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Riesch steals the limelight from Vonn
Source: Agencies |
February 20, 2010, Saturday
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THERE were no distractions for Maria Riesch this time. Nobody falling directly in front of her at the start of the downhill track and nobody crashing off the massive jump at the finish.
The German made the most of the relative calm around her to win the gold medal in the Olympic super-combined race on Thursday in Whistler, British Columbia.
"Yesterday was not a good day for me," Riesch said of the downhill in which she finished eighth. "I actually already felt it in the morning. I didn't feel cool.
"Today everything was fitting together. That's what I said before these Olympics Games -- for winning a gold medal everything must be perfect that day for you. Today everything was perfect for me."
American Julia Mancuso claimed her second silver in as many days finishing 0.94 seconds behind while Anja Paerson of Sweden took the bronze at 1.05 behind a day after a spectacular crash in the downhill.
Riesch's hesitancy in Wednesday's downhill was understandable. The two racers who started immediately before her crashed. Marion Rolland of France fell before she even got to the first gate and injured her knee. Then, Paerson made a crash landing after flying 60 meters off the course's final jump.
Riesch acknowledged she was a bit spooked before the downhill which her best friend and chief rival Lindsey Vonn claimed gold.
In the super-combined, Riesch sat second behind Vonn after the downhill leg, then put down an error-free slalom run to put the pressure on the American.
Vonn hooked a tip midway down her slalom leg and the gold was Riesch's.
Like Vonn -- whose downhill gold was her first Olympic medal -- Riesch also had a troubled road before reaching the sport's pinnacle.
Both 25, Riesch was progressing more rapidly than Vonn before she had season-ending injuries that cut her 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons short and ruled her out of the 2006 Turin Games.
"Maria has had a lot of injuries and she hasn't been to any Olympics so far in her career, and I know she's had a lot of pressure on her from her country and everyone, so I think it's really cool for her to get that gold medal today," Vonn said. "She really deserved it."
Riesch confirmed she was not too disappointed about Vonn's fall.
"Today it was a bad (day) for her, yesterday it was a bad day for me," Riesch said. That's how sports is."
The German made the most of the relative calm around her to win the gold medal in the Olympic super-combined race on Thursday in Whistler, British Columbia.
"Yesterday was not a good day for me," Riesch said of the downhill in which she finished eighth. "I actually already felt it in the morning. I didn't feel cool.
"Today everything was fitting together. That's what I said before these Olympics Games -- for winning a gold medal everything must be perfect that day for you. Today everything was perfect for me."
American Julia Mancuso claimed her second silver in as many days finishing 0.94 seconds behind while Anja Paerson of Sweden took the bronze at 1.05 behind a day after a spectacular crash in the downhill.
Riesch's hesitancy in Wednesday's downhill was understandable. The two racers who started immediately before her crashed. Marion Rolland of France fell before she even got to the first gate and injured her knee. Then, Paerson made a crash landing after flying 60 meters off the course's final jump.
Riesch acknowledged she was a bit spooked before the downhill which her best friend and chief rival Lindsey Vonn claimed gold.
In the super-combined, Riesch sat second behind Vonn after the downhill leg, then put down an error-free slalom run to put the pressure on the American.
Vonn hooked a tip midway down her slalom leg and the gold was Riesch's.
Like Vonn -- whose downhill gold was her first Olympic medal -- Riesch also had a troubled road before reaching the sport's pinnacle.
Both 25, Riesch was progressing more rapidly than Vonn before she had season-ending injuries that cut her 2004-05 and 2005-06 seasons short and ruled her out of the 2006 Turin Games.
"Maria has had a lot of injuries and she hasn't been to any Olympics so far in her career, and I know she's had a lot of pressure on her from her country and everyone, so I think it's really cool for her to get that gold medal today," Vonn said. "She really deserved it."
Riesch confirmed she was not too disappointed about Vonn's fall.
"Today it was a bad (day) for her, yesterday it was a bad day for me," Riesch said. That's how sports is."
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