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Show presented by Wed/Thurs/Fri, February 21-23, 2018 D-1 Medal Count A finish to forget Ligety falls short in chase for third Olympic medal ED STONER SWIFT COMMUNICATIONS 1. Norway 11 10 8 2. Germany 11 7 5 3. Canada 8 5 6 United States (No. 6) 5 3 4 P YEONGCHANG, South Korea — Ted Ligety came into Pyeongchang with hopes of earning his third Olympic medal. By the end of his first run Sunday in his signature event, that dream was already out of reach. Mr. G.S., who for years dominated the giant slalom, winning five discipline titles, seemed to be a shadow of his former self. “Today was just a really awful day,” he said. “A really bad day and time to not ski up to the level I wanted to.” The Sochi defending gold medalist finished more than three seconds behind winner Marcel Hirscher, ending up in 15th place, at the YongPyong Alpine Centre. “I didn’t attack the way I could have or should have,” he said. “There’s no explanation for that.” Ligety finished 2.44 seconds back after the first run. He said he thought he had skied better than he did. “I was really surprised when I saw the time,” he said. “I didn’t feel like I crushed it, but it didn’t feel two and a half seconds bad.” The 33-year-old Park City native won his first World Cup on this hill at the YongPyong Alpine Centre in 2006. That same year, he won gold in the combined at the Olympics in Torino. He added another gold in the giant slalom in Sochi in 2014. Ligety hasn’t won a World Cup race since tearing his right ACL in a training crash in January 2016. After returning later that year, he suffered from back pain during races. He had back surgery in January 2017, and took off another 11 months. He finally returned to the World Cup tour in December, scoring a podium finish at his last race before the Olym- COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD Ted Ligety skis giant slalom in the 2017 Audi Birds of Prey Alpine World Cup at Beaver Creek, Colorado. Ligety at the 2018 Games was unable to capture a third Olympic medal. pics, a giant slalom in Garmisch, Germany. Ligety said he’ll return for another season of racing, but didn’t make any predictions about whether this is his last Olympics. “I’ll be 37 years old then,” he said of the Beijing Games. “And that’s not out of the realm of possibilities. We’ll see.” Ligety’s wife, Mia, and 7-month-old son, Jax, were on the event to cheer him on. Hirscher won his second gold of the Pyeongchang Games on Sunday after previously winning the alpine combined. “He is the greatest ever,” said bronze medalist Alexis Pinturault, of France. “You just have to see his career. He’s beaten everybody now. There is only (all-time World Cup winner Ingemar) Stenmark, but he could beat him as well. It just depends on how long he wants to carry on.” Ligety later posted a photo of Jax, saying “he is the bright spot on the day.” Hirscher, who has 55 World Cup victories at age 28, said he didn’t think he could beat Stenmark’s record of 86 World Cup wins. “There’s other priorities sometimes in life now other than just ski racing,” he said. “No chance,” he said. “I’m not interested in skiing for another five to 10 years.” COURTESY OF U.S. SKI & SNOWBOARD Ted Ligety finished 15th in giant slalom in Pyeongchang. Supporting local athletes of all skill levels since 2004. Go Team USA! An Admittedly Different Education #competitorsforlife Open every day 8:30am to 9pm Winter appointments until 10pm 875 Iron Horse Dr, Park City 435-615-8440 www.kneadamassage.com |