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Austrian women rule downhill
ST. ANTON, Austria -- The Alpine Ski World Championships continued on Tuesday after three days of either full or partial postponements. The Austrians fought back from their gold-medal drought in a big way, sweeping the medals in the women's downhill. Michaela Dorfmeister, Renate Goetschl and Selina Heregger took the prizes at a time when the Austrians -- and the Austrian women, in particular -- have been feuding over poor performances, conflicting sponsorships and coaching preferences. If Shaq and Kobe lived in Austria ... This was a sort of payback for Dorfmeister, who had posted the fastest run in the downhill at the '99 worlds in Vail and led until Goetschl surpassed her. The Austrians swept that race, too. Dorfmeister is a good example of what can happen to a good racer on this side of the Atlantic who is constantly under such a sharp microscope. She struggled for a good portion of the season, and some members of the media suggested she should either give up her place at the championships to a younger skier or perhaps quit altogether. "Every day more disbelievers," she told a local TV reporter, after borrowing the interviewer's towel. "Just when you think people want you to fail, there is all this support." Dorfmeister then looked into the stands in the Zeilstadium and excused herself from the rest of the interview, barely able to speak. It was her first world or Olympic title, after a silver medal in the Super G at the '98 Nagano Games and a silver in the downhill at the '99 worlds. To celebrate, Dorfmeister pledged a gift -- some finely aged cheddar, perhaps -- for her pet rats Cindy and Columbus. No analysis here; we just report the stuff. A numbers game for AamodtThe men's combined was a history-maker for Norwegian gold medalist Kjetil Andre Aamodt. Since he began competing at the world championships in 1991, Aamodt has amassed a phenomenal record of nine medals (five gold, two silver, two bronze); he also has five Olympic medals, including a gold in the Super G in 1992 at Albertville. The following distinction comes with two asterisks -- the Olympics used to have just three skiing events and the world championships only began in 1970 -- but Aamodt is the first alpine skier in history to collect 14 medals at the worlds and Olympics. Aamodt has been known for both versatility and durability throughout his career. He is only the fourth skier in history to record at least one World Cup victory in each of the five disciplines, following in the footsteps of Luxembourg's Marc Girardelli, Switzerland's Pirmin Zurbriggen and Austria's Guenther Mader, who last turned the trick in 1996. Last season Aamodt won the World Cup slalom title despite a displaced vertebra in his back. After picking up his combined gold here, Aamodt wound his way to the restaurant that serves as the primary Norwegian hangout during the championships, and from where Norway's TV2 has been broadcasting each night. One of the gimmicks on the network's daily variety show is an impromptu quiz in which combatants sitting across a dinner table field questions, signaling their readiness to answer by reaching for a stuffed troll placed in between them. Tuesday's contestants were the Aamodts, Kjetil Andre and his father/coach, Finn, who had to answer this question: Who is the only skier to win at least one medal at each of the last six world championships? Finn got to the troll first and proudly blurted out the answer just as Kjetil Andre hung his head in shame. Now there's a proud dad. Disaster for U.S. menU.S. skiers crashed out of the downhill portion of the men's combined. Casey Puckett and Bode Miller both went airborne one leg at a time and toppled into restraining nets, but rose under their own power. Puckett skied to the bottom of the course a few minutes later and was pronounced fine. Miller, who entered the final run in fourth place, is returning home with an unspecified injury to his left knee. Sports Illustrated staff writer Brian Cazeneuve covers Olympic sports for the magazine and is a frequent contributor to CNNSI.com. Look for periodic reports from St. Anton during the championships.
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