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Miller to get serious at world championships
2007-02-01
American Bode Miller ended speculation about his world ski championships ambitions by announcing he will race in all five events at the February 3-18 competition. The 29-year-old former World Cup champion had been uncertain to defend his downhill crown, explaining he was wary of the Are downhill run because he injured his knee on it in the season finale last year. Miller said he could still pull out of the February 10 event after he has tested the jumps during one of the obligatory training sessions or if his knee began to hurt. "If the jumps are big or if my knee hurts or if anything feels not right, then obviously I'll pull out," said Miller. But the American said he would be going out to widen his scope for success. "I've been conferring with the coaches and I'll be racing in all the events here. So hopefully I'll come out with a little more success than I've had in the last major championships," said Miller. Miller has four world championship golds to his name, in the downhill and super-G (2005) and the giant slalom and combined (2003). The only gold missing from his list is the slalom, and despite his relative failure to get on top of the technical event these past two seasons -- crashing out regularly during both runs -- it is one of his main aims here. If he rips up the form book and wins the slalom gold on February 17, he would become the first male skier in history to win world titles in all five disciplines. Before then Miller, who failed to medal at the Olympic Games last year, can win over his detractors. The world championships begin Saturday with the men's super-G, a race in which Miller, the defending champion, should hope to medal having won twice in the discipline this season. Despite his misgivings in the slalom, Miller's season has been saved by four wins -- two in the downhill and two in the super-G. However, major doubts remain over his ability to challenge Austrian nemesis Benjamin Raich, or even Swedish new kid on the block Jens Byggmark. On Tuesday Miller completed only his first World Cup slalom in over a year, finishing 25th and last in a race won by Raich. His encouraging performance was enough for US ski team bosses to hand him a spot on the slalom team, meaning he will also contend the giant slalom which is scheduled for February 14. The other event he will compete in will be the super-combined, which is comprised of a downhill and a single slalom run.
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