Ligety win the gold medal in the combined event at the 2006 Turin Olympics.

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MIKE SEGAR / Reuters

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