- Title: ITALY: Fans react to surprise Olympic men's downhill results.
- Date: 15th February 2006
- Summary: SESTRIERE, ITALY (FEBRUARY 12, 2006) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SPECTATORS WALKING AWAY VARIOUS OF DOWNHILL SLOPE AFTER MEN'S RACE (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. FAN SAYING: "Dissapointed about Bode (Miller). They probably didn't have the right wax on the ski for that mid-run. It would have been a lot of fun to see the medal but, yeah, it happens. They've been on top for quite a while, so we'll see more. We've got other events coming up. We've got the combined, we've got the slalom and I think there's a lot of opportunity for them to (get a) medal still" PEOPLE IN THE STREETS (SOUNDBITE) (English) SECOND U.S. FAN SAYING: "Well I 've got to be honest, I didn't expect that today would be the day that he (Bode Miller) would win a gold medal, but I have a feeling that he will win some medals here. I think in New Hampshire we are just proud of him, you know, I think he is a very interesting and clear-thinking and original-thinking kind of guy and I apreciate that about him" SWISS FAN WALKING PAST (SOUNDBITE) (English) SWISS FAN SAYING: "Well there is nothing to discuss if a guy leads with more than seven-tenths of a second. Of course, we would have liked to get the crown in the downhill and alpine skiing, but anyway, it's deserved victory by Antoine Deneriaz. He was always a kind of a secret favourite, so we very much apreciate it for the skiing and the sport. To be honest, it's very good that non-Austrian countries do still win in skiing competition. We would have liked the Germans to even compete, but we can live with it, definetely. Congratulations to Mr Deneriaz" SWISS FANS JUMPING WITH FLAGS IN THE STREET (SOUNDBITE) (French) SECOND SWISS FAN SAYING: "I am happy. Well, yes. At the qualification, (Andreas) Kuettel comes first. OK it was just the qualifying, but that's fine and now today (Bruno) Kernen third, that's cool, that's cool, it gives me pleasure. Hooray for Switzerland!"
- Embargoed: 2nd March 2006 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Italy
- Country: Italy
- Topics: Sports
- Reuters ID: LVACLJY83KMFMGPU7BFVEM7WV3PF
- Story Text: Antoine Deneriaz seemed to surprise everyone except himself when he
beat the season's best downhill skiers to become Olympic champion on Sunday
(February 12).
Deneriaz had three previous World Cup wins, but a year ago the
Frenchman crashed just as he was hitting the form of a lifetime and smashed
his knee.
Deneriaz beat current stars Michael Walchhofer and Hermann Maier of
Austria and Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves of the United States.
Deneriaz beat Austrian favourite Michael Walchhofer by 0.72 seconds.
Switzerland's Bruno Kernen took the bronze, 1.02 seconds behind Deneriaz's
time of one minute 48.80 seconds. Norwegian Kjetil Andre Aamodt, who had hoped
to win a record eighth Olympic medal, was pushed into fourth place and World
Champion Bode Miller of the United States was fifth.
Austrian Fritz Strobl, who wanted to become the first Olympic downhill
champion to successfully defend his title, was back in eighth place, behind
his team mate Hermann Maier and Liechtenstein's Marco Buechel. Daron Rahlves
of the USA, who had been the fastest man in training, was 10th.
U.S. fans had mixed reactions to Bode Miller's performance.
"Dissapointed about Bode (Miller)," said one.
"They probably didn't have the right wax on the ski for that
mid-run. It would have been a lot of fun to see the medal but, yeah, it
happens. They've been on top for quite a while, so we'll see more. We've got
other events coming up. We've got the combined, we've got the slalom and I
think there's a lot of opportunity for them to (get a) medal still."
Another U.S. fan in Sestriere commented: "Well I 've got to be
honest, I didn't expect that today would be the day that he (Bode Miller)
would win a gold medal, but I have a feeling that he will win some medals
here. I think in New Hampshire we are just proud of him, you know, I think he
is a very interesting and clear-thinking and original-thinking kind of guy and
I apreciate that about him."
A Swiss fan said it was good for the sport that Deneriaz had won.
"Well there is nothing to discuss if a guy leads with more than
seven-tenths of a second. Of course, we would have liked to get the crown in
the downhill and alpine skiing, but anyway, it's deserved victory by Antoine
Deneriaz. He was always a kind of a secret favourite, so we very much
apreciate it for the skiing and the sport. To be honest, it's very good that
non-Austrian countries do still win in skiing competition. We would have liked
the Germans to even compete, but we can live with it, definetely.
Congratulations to Mr Deneriaz."
Another fan was content with the Swiss performance.
"I am happy. Well, yes. At the qualification, (Andreas) Kuettel
comes first. OK it was just the qualifying, but that's fine and now today
(Bruno) Kernen third, that's cool, that's cool, it gives me pleasure. Hooray
for Switzerland!" - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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