Athlete profile: Bode Miller

Posted: Tue February 3, 1998 at 5:00 PM ET

Athlete notes

An unruffled rookie on the World Cup, Miller scored big in his first race...contending with snow, flog and wind, Miller skied to an 11th-place finish at the giant slalom in November in Park City, Utah... the confident youngster from Carrabassett Valley Academy in Maine was not even rattled when he lost his left ski pole after skiing through near-zero visibility as the start of his second run..."I never lost it because of my strap," Miller explained. "It was dangling and I got it on my arm a couple of times. That actually was probably a blessing in disguise. It got me through those first few difficult gates on the pitch without thinking about it. The next thing I knew I came through with my poles in my hand. I was three-quarters of the way down the pitch and I was, like, ‘All Right!'"...an 11th-place is the best US men have done in World Cup giant slalom since Jeremy Nobis was sEventsh in January 1991...to stunned media members, Miller said, "By no means am I the dominant giant slalom skier on the [US] Ski Team. I hope this shows [my teammates] they have the ability"...Miller also said, "I wanted to qualify. I had a good feeling I wouldn't let myself down, so this builds the confidence a little bit"...last year was a little hard for the young ski racer, who went through the first full season on the FIS minor leagues, but Miller managed to come up with some wins late in the season in slalom, giant slalom, and Super G to earn a shot at the World Cup... "No matter what the result, I'm having a great time traveling with the US team," says Miller. "I can't believe this is like my job; it's something I love"...young Miller was always looking at Nagano, instead of the future, like Salt Lake, as some of the coaches did... "People around me, coaches, my parents, were talking about my chances in 2002," says Miller. "But I wanted to go to Nagano. I thought I had a chance, and it looks like I do now. So I want to make the most out of it. I enjoy the pressure to perform"...Bode's family owns 11 tennis courts and a full sized soccer field -- a complex called Tamarack -- with his mother, Joanne in charge...Joanne runs tennis camps and soccer camps during the summer and Bode is a counselor on both camps...this past summer Miller started the soccer kids' day with a three-mile run through the woods, which boosted his own conditioning...Miller himself plays soccer every chance he gets -- his mother thinks Bode, who plays every position, "could have made it big in soccer, too"...Miller's grand mother, Peg Kenney, was a national team skier in the 1940s...both of Bode's parents ski patrolled at the lodge his grandparents owned...his uncle, Mike Kenney, was also a former ski racer...Bode now helps Mike's business laying out tennis courts and soccer fields...Joanne says, "Those guys wrestle with the soil from six in the morning to 10 at night"...Bode's father Woody is a counselor for the homeless...sisters Kyla and Jenny Wren, and younger brother Chelone snowboard...Jenny Wren (now at Carrabassett Valley Academy) and Chelone are junior half pipe competitors...