Aspen – It is with a sense of humor, not hubris, when Julia Mancuso says she is working on five “acceptance speeches” in Italian for the Turin Olympics, one for each event she will race.
“I have to play the Italian card a little bit,” Mancuso said.
It’s not a bad idea for her to be prepared for multiple medal ceremonies when the Games begin in 63 days. At the 2005 world championships in Bormio, Italy, the free-spirited Californian had plenty of chances to practice her Italian after winning bronze medals in giant slalom and super-G. In three trips to the world juniors championships, 2002-04, she won seven medals (five gold) in four disciplines.
Mancuso figures to be a threat here, especially in today’s super-G and Saturday’s giant slalom, but she is no longer the talented newcomer racing with little to lose, as she was in Bormio. She is a budding star who commands respect.
“It’s a little different because you turn from being the underdog to being ‘it,”‘ Mancuso said. “Before it was trying to get the first run good enough so you can compete in the second run. Now it’s like, ‘I want to win the first run.’ I definitely go into the season with more confidence, because I have the starting numbers to accomplish what I want to accomplish.”
Mancuso was in a great situation in Bormio. Teammate Lindsey Kildow, then 20, carried high personal expectations and heavy external pressures after reaching the podium six times earlier in the season. Kildow was ninth in the world championships super-G, a race that saw many of the top racers fail to finish, and narrowly missed medals in downhill and the combined.
Mancuso, also 20 at the time, didn’t have near the pressure.
“I was having a lot of fun,” Mancuso said. “My mom was there, and family. It sounds funny: There was a little more going on, but (it was) more relaxed than World Cups because you have those breaks every other day and you’re able to do stuff.”
Some see a rivalry between Mancuso and Kildow reminiscent of the tension that existed a decade ago between Picabo Street and Hilary Lindh, but Mancuso and Kildow play down such talk. That’s a good thing, because they probably will be competing against each other in the next three Olympics.
“I don’t think we necessarily have a rivalry,” Kildow said. “She’s a competitor on my team just as much as anyone else. It just happens that we’ve been growing up racing the other since we were like 13. I think we’re good friends. It’s good to have other teammates that are doing well to push you.”
Always ready with a quip, Mancuso says the rivalry with Kildow is about clothes.
“I think it’s really cool to have different people on our team skiing really fast,” Mancuso said, “because when you’re training and you’re struggling, you know that person who’s winning (training runs) wins World Cups, so you still have a chance on race day.”
Schedule: ASPEN MOUNTAIN
Today: Super-G, 10:45 a.m.
Saturday: Giant slalom, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Sunday: Slalom, 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Racers to watch: Alexandra Meissnitzer and Michaela Dorfmeister, Austria; Anja Paerson, Sweden; Janica Kostelic, Croatia; Lindsey Kildow and Julia Mancuso, U.S.
