LAKE PLACID'S WEIBRECHT TAKES OLYMPIC BRONZE IN SUPER G
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WHISTLER, British Columbia - Andrew Weibrecht came to Vancouver for his first Olympics to get some experience. The 23-year-old from Lake Placid got a lot more than he bargained for.
On Friday, Weibrecht reached the podium, earning the bronze medal in the men's Super G held at Whistler's Creekside Resort.
Weibrecht shared the podium with American teammate and silver-medalist Bode Miller. Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway skied to the gold.
Weibrecht told Miller before the race that it would be nice to see a United States sweep of the medals, and as it turned out, the alpine skier who specailizes in speed wasn't too far off the mark.
"We are skiing with momentum right now, and I thought Bode, Ted (Ligety) and I could really do it," Weibrecht said after the Friday evening medal ceremony in Whistler Village. "Unfortunately, Ted had some troubles today. We came close."
Ligety finished 19th.
After skiing to third place, Weibrecht was looking forward to the medals ceremony later in the day, and said he had no clue what he would be feeling when he stepped up on the stage in front of the world. Wearing the bronze medal around his neck, Weibrecht said he got teary-eyed on the stage, but was able to hold his composure during the ceremony.
"It was a very proud moment," Weibrecht said. "Being up there, seeing two American flags raised, it was incredible. It's too bad we couldn't get one more guy up there and hear them playing our national anthem. That would have been truly amazing."
In finishing third, it's apparent that Weibrecht left the nervousness he experienced in his first Olympic race, Monday's downhill, well in the past.
"I had so many jitters in the downhill," Weibrecht said. "Today, I was calm and relaxed."
He said being aggressive was the key to earning the bronze medal in the Super G, a discipline that Weibrecht said was his best event.
"The run was a little ragged," Weibrecht said, "but I kept charging. I was very aggressive on the bottom of the course. I'm never afraid to ski aggressive and hammer it. That's how you win races."
Miller, who also skied to a bronze medal in the downhill Monday, said Weibrecht deserved to be on the podium, and added that it's been a great week so far for himself, as well as his teammates.
"Andrew does things on the ski hill that nobody else can do," Miller said. "It's been two great podiums. On Monday, I was up there with two of the best in the world in Aksel and Didier (gold medalist Defago). Today, to be there with Aksel and Andrew, that was fun. I knew that Andrew has the potential. Today he showed what he is capable of doing."
After rebounding from what he considered a disappointing 21st place in the men's downhill by skiing to bronze, Weibrecht said he has already accomplished his mission on the Olympic ski slopes in Whistler, even though he has one more race to go - the combined event which features a downhill and slalom run.
"I am looking forward to the downhill again," Weibrecht said. "Slalom isn't my best event, and I haven't done a lot of them this year. I don't think I'll be a threat, but I do want to do that downhill. I want a little redemption for myself.
"I've never been on a World Cup podium, or an Olympic podium before today," he added."Obviously, I'm excited to be here. I came to the Olympics looking to get some experience. I've already gone way above and beyond that."
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