Bode Miller’s quest for Olympic redemption got off to a good start Monday afternoon when he won the bronze medal in the men’s downhill skiing event in Vancouver.
Miller’s time of 1 minute, 54.40 seconds made him the leader in the lodge, but Switzerland’s Didier Defago (1:54.31) and Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal (1:54.38) eventually edged him out to take the gold and silver, respectively.
Miller won two silver medals in Salt Lake City in 2002, but failed to reach the podium in any of his five events in Turin in 2006. The Easton, N.H., native fell out of favor with fans and media after telling 60 Minutes he had skied drunk and telling The Associated Press he had partied throughout the Games.
Miller, 32, failed to medal at the 2007 and 2009 world championships as well, and considered retiring over the summer, but ultimately decided to try and redeem himself at the Olympics, according to the AP.
“I was definitely fired up,” Miller told CTV in Canada after his run. “I went out of the start like I wanted to win this thing. This is a unique opportunity to feed off the crowd's energy and all the energy around the whole Games. I'm gonna keep doing it, and hopefully, I'll make less mistakes, and if I make less mistakes, I'm gonna be on top.”
Miller will race in four more events in Vancouver — the slalom, giant slalom, Super-G and combined. Monday’s downhill event was originally scheduled to take place Saturday, but it was postponed due to warm temperatures, rain and fog.
