SNOWBASIN — Janica Kostelic took a moment Thursday, after winning the gold medal in the women's combined, to summarize her skiing career.
"I was 9 when I started, and I went skiing and skiing and skiing and skiing, and then I came here and won a medal," she said without further explanation . . . and none was asked for.
It was obvious she preferred not to talk about life. At times, she recalled, as a junior ski racer traveling with her brother, Ivica, because of lack of money, she was forced to sleep in tents or a car when the weather was cold and survived on salami and pickle sandwiches.
"It's true," she said. "But when you're a kid you don't really think about it. You're just doing it, and it was a bit like camping. It's a lot better now."
Kostelic, of Croatia, skied Thursday with the letters I-V-I-C-A painted on the nails of her left hand. Ivica Kostelic and America's Bode Miller are medal favorites in the men's slalom.
At 16, Kostelic competed in all five alpine events in the Nagano Olympics. She finished eighth in the combined. Last season, at 19, she became the second-youngest woman to ever win the overall World Cup title. A year ago, despite her favored status, she failed to medal in the World Championships.
"The problem was I didn't want it very much. I didn't think I needed a medal from the World Championships. I wanted an Olympic medal," she said, explaining her determination to win. This past summer she underwent three surgeries on an injured knee.
Thursday, under a reverse format — slalom in the morning and downhill in the afternoon — she led after the first run of the slalom and the second run of the slalom and clinched itwith a downhill run that surprised even her.
Renate Goetschl of Austria was second, and Martina Ertl of Germany was third.
Goetschl said as she moved into the start for the downhill that there was still hope in the back of her mind that she could win. "But Janica has a really good day. I made a mistake in the slalom, a really big mistake. My downhill was very good," she said.
Kostelic, herself, had doubts about winning. Passing through the finish, she kept her head down and her eyes forward. She resisted looking at the scoreboard or even listening to the roar of the crowd.
"When I looked up to see a minus-1.4 second (her margin of victory), I couldn't believe it because I didn't expect to have such a good downhill," she recalled. Kostelic's combined time for the three runs — two slalom and one downhill — was two minutes, 43.28 seconds. Goetschl clocked a 2:44.77 and Ertl a 2:45.16.
The U.S. Ski Team saw hope in the future in this race but no immediate satisfaction. Two of its youngest skiers, both 17, finished — Lindsey Kildow in sixth and Julia Mancuso in 16th. For medal hopeful Caroline Lalive, however, Olympic frustrations continued. She has yet to finish a race.
In the women's downhill on Tuesday she fell. In the combined she hit a gate on her first run of the slalom and fell but got up and finished. She did not show up for her second run. Her disappointment was made clear when the bypassed interviews with a "no comment."
Kildow's time was 2:48.05. She admitted her goal was to finish in the top 10. And, for a brief moment, before the leaders skied, she was in first place, and the crowd responded. "I'm so lucky to race here (at Snowbasin). I had that feeling today, and I'll never forget it," she said.
Skiing in her first Olympics, Mancuso said she was nervous and tentative, "but I held on and finished. With experience, I'll do better."
The race was to have opened with the downhill, but fearing high morning winds, officials decided to run the slalom first.
The next women's event will be the super-G on Sunday.
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