BEAVER CREEK — Ted Ligety has established himself on the World Cup in slalom and giant slalom — he is the reigning World Cup GS champion — and he won a gold medal in combined at the 2006 Olympics.
But he enjoys the speed disciplines (downhill and super-G) and he’s getting better at them too. He finished seventh in Saturday’s super-G, tops among the Americans and a career best in the discipline.
“I’ve always loved super-G and downhill, and it’s something I always wanted to be good at, ever since I was a little kid,” said Ligety, 24, who grew up in Park City, Utah. “It’s just the technical events have always been my bread and butter, because I’ve had to focus on those events in order to stay on top there. But the downhill and super-G is coming along.
“With where I am in GS, I should be there in super-G, especially on the technical hills like this.”
Exceeding 63 mph on one of the world’s most technical super-G tracks, Ligety made good, clean turns but looked a little wild in the air.
“I’m sure my parents were a little nervous watching that,” Ligety said with a big grin, “but I made it to the finish line in one piece, so they can relax now.”
Ligety was third in the only GS this season, Oct. 26 in Soelden, Austria, and will be one of the men to watch in today’s GS.
“The snow is really good up there, the track is good and I’ve always liked this hill,” Ligety said. “It would be nice to be on the podium, nice to get a win here, but I’m really satisfied with (Saturday).”
