Bode Miller
Kevin Dietsch/Landov
"I was kind of on fumes," he said after the race, explaining that he is skiing on a bad leg while the other "is on my boat already."
"It was mentally and emotionally exhausting to do that after years and years of not doing it," Miller, 32, explained. "I had to just get fully fired up to take maximum risk."
He finished seventh in the downhill portion but made up the time in the technically demanding slalom run to defeat Croatia’s Ivica Kostelic by 0.33 seconds. Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland won the bronze.
Miller now has five Olympic medals in all, putting him second on the all-time alpine skiing list.
The crowd went wild when Miller crossed the finish line and again when he was awarded the gold. If he can place in the top spots again, he can tie the Olympic record for most medals at a games by an alpine skier. However, Miller is unsure if he can keep up the electric pace.
"It's going to be hard for me to keep doing this," he admitted. "It’s emotionally exhausting."
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