Ted Ligety (file photo: Mitchell Gunn/ESPA)
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Ligety Performs World Championships Feat Not Seen Since Jean-Claude Killy

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Schladming, Austria – Defending World Champion Ted Ligety rewrote the history books on Friday in Schladming, becoming the first man in 45 years to win three gold medals at a single FIS Alpine World Ski Championships.

“If you want to call me the King of Schladming, that’s cool with me,” said Ligety. “This has been a crazy, unbelievable week – definitely far exceeded my expectations. To win three gold meals here is awesome and to join some of the legends of the sport. There was definitely a lot of pressure coming into the GS as the defending champion. With those gold medals it definitely added a lot of extra pressure.”

Ligety, of Park City, Utah, banked a 1.30-second first run lead to win by .81 over Austria’s Marcel Hirscher.

Utah's Ted Ligety screams down the course en route to World Championships history on Friday in the Alpine FIS Ski World Championships giant slalom race in Schladming, Austria (photo: Mitchell Gunn/ESPA)
Utah’s Ted Ligety screams down the course en route to World Championships history on Friday in the Alpine FIS Ski World Championships giant slalom race in Schladming, Austria (photo: Mitchell Gunn/ESPA)

“Marcel has been really pushing me the last couple years in GS,” Ligety added of Hirscher. “He’s been a big motivate to continue the level of training and pushing as hard as I do. It’s not easy having such a young guy like that be so, so good at such a young age. I’ve had to push really hard and he’s pushed me to a new level.”

Legendary ski star Jean-Claude Killy was the last racer to accomplish win three or more gold medals at a single World Championships, when he won four gold in the 1968 Olympics in Grenoble, France. Ligety opened the 2013 Championships last week with a win in super G, then added another on Monday in super combined.

“It’s somewhere in his mind right now. ‘I’ve achieve this, it’s great, let’s celebrate it. But we have a lot of work to do in the future,'” said U.S. Ski Team Head Coach, Sasha Rearick. “In some way it hasn’t hit him and in some ways he’s getting ready for the next challenge.”

Only four men previously have won three or more gold (Toni Sailer, Austria, four in 1956, three in 1958; Jean Claude Killy, France, four in 1968; Stein Eriksen, Norway, three in 1954; Emile Allais, France, three in 1937). Ligety is the first man or woman to win gold in super G, super combined and giant slalom and the seventh man to win two giant slalom gold in his career (the sixth to win back-to-back). With Friday’s victory Ligety has matched Bode Miller’s career total of four World Championship gold medals.
“No one has done this in the modern era because of the development of the World Cup,” Rearick explained. “You have tremendous athletes, programs, national teams and company support pushing at a very high level. Over the last 30 years, specialists have developed in multiple events so to be able to win in three events has been impossible. When you think of the greats like Lasse Kjus, Kjetil Aamodt and Hermann Maier – and they haven’t done it. It’s amazing, absolutely amazing achievement for Ted.”
In other U.S. Ski Team action in Friday’s race, Tim Jitloff, of Reno, Nev., had the seventh fastest second run to finish 16th while Robby Kelley, of Starksboro, Vt., was 26th in his first World Championships appearance.
On a day when Ligety was celebrating his remarkable success, two young Canadians were left to reflect on the lessons learned from a tough day at the hill. Phil Brown, of Toronto, Ontario, finished 35th while Dustin Cook, of Lac-Sainte-Marie, Quebec, did not finish his second run as both skiers struggled to get to grips with a very challenging giant slalom course.
“It’s always a good experience to get World Cup and world championship starts but I’m a little disappointed with how it went,” said Brown, 21. “I think I just need to work a little bit more on my giant slalom. I’ve been struggling a little bit lately. Hopefully I can take something positive from this and move forward.”
Next up at the world championships is Saturday’s women’s slalom. The world champs conclude Sunday with the men’s slalom.

OFFICIAL RESULTS
FIS Alpine World Ski Championships
Schladming, Austria – Feb. 15, 2013
Men’s Giant Slalom

Rank Bib Name Year Nation Run 1 Run 2 Total Time FIS Points
 1  3 LIGETY Ted 1984 USA  1:13.14  1:15.78  2:28.92  0.00
 2  6 HIRSCHER Marcel 1989 AUT  1:14.45  1:15.28  2:29.73  4.84
 3  7 MOELGG Manfred 1982 ITA  1:14.58  1:16.09  2:30.67  10.46
 4  1 SVINDAL Aksel Lund 1982 NOR  1:14.44  1:16.27  2:30.71  10.70
 5  2 PINTURAULT Alexis 1991 FRA  1:15.09  1:15.77  2:30.86  11.59
 6  8 SIMONCELLI Davide 1979 ITA  1:14.91  1:16.09  2:31.00  12.43
 7  5 DOPFER Fritz 1987 GER  1:14.72  1:16.39  2:31.11  13.09
 8  11 SCHOERGHOFER Philipp 1983 AUT  1:15.45  1:15.72  2:31.17  13.45
 9  15 RAICH Benjamin 1978 AUT  1:15.04  1:16.28  2:31.32  14.34
 10  13 NEUREUTHER Felix 1984 GER  1:16.30  1:15.40  2:31.70  16.61

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