Swiss Wins Super Combined as Miller and Ligety Are Shut Out

KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia - Sandro Viletta of Switzerland used a near-perfect slalom run to make up significant ground after the downhill and win the gold medal in the super combined Friday, a surprise upset for a skier who has never reached the podium in the event in a World Cup race.

Viletta, whose only World Cup victory was in the super-G in 2011, upstaged several of the sport's biggest names, including the American Bode Miller, the defending gold medalist, who placed sixth; and Ted Ligety, the reigning world champion, who was 12th.

'This is amazing,' Viletta said. 'It's perfect. It's more than a dream come true. It's also a big shock. I didn't think I would come first.'

The super combined is the combination of a morning downhill run and an afternoon slalom run, and few racers in the field are spectacular at both. The event becomes a balancing act: survive your weakness and make the most of your strength.

Viletta managed the best. He was in 14th place after the downhill, and not regarded as a threat to finish ahead of top contenders like Ivica Kostelic of Croatia and Kjetil Jansrud of Norway, who were seemingly within arm's reach of gold after the downhill. But he mastered the slalom course, posting the second best time over all and holding off Kostelic, who won silver, and Christof Innerhofer of Italy, who took bronze.

Ligety said the course conditions affected the field. 'They really make for funky results,' he said. 'You can see the results sheet so far. It's far from the World Cup result sheets. But we all have to ski and deal with it. There are no excuses.'

Kostelic managed the first half of the competition best. Kostelic, who has 15 World Cup slalom victories and won the silver medal in both the slalom and the super combined in the 2010 Olympics, was in seventh place after the downhill portion of the race, just 93-hundredths of a second behind the leader, Jansrud.

Kostelic was racing on a slalom course set by his father and coach, Ante Kostelic, which is a subtle but not insignificant advantage. Ante Kostelic set a dicey, challenging slalom for Friday afternoon.

'I thought I had a really good downhill and so I was hoping for the gold this time,' Kostelic said after winning his third consecutive silver in the super combined.

Miller was the top American finisher.

'I watched enough guys to see that if you weren't working hard and sticking it, you had no chance,' he said.

Ligety was 1.93 seconds off the lead after the downhill, and he said before the slalom run that he thought two seconds was not too much time to make up, 'on the downhill guys.'

Ligety added: 'Especially since Ante tends to set a tough course. I still have a chance.'

Ligety's slalom run was the eighth best.