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PARK RECORD
Parkite Ligety savors another gold medal
Ligety continues to flex GS muscles; glad to win as strong pre-race favorite
Christopher Kamrani, Of the Record staff
Posted: 02/22/2011 04:24:52 PM MST
(Photo courtesy U.S. Ski Team) Ted Ligety is presented the gold medal as World Champion in giant...
Ted Ligety's marvelous second run boosted him from fourth place to yet another gold medal Friday.
The Park City native won the giant slalom in the 2011 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, giving the United States its first victory at the event.
Ligety said racing with the expectations created by his dominant season in the GS has brought both some positives and negatives. He said being able to come away with a gold medal as the pre-race favorite was especially sweet.
The 26-year-old Ligety has won three of five GS races on the World Cup circuit so far this season and won the bronze medal at the World Championships in 2009. He's also the owner of a gold medal from the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Torino, Italy,
"It's a lot different when you're racing as the big-time favorite, that's for sure," said Ligety in a conference call with the media Friday. "When I won in (the Olympics in) 2006, it was a surprise. Otherwise, I really haven't crushed it when I've been the favorite, so to be able to do that and succeed under those kinds of expectations was really cool."
American teammate and fellow alpine star Bode Miller, who finished 12th, approached Ligety prior to his second run to give him a few pointers on the course conditions.
Miller's advice proved vital.
"There were a couple iffy kind of turns looking at it in inspection," Ligety said. "It was good having (Miller) relay the confidence on to really hammer down there."
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Parkite said he has generally used the same game plan in his races this season and he kept the same mindset heading into the World Championships.
He added that he felt he may have played it a bit "too safe" in some races earlier this season, but Friday's GS race would be one he wouldn't overthink.
"I was just going as hard as I could both runs," he said, "obviously, being tactical in the places where I needed to be, but going harder than maybe I felt comfortable with."
"Ski racing's tough," Ligety went on to say. "If you're by far the best guy, you're still far from being guaranteed to win.
"The difference between having an awesome day and a horrible day is millimeters, really."
When asked if his stature with the public continues to grow, he responded, "In Park City or at ski races, obviously, people know who I am. Outside of our helmets and ski clothes, it's hard to recognize us. We're kind of like football players."
An Olympic medal and a World Championship medal aren't exactly comparable to Ligety, but the newly-minted World Champion will take it.
"A World Championship medal still feels pretty good," Ligety said.
