Winter Olympics: Julia Mancuso wins bronze, scores United States' first Alpine ...
Alain Grosclaude/Agence Zoom/Getty ImagesKRASNAYA POLYANA - Julia Mancuso won the United States its first Alpine skiing medal at the Sochi Games on Monday, taking bronze in women's super combined and underscoring her reputation as a versatile racer who comes through when the stakes are high.
It is Mancuso's fourth Olympic medal, a record among American skiers, and the performance makes her a favorite for the podium in the women's downhill on Wednesday.
In the two-run race, Mancuso was the fastest racer in the morning's downhill portion then held on through an afternoon of rugged slalom to finish with a combined time that was good enough to bump Tina Maze of Slovenia into fourth place by a tenth of a second.
Reigning champion Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany successfully defended her Vancouver gold in the event with a combined time of 2 minutes, 34.62 seconds. Silver went to Austria's Nicole Hosp, four tenths of a second back.
Mancuso finished 0.53 seconds behind Hoefl-Riesch after surviving a deteriorating slalom course that nine of 31 racers failed to finish. Mancuso dedicated the race to the memory of her grandfather, who died on Feb. 3.
A gifted athlete who grew up skiing powder at Squaw Valley, California, Mancuso was brilliant in the morning's downhill run, which was contested on a shorter version of the run that will be used for Wednesday's medal race in that event.
Mancuso, 29, was only 14 years old when she began participating in U.S. Ski Team training programs, and has raced on the World Cup tour since she was 16. She has always risen to the occasion in championship events, and earned two medals at the Vancouver Games in 2010.
One of those was a silver in the downhill, where the only racer faster than her was her eternal rival, Lindsey Vonn, who is sitting out these Olympics with an injured knee.
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