Fil-Am alpine skier Miller crashes out anew in slalom
FIL-AM alpine skier Asa Miller’s hopes of coming through with a better finish ended up in disappointment after he wound up with another DNF (did not finish) in men’s slalom on Wednesday that concluded his Beijing Winter Olympics campaign at the Ice River track in Yanqing, China.
The 21-year-old Mr. Miller had another disastrous performance that came three days after he had a DNF in giant slalom on Sunday when he stumbled right at the starting block amid the harsh track conditions, heavy snowfall and nearly zero visibility.
While conditions were better on Wednesday, Mr. Miller just couldn’t avoid suffering the same fate.
Unlike in giant slalom, the Oregon native had lasted longer on this one as he checked in at the first intermediate run in 12.93 seconds while clocking 36.51 seconds in the second run.
Then disaster struck in the third as he came stumbling down to crash out of the race that capped what had been a gloomy campaign for Mr. Miller, whose trip was bankrolled by the Philippine Sports Commission.
It was truly heartbreaking for Mr. Miller, who was hoping to improve on his 70th-place effort in the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.
“I have a fault also,” said a teary-eyed Mr. Miller.
Mr. Miller, who was flagged off at 65 of the 86 participants, was not alone though as 33 others also had a DNF.
Will Gregorak, Mr. Millers’ coach, blamed the uneven snow.
“With this type of snow, the skis were not responding very well for him so it’s very difficult to get his feeling on the skis and that’s how it goes sometimes,” said Mr. Gregorak. “You hoped that it wouldn’t happen in the Olympics, but that’s ski racing and that’s the nature of the sport, and that’s slalom racing.”
Mr. Gregorak said he still proud of Miller despite the mishaps.
“I’m really proud of Asa (Miller) for the composure he showed this week. The difficult hills, the difficult conditions and all the work and focus he put on it — that’s all about being an athlete,” said Mr. Gregorak. “You cannot guarantee the result, but Asa (Miller) proved to be a formidable Olympian.” — Joey Villar
