Raich wins first gold

ByEurosport

Published 20/02/2006 at 21:39 GMT

World No. 1 Benjamin Raich won his first Olympic gold on Monday less than one week after losing the combined title by skiing out in the final leg. Raich finished in front of France's Joel Chenal, silver, and Austrian teammate Hermann Maier, who won his se

ALPINE SKIING 2005-2006 Torino 2006 Benjamin Raich Austria giant slalom gold

Image credit: Reuters

In fifth after the first run, Raich blazed to the fasted time in run two to claim victory in a combined time of two minutes and 35 seconds.

Raich, the 27-year-old overall World Cup leader, lost a chance at his first Olympic gold last Tuesday when he failed to finish his final slalom run after leading through the first run and downhill portions of the combined event.

"I am so relieved," Raich told reporters. "There was such a lot of pressure on me after the two failures in the combined and the super-G."

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ALPINE SKIING 2005-2006 Torino 2006 Raich Giant Slalom Men

Image credit: dpa

"Before, I did not manage to gain a medal, and everyone wondered why, because of what and how will it be?! And this mounts the pressure," Raich told Eurosport after the win. "But I did it, and that may be why I am even happier."

Several skiers had complained that the piste was icy, and of eighty-two skiers who started the first leg on the Sises piste only 48 finished.

"Everything went perfectly," Raich said. "It wasn't easy, but the track was difficult and the concurrence strong."

Raich finished a disappointing 21st in Saturday's super-G.

He won slalom and combined bronze at Salt Lake City in the 2002 Olympics, and is a strong contender for Saturday's Alpine finale in the slalom.

Asked how gold tasted the Austrian replied: "I don't know yet, but I think that it will taste fantastic."

THE TASTE OF SILVER AND BRONZE

Chenal, who won his last World Cup race back in 1999, finished just 0.07 off of Raich's combined time to retain his second-place position from run-one and claim his first Olympic medal in a surprise for team France.

"I have had so many moments of doubt in my career," he told reporters. "This is incredible for me."

Maier, who won the silver medal in Saturday's super-G, was 0.16 seconds off pace to claim his fourth Olympic medal and second at these Turin Games.

"Of course I am satisfied but then I missed gold twice with such narrow margins," said the Austrian, who had influenza coming into Olympics.

"I was ill before the downhill, and that affected me until the end. Now, I feel better, and everything improves," said Maier, who doesn't plan on being a challenger in the slalom, the final Alpine event. "But now the Olympic Games are over."

American hopeful Bode Miller had a blazing second run to move up into the sixth position from 12th, but could not claim his first Olympic medal of these Games.

Canda's Francois Bourque, who led after the first run, finished a disappointing fourth after failing to race one of the ten fastest times in the second run.

"I have wanted to win an Olympic race since I was a child," said Raich, who collapsed to the ground after watching Bourque's ski confirm victory for the Austrian.