Bode Miller wins elusive gold medal

WHISTLER, British Columbia - Bode Miller finally won his elusive gold medal, using a blistering slalom run Sunday to complete one of the most unlikely Olympic comebacks ever.

Four years after failing amid lofty expectations at the Turin Games and a year after practically walking away from the sport, Miller won the super-combined for his third medal in as many events at Vancouver.

Seventh after the morning downhill run, Miller skied the third-fastest afternoon slalom leg for a two-run time of 2 minutes, 44.92 seconds - a comfortable 0.33 ahead of Ivica Kostelic of Croatia, who matched his silver medal at Turin. Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland claimed bronze, 0.40 back.

For a guy who has insisted that medals aren't important, this one clearly was special. "The way I executed, the way I skied, is something I'll be proud of the rest of my life," the 32-year-old Miller said. "I skied with 100 percent heart - I didn't hold anything back . . . It's just awesome. There's nothing else to say."

Having skipped summer training while he debated retiring, Miller nearly didn't have enough energy to hold on as he came over the final pitch of the slalom course.

"My legs started feeling really wobbly," he said. "I didn't even feel like I was looking at the gate anymore."

Miller, who still has two races left, has also won a silver and a bronze - a sharp contrast from his no-medal performance in Turin, where he made more headlines for his late-night partying than his skiing.

Miller said he was running on "fumes" following his first two races, the downhill and the super-G. "I felt awesome about it," he said. "But still, it's incredibly emotionally exhausting to do it like that. I've got one leg that's injured and another leg that's on my boat already," he added, looking forward to his postseason vacation.

Miller let out a big smile upon crossing the finish line and stuck out his tongue while the crowd roared its approval.

With five medals for his career - he won two silvers at Salt Lake City - he is tied with Italy's Alberto Tomba and Norway's Lasse Kjus for second on the all-time Alpine list for men, trailing only the eight by Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway.

The three medals in Vancouver match the record for most by a man in Alpine skiing at a single Olympics. Aamodt won two silvers and a bronze at the 1994 Lillehammer Games, while Jean-Claude Killy swept all three events then held at the 1968 Grenoble Games and Toni Sailer did the same at Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956.

Miller boosted the U.S. medal tally in Alpine skiing at Vancouver to a record eight - already three more than the five from Sarajevo in 1984 - with four races remaining.