|
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
'Unreal' Rahlves stuns Maier to win Super-G world championship
Updated: Wednesday January 31, 2001 12:50 AM
ST. ANTON, Austria (AP) -- Daron Rahlves of the United States stunned the favored Austrians and raced to the gold medal in the men's super giant slalom Tuesday at the World Championship. Rahlves' unexpected victory confirmed the tendency of the U.S. skiers to do well on the big occasions like the worlds or the Olympics, despite rare victories on the World Cup circuit. "It feels great to hear the words, 'world champion,'" Rahlves said. "It's crazy, it's been the dream of my life. My whole life has been geared to be the best, to win." Stefan Eberharter, who had won the event 10 years ago, came back to take the silver Tuesday, edging fellow Austrian and defending champion Hermann Maier, who had to settle for the bronze medal. Rahlves became the first American to win the event since the super-G was added to the world championship schedule in 1987. Maier, the World Cup leader and the Olympic gold medallist who has dominated the event in the last few seasons, made a mistake early in the race and then watched Eberharter come down next and finish ahead. And while the Austrians were already beginning to celebrate a double, Rahlves thundered down the course named after Austrian legend Karl Schranz to spoil the party for the home team and their fans. Rahlves, 27, of Truckee, California, covered the treacherous, icy course in one minute, 21.46 seconds. "More people will know me now," Rahlves said. "To be honest, I didn't feel so good this morning, but I pulled it off." Rahlves' victory, coming a day after Megan Gerety's fourth-place finish in the women's super-G, gave the Americans a superb start to the worlds and confidence boost one year before the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. After winning a pair of downhill races in Kvitfjell, Norway at the end of the last season, Rahlves caught attention when he shared third place with Eberharter at the classic downhill in Kitzbuehel, Austria, less than three weeks ago. He was also fourth in the super-G there a day later. Rahlves trained with the Austrian team during the summer. "Maybe we let him train a bit too much with us," said chief Austrian coach Hans Pum. "But, it's good for the sport and good for us that we train with others. We knew he was going to be fast, but we didn't expect he would be that fast. "We have a very good relationship with the Americans and we have a contract to train with them up to Salt Lake City." Eberharter, 31, had been hoping for another gold medal after winning the title 10 years ago. "Rahlves is a great skier. He's proved himself in other races," Eberharter said. "He put in a great race and I can only congratulate him. "We shared third place in Kitzbuehel, so I always knew he was one to reckon with," said Eberharter, who finished .08 seconds behind the American, in 1:21.54. Eberharter had to fight his way back into the powerful Austrian team after being dropped from the top squad several seasons ago. When he did come back, he found Maier taking the center stage. Maier was a disappointing third in 1:21.69. Lasse Kjus of Norway, who shared the gold medal with Maier two years ago in Vail, Colorado, placed fourth this time in 1:21.73. "The Americans, they always end up in the front at the worlds or Olympics," Maier said. "On the top I overlooked a right-hand curve and I never got back into the race until the bottom half," Maier said. "I wasn't so bad there, I was going faster and faster." "I am not so disappointed, to be honest," said the man known as the Herminator for his aggressive style, but who seems to have lost his mental edge and winning touch recently. He fell in a downhill and lost by .01 seconds to fellow Austrian Christoph Gruber in a super-G over the weekend in Garmisch, Germany. Maier, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who will also be defending his downhill title here, won eight races earlier this season. He is defending his overall World Cup crown and the super-G title. Two other Americans, Bodo Miller and Chad Fleischer, crashed out, while Casey Puckett finished out of the top 20.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
