Bode Miller might be 36, but he put together the type of training session that reminds why he’s one of the biggest names in the 2014 Olympics on Saturday.
Miller had the fastest training run in the final warm-up before the men’s downhill medal event kicks off on Sunday, clocking in at 2 minutes, 6.09 seconds. He also enjoyed the quickest session in the first training run, signaling that he should be taken seriously in the event.
But he knows the course will make it tough — or worse. He saw the first starter on the course, Rok Perko, crash violently, while Marco Sullivan of the United States and Brice Roger of France both had issues. Miller later told reporters that the treacherous Rosa Khutor piste “could kill you.”
“It’s very treacherous. This course has teeth everywhere,” Miller said. “The top is aggressive and speeds are so high and the turns are so swingy and bumpy that you can hook an edge anywhere.
“You saw Marco today. It doesn’t look like it, it’s an innocuous place and there’s nothing there, but he almost killed himself. If that crash doesn’t go just the way it went, he goes flying through B nets going 75 (mph) straight into the trees.”
Miller has five Olympic medals to his name, including a gold, silver and bronze from Vancouver. He’ll face fierce competition on Sunday, but he seems ready to give his all.
