Bode Miller completes eye-opening Kitzbuehel weekend

By Nick ZaccardiJan 26, 2014, 1:23 PM EST

Bode Miller nearly posted three podium finishes at Alpine skiing’s most hallowed venue in two days, but he’ll leave Kitzbuehel, Austria, with bittersweet results.

The five-time Olympic medalist finished third in the Hahnenkamm downhill on Saturday and second in a super-G on Sunday morning before provisionally placing third in a super combined later Sunday.

He was later disqualified out of the super combined for straddling a gate in the slalom portion.

“I was OK today,” Miller said after the super-G, which he lost to Swiss Didier Defago by .05 of a second. “It was obviously disappointing not to win; five hundredths is not very much time. Just give me a break and let me win one time here.”

Miller has won in Kitzbuehel before — combined races in 2004 and 2008 — but he knows the clock on his career is ticking and who knows if he’ll race in the Austrian frenzy again. Some 50,000 fans were at Saturday’s downhill.

In the slalom Sunday night, Miller was the top skier to go out of the top 30 from the super-G. Defago dropped out of the slalom because he is a speed race specialist.

So, Miller was in position for his first World Cup win since Dec. 2, 2011. Had he won, he would have jumped from ninth in the World Cup standings to fourth in a span of two days. He would have also passed teammate Ted Ligety.

Remember, Ligety was the most successful skier at last year’s World Championships, winning three gold medals. Miller is 36 years old and coming off knee surgery that caused him to miss all of last season.

It was not to be, though. Ligety took second in the super combined after finishing 31st in the super-G. France’s Alexis Pinturault won the super combined.

“My slalom run was OK, it was sure better than in the classic slalom race [on Friday],” Ligety said. “Alexis is a great slalom skier, so it’s not too bad to be after him. The crowd is great, there are not many places where you can attract a crowd like this one on a Sunday night.”

Miller is set to be named to a fifth Olympic Team later Sunday and is looking like a Sochi medal threat in as many as four events.

Earlier, Miller took second in a super-G behind Defago, who is 10 days older than Miller. The 2010 Olympic downhill champion Defago won his first World Cup race since Dec. 29, 2011.

The men’s Alpine skiing World Cup continues with a slalom in Schladming, Austria, on Tuesday.

Kitzbuehel Super Combined
1. Alexis Pinturault (FRA) 2:02.79
2. Ted Ligety (USA) 2:03.23
3. Marcel Hirscher (AUT) 2:04.26
4. Thomas Mermillod Blondin (FRA) 2:04.49
5. Mauro Caviezel (SUI) 2:04.58
6. Peter Fill (ITA) 2:04.64
7. Sandro Viletta (SUI) 2:04.80
8. Carlo Janka (SUI) 2:04.99
9. Justin Murisier (SUI) 2:05.34
10. Kjetil Jansrud (NOR) 2:05.42
11. Jared Goldberg (USA) 2:05.43
13. Tim Jitloff (USA) 2:06.12
27. Andrew Weibrecht (USA) 2:07.65
30. Steven Nyman (USA) 2:08.22
37. Bryce Bennett (USA) 2:10.03
DNF. Mark Engel (USA)
DNF. Travis Ganong (USA)
DQ. Bode Miller (USA)

Kitzbuehel Super-G
1. Didier Defago (SUI) 1:10.38
2. Bode Miller (USA) 1:10.43
3. Max Franz (AUT) 1:10.53
5. Johan Clarey (FRA) 1:10.57
6. Travis Ganong (USA) 1:10.68
6. Otmar Striedinger (AUT) 1:10.68
8. Carlo Janka (SUI) 1:10.73
9. Adrien Theaux (FRA) 1:10.74
10. Markus Duerager (AUT) 1:10.79
22. Steven Nyman (USA) 1:11.18
23. Andrew Weibrecht (USA) 1:11.22
31. Ted Ligety (USA) 1:11.32
32. Jared Goldberg (USA) 1:11.33
44. Marco Sullivan (USA) 1:11.57
50. Tim Jitloff (USA) 1:11.76
54. Erik Fisher (USA) 1:11.83
71. Mark Engel (USA) 1:12.92
77. Bryce Bennett (USA) 1:13.29

Lara Gut rediscovers winning form

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Penny Oleksiak to miss world swimming championships

By OlympicTalkJun 1, 2023, 10:11 AM EDT

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Seven-time Olympic medalist Penny Oleksiak of Canada will miss July’s world swimming championships because she does not expect to be recovered enough from knee and shoulder injuries.

“The bar that we set was, can she be as good as she’s ever been at these world championships?” coach Ryan Mallette said in a press release. “We just don’t feel like we’re going to be ready to be 100 percent yet this summer. Our focus is to get her back to 100 percent as soon as possible to get ready for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.”

Oleksiak, who owns the Canadian record of seven Olympic medals (across all sports), missed Canada’s trials meet for worlds two months ago due to the injuries. She was still named to the team at the time in hope that she would be ready in time for worlds.

The 22-year-old returned to competition last month at a Mare Nostrum meet in Barcelona, after which she chose to focus on continued rehab rather than compete at worlds in Fukuoka, Japan.

“Swimming at Mare Nostrum was a checkpoint for worlds, and I gave it my best shot,” Oleksiak said in the release. “We reviewed my swims there, and it showed me the level I want to get back to. Now I need to focus on my rehab to get back to where I want to be and put myself in position to be at my best next season.”

Oleksiak had knee surgery last year to repair a meniscus. After that, she developed an unrelated left shoulder injury.

In 2016, Oleksiak tied for Olympic 100m freestyle gold with American Simone Manuel. She also earned 100m butterfly silver in Rio and 200m free bronze in Tokyo, along with four relay medals between those two Games.

At last year’s worlds, she earned four relay medals and placed fourth in the 100m free.

She anchored the Canadian 4x100m free relay to silver behind Australia at the most recent Olympics and worlds.

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Fred Kerley flies into Florence via Grenada; Diamond League broadcast schedule

By Nick ZaccardiJun 1, 2023, 8:14 AM EDT

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American Fred Kerley is about to race on a fourth different continent this year, but the seeds for this season — and all of his medal-winning seasons — were planted on the sand, grass and pavement of Grenada.

Kerley, the world 100m champion, headlines Friday’s Diamond League meet in Florence, Italy. Peacock streams it live from 2-4 p.m. ET. CNBC airs coverage Saturday at 1 p.m. ET.

It was to be a showdown between Kerley and the Olympic 100m champion, Marcell Jacobs of Italy. But Jacobs withdrew on Tuesday due to the nerve pain that has pushed back the start of his outdoor season. Jacobs withdrew from six scheduled races with Kerley dating to May 2022 due to a series of health issues since winning that surprise gold in Tokyo.

Kerley, who traded social media barbs with Jacobs earlier this spring, indicated a detente in a press conference Thursday.

“I’m not upset that he’s not competing, just wish him health and that he gets back to competing at 100 percent,” he said.

When speaking of himself, Kerley kept his trademark confidence. He wore a hat with a goat on it on Thursday and repeated that his focus is on two numbers: 9.69 (Tyson Gay‘s American record in the 100m) and 9.58 (Usain Bolt‘s world record). Kerley’s personal best, in two-plus years since dropping down from the 400m, is 9.76.

He resides in South Florida, a place that allows an outdoor athlete to train year-round. Kerley eschews that. He annually flies to Grenada for up to six-week stays.

“[I] work on a lot of specific stuff in Grenada to get me to the level I need to be when Budapest comes around,” Kerley said, referring to August’s world championships in the Hungarian capital, where he will bid to become the first man to repeat as world 100m champion since Bolt in 2013 and 2015.

Why Grenada? His Texas-based coach, Alleyne Francique, competed at three Olympics for the Spice Island, including placing fourth in the 400m at the 2004 Athens Games. That was the best Olympic finish for any Grenada athlete until Kirani James won a 400m medal of every color at the last three Games.

Francique recruited Kerley to Texas A&M out of junior college in 2015. When Kerley turned pro in 2017, he moved to the ALTIS training facility in Arizona. After a year, he went back to Francique at College Station — “It didn’t work out for me. I won’t say anything bad about the program,” he said in 2019, according to Track and Field News. Kerley has since moved to Florida, but Francique still coaches him remotely from Texas.

Kerley has trained in Grenada’s national stadium in St. George’s, which in 2017 was named after James. But a more unique venue for Kerley is a paved hill near the home of one of Francique’s friends.

“There’s no traffic, so it’s a good area to train,” Francique said.

There are few distractions there, aside from chickens, ducks and cattle. Francique noted that in the three seasons that Kerley trained in Grenada, he won bronze (2019 Worlds 400m), silver (Tokyo Olympic 100m) and gold (2022 Worlds 100m).

“So next year, maybe, he breaks a world record,” Francique said.

Here are the Florence entry lists. Here’s the schedule of events (all times Eastern):

12:30 p.m. — Women’s Discus
12:45 — Men’s Triple Jump
1:15 — Men’s Shot Put
1:43 — Women’s Pole Vault
2:04 — Women’s 400m Hurdles
2:15 — Men’s 200m
2:20 — Men’s High Jump
2:25 — Women’s 3000m Steeplechase
2:42 — Women’s Long Jump
2:44 — Women’s 100m
2:56 — Men’s 110m Hurdles
3:06 — Men’s 5000m
3:28 — Women’s 400m
3:39 — Men’s 100m
3:49 — Women’s 1500m

Here are five events to watch:

Women’s Pole Vault — 1:43 p.m. ET
Just like the Diamond League season opener in Doha, the field has the top five from the last year’s worlds, led by Americans Katie Moon and Sandi Morris, the gold and silver medalists. Moon is the world leader this year indoors and outdoors, though she no-heighted at last Saturday’s Los Angeles Grand Prix. Come August’s worlds, she will look to become the first woman to repeat as world champ in the pole vault in 16 years. Morris, who was third in Doha, eyes her first global outdoor title after four silvers between the Olympics and worlds.

Women’s Long Jump — 2:42 p.m. ET
A gathering of the world’s most accomplishes active jumpers — Olympic and world champion Malaika Mihambo of Germany, Olympic and world medalist Ese Brume of Nigeria — and the top Americans — Quanesha Burks and Tara Davis-Woodhall. They’re all chasing 7.08 meters, the world’s best leap this year recorded by Jamaican Ackelia Smith, a University of Texas sophomore.

Men’s 5000m — 3:06 p.m. ET
Field includes Olympic 5000m champion Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda, Olympic 10,000m champion Selemon Barega of Ethiopia and world silver medalist Jacob Krop of Kenya as well as reigning U.S. 5000m and 10,000m champions Grant Fisher and Joe Klecker. Cheptegei, the world record holder, was ninth at last July’s worlds and since has strictly raced on the roads and in cross country.

Men’s 100m — 3:39 p.m. ET
The entire podium from last year’s worlds meets here: Kerley and countrymen Marvin Bracy-Williams and Trayvon Bromell. It’s a similar field to last Sunday, when Kerley prevailed by five hundredths over South African Akani Simbine. Simbine is back, as is Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala, who is the world’s fastest man this year (9.84) but was third in Rabat.

Women’s 1500m — 3:49 p.m. ET
Kenyan Faith Kipyegon, a double Olympic and double world champion, ran the world’s fastest time of 2023 at the Diamond League opener in Doha on May 5. Then last weekend, four different Ethiopians ran faster. Kipyegon figures to be faster in Florence than she was in Doha given the addition of Brit Laura Muir, the Olympic silver medalist and world bronze medalist, in her outdoor season debut.

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