Viletta wins first
Krasnaya Polyana, Russia (SportsNetwork.com) - Sandro Viletta became the first Swiss skier in Olympic history to win gold in the super-combined competition Friday, while defending gold medalist Bode Miller finished in sixth.
Viletta raced through the downhill portion of the competition in 1 minute, 54.88 seconds, 1.64 seconds slower than the leader, Norway's Kjetil Jansrud.
The 28-year-old Swiss skier than traversed the tricky slalom section of the event in 50.32 seconds, giving him a total time of 2:45.20, which no other skier was able to match.
Viletta took home his first Olympic medal and gave Switzerland its best result in the combined in Olympic history. The previous best Swiss finish in Olympic combined was silver by Karl Molitor in St. Moritz in 1948.
Miller, who stumbled to an eighth-place finish in Sunday's downhill competition, missed out on his second shot at a medal in Sochi, finishing sixth with a total time of 2:46.60. He had the 12th-best downhill run and the seventh-best slalom time.
Croatia's Ivica Kostelic claimed his third straight silver medal in the combined, turning in a total time of 2:45.54 to secure his fourth Olympic medal -- all silver.
Italian Christof Innerhofer followed up his silver medal in Sunday's downhill by grabbing the bronze in the super combined with a total time of 2:45.67.
Despite posting the top time in the downhill portion of the event, Jansrud struggled in the slushy snow during his slalom run and finished fourth.
American Ted Ligety, the reigning super combined world champion and 2006 gold medalist in this event, made his Sochi debut Friday, finishing 12th behind compatriot Jared Goldberg.
Morgan Pridy, the lone Canadian in the competition, finished in 20th.
Eleven skiers did not finish the race after crashing on the slalom course.
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