Sochi 2014: Swiss skier Sandro Viletta topples American big dogs
Sochi 2014: Sandro Viletta causes huge upset by winning men’s super combined as Bode Miller and Ted Ligety fall short
Switzerland’s Sandro Viletta created a shock in Sochi today to win gold in the Men’s Super Combined ahead of Croatian Ivica Kostelic, who became the first alpine skier to win four Olympic silver medals.
American stars Bode Miller and the much-fancied Ted Ligety, both finished outside the medals in sixth and 12th place respectively.
Long-shot Viletta had previously won just one World Cup race in six seasons and was in a lowly 14th place after the downhill section of the event, well behind the pace-setter Kjetil Jansrud.
I was surely not a favourite, I guess the snow conditions and the course setting from Ante Kostelic were perfect for me yet I still can’t explain how I could ski so fast this afternoon. I’m very surprised with that result I guess
Sandro Viletta
Yet 28-year-old Viletta came storming though to top the podium with a time of 50.32 in the slalom, claiming Switzerland’s fifth gold medal of the games and catapulting them up to second place in the medal table.
As the Sochi temperature soared to 13 degrees Celsius causing the snow to turn to slush during the slalom, eleven of the 40 competitors failed to complete the course while another two were disqualified.
Viletta, who has suffered from an on-going back injury for the last four years, was unsurprisingly overjoyed at his unexpected victory.
“I can’t describe what is going through my mind now,” Viletta, who performed a hand stand at the finish once he knew he had won, told Swiss television.
“It’s absolutely unbelievable, really difficult to understand it now for me, just amazing.
“I was surely not a favourite, I guess the snow conditions and the course setting from Ante Kostelic were perfect for me yet I still can’t explain how I could ski so fast this afternoon. I’m very surprised with that result I guess.”
A disappointed Miller speaking after his run said: “I made a bunch of mistakes on the column run. When you make mistakes on this snow it’s really responsive and really slows you down.
“I’ve watched enough guys to see if you weren’t working hard and sticking it, you had no chance.”
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