No fear

Street confident about chances for gold in final Games

Picabo Street has her sights set on becoming the first American skier to win three Olympic medals. AP

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- There is so much on Picabo Street's mind in the days before the Winter Olympics: another gold medal, her wish to carry the U.S. flag in the Opening Ceremonies, her impending retirement.

More important is the one thing she no longer considers: fear.

"I never had fear until that '98 crash," the two-time Olympic medalist said Tuesday.

The accident, on Friday the 13th in March of that year, broke her left leg, tore ligaments in her right knee and threatened her career.

Now, just three days before practice runs begin for the last race of her Olympic career, Street said fear was the last thing on her mind as she prepares for the downhill on a fast course in Snowbasin.

"I'm ready to risk everything," said Street, the 30-year-old senior citizen of the U.S. Alpine women's team. "There is no sense in holding back for me. ... I have everything to gain, and nothing to lose."

Street, casually dressed and sitting on a small stage for a news conference, smiled widely when asked about her chances at winning a medal for a third consecutive Games.

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No American skier has won three medals. Street won downhill silver in '94 and Super-G gold in '98.

"I've got as good a chance as anybody at taking the gold," the Utah resident said confidently. "It's in my back yard. I'm comfortable. I couldn't ask for anything more."

Her confidence was shattered, along with her legs, in that devastating crash one month after her Nagano victory. Street was off skis for 18 months.

She returned in December 1999, fighting her way back onto the Olympic team in the downhill. Her bid to defend her Super G title was not as successful, and Street didn't qualify for that event.

"I have a ticket," Street said of the Super G. "I'll be there cheering, wishing my teammates the best."

Street shrugs off her failure to finish in the top three of any race since 1998. These are the Olympics, where she excels against the odds.

In Nagano, she was coming back from a knee injury and a concussion when she raced to the gold.

"It's the great stage," she said. "It's Broadway. ... It's jumping for a star, and hoping you can get one."

While Street is certain these are her last Olympics, she is unsure if the Feb. 11 downhill will be her last race.

"Some days it's 'yeah,' some days it's 'no,'" she said. "I don't know what my heart will say at the end of the day on the 11th, but I will follow it."

Street's heart has already said "yes" to John Mulligan, a ski technician who proposed to her last August. The couple plans a fall wedding, and Street looks forward to spending some time relaxing once she leaves skiing.

"I don't feel like asking my body to go through this again," Street said. "I want to get married, build a house ... get on with Chapter II in my life."

Chapter I, which ends in Salt Lake City, would have a happy ending even without a medal if Street was selected to carry the U.S. flag at Friday night's Opening Ceremonies. The flag bearer for the team will be announced Thursday.

Street said she was chosen for the honor in 1998 by her teammates, but declined due to the lingering affects of a concussion from a crash a month earlier.

After making that decision, Street said, she spent three days crying in her room.

"I hope I'm the one they see fit to carry it," Street said. "It could certainly be the greatest moment in my career. I'm that patriotic."

 

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