BEAVER CREEK, Colo. — Hannes Reichelt of Austria won the super-G at the world championships Thursday, a race in which Bode Miller gashed his right calf after a crash that sent him tumbling down the hill and into a surgery unit at a local hospital.
Reichelt finished the challenging course in 1 minute, 15.68 seconds, 0.11 seconds faster than Canada’s Dustin Cook, who made a surprise run from back in the pack. Adrien Theaux of France earned the bronze.
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Miller had a strong run going when he hooked his left arm on a gate, spun backward, lost his right ski, then his left, and went sprawling. It appeared he fell on top of his bouncing skis, causing the wound. Miller gingerly got up, retrieved his gear and finished the race.
Later Thursday, Miller had surgery to fix a torn right hamstring tendon. He will miss the rest of the world championships.
The American skier tweeted: “Feeling lucky since things could have been way worse.”
The recovery time for this type of injury is around two months, meaning the 37-year-old Miller may have competed in his last big race. He’s a six-time Olympic medalist.
Miller was racing for the first time since back surgery in November.
“Bode knew he had to put it on the limit in order to get on the podium today,” said teammate Ted Ligety, who couldn’t defend his super-G world title from two years ago in Austria, finishing ninth. “He was definitely in line today. What happened today was more just bad luck.”
U.S. skier Travis Ganong said he talked to Miller in the finish area.
“He said his whole body was numb. Everything hurt,” Ganong said. “He said he has to get 100 stitches in his calf.”
Miller wasn’t the only skier to get caught up in a gate. Favorite Kjetil Jansrud of Norway crashed through one with his left shoulder, but kept going and tied for fourth. The Olympic super-G champion at the Sochi Games is still looking for his first medal at the worlds.
This is Reichelt’s first world championship gold medal. He’s made himself right at home on this course, winning a World Cup super-G at Beaver Creek in December.
“That’s sounds really good – world champion,” said Reichelt, who had herniated disk surgery a year ago that knocked him out of the Sochi Olympics. “I’m feeling relaxed. The pressure before was really high. Not from outside, but from my side.”
Cook started as racer No. 28, but used a fast run to finish a surprising runner-up. Well, to everyone else, that is.
“I’m a lot less surprised than most people are,” Cook said.
Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway made his first start of the season after Achilles tendon surgery in October. He was pleased with sixth place.
“I wasn’t focused on the bad parts, the fact I didn’t ski the last three months,” Svindal explained. “I focused on the fact I had a lot of skiing in me and tried to make it happen.”
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