WHISTLER — American Bode Miller on Friday claimed a silver medal in the men’s super-G and teammate Andrew Weibrecht earned bronze, marking the most successful Olympics for U.S. alpine skiers.
The previous U.S. record for alpine skiing at an Olympics was five, set in 1984. Now, the U.S. will have six medals at Vancouver after only four of the 10 races have been run.
The number could well go higher. Vail’s Lindsey Vonn, who won the women’s downhill on Wednesday, is a favorite for the women’s Super-G on Saturday. Teammate Julia Mancuso, already a double-medal winner, also will be a threat.
Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway clinched the Super-G gold medal. He won in 1 minute, 30.34 seconds on a tough, icy course. Miller was second, trailing by 0.28 seconds, and Weibrecht 0.31 behind Svindal in third.
Miller has his second medal of the games and the fourth Olympic medal of his career — a U.S. record.
No one was shocked to see Miller on the podium. But the 23-year-old Weibrecht took some by surprise.
Anyone who saw Weibrecht’s wild run in the downhill at Beaver Creek in 2007 knew he was capable of winning an Olympic medal. Since that season, he has been considered one of the U.S. ski team’s stars-in-the-making. Although his 10th place finish at Beaver Creek was his best mark in the World Cup.
Most alpine medals for the U.S. in one Olympics prior to Vancouver:
5 — 1984, Sarajevo
Bill Johnson, gold, downhill
Phil Mahre, gold, slalom
Debbie Armstrong, gold, giant slalom
Steve Mahre, silver, slalom
Christin Cooper, silver, giant slalom
Six alpine medals for the U.S. in Vancouver after four of six events:
Lindsey Vonn, gold, downhill
Julia Mancuso, silver, downhill
Julia Mancuso, silver, combined
Bode Miller, silver, super-G
Bode Miller, bronze, downhill
Andrew Weibrecht, bronze, super-G
