Two-time World Cup overall champion Bode Miller (Franconia, NH) was named Thursday to the U.S. Ski Team and will compete this coming season on the Audi FIS World Cup. Miller has skied independently the last two years, winning his second overall World Cup title in 2007-08. The U.S. Ski Team and Miller made the announcement in a joint press conference at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
According to U.S. Ski Team Head Men’s Alpine Coach Sasha Rearick, Miller has committed to the U.S. Ski Team program.
“Bode is committed to the Team and the Team looks forward to helping Bode achieve personal greatness,” Rearick said. “Because Bode is such a great competitor he’s going to challenge everyone on the Team to push their personal limits and strive for greater performances. I look forward to Bode being a positive team member and leader.
“Our men’s Team the last two years has grown into a close-knit family – we help each other be successful. Having proven veterans like Ted [Ligety], Marco [Sullivan], Steven [Nyman], Scott [Macartney] and Bode all training and racing together will help all of us. This is a group of strong leaders that Bode has trained and raced with throughout his career.”
Bode Miller added:
“I am excited to be back with the guys and the Team. We’ve had great success together,” Miller said. “I look forward to taking advantage of the great program we have in place.”
Miller was named to the Team based on his results from last season. Like all other athletes, he will need to qualify for a slot on the Olympic Team based on 2010 season results. The Olympic Team will be named January 26.
The Team will begin working with Miller immediately. The four-time World Champion Miller did not set a return to competition date. He is not expected to compete in the Oct. 25 Audi FIS World Cup season opener in Soelden, Austria but is hopeful to be at the Visa Birds of Prey World Cup Dec. 2-6 in Beaver Creek, CO.
2 Comments
As may be expected… I just heard through the grapevine that many on the US Ski Team aren’t so keen on Mr. Miller with his huge ego and all. He’s a great skier, but he HAS rubbed many people the wrong way over his career.
There is no denying his skiing ability… the guy can rip and takes chances that either put him on the podium or cause some serious carnage. Go rip it up guys!
I wonder if he’ll be able to “tame” himself, too. The guy could easily go for a number of crystal globes all at the same time if he just skied smart instead of taking ridiculous risks that don’t pay off. Don’t get me wrong, Bode is awesome and I think it’s great having a representative of the “ski for fun” school participating in an otherwise rather uptight FIS World Cup. I wish him all the best and my girlfriend is especially pleased he’s still around! 😉
Rok
Slovenia