King of the hill: Ligety returns to scene of breakthrough win
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea: Ted Ligety has battled back from two crippling injuries to bid for a third gold medal at his fourth Winter Olympics -- being held, as luck would have it, on the same hill where he first won a World Cup race.
Now 33, the “absolute competitor” stormed to a shock first Olympic gold in the combined in Turin in 2006, before he had even won on the World Cup circuit.
That accolade came three weeks after Turin, when he won a giant slalom at Yongpyong, venue for the slalom events at the Pyeongchang Olympics. He hasn’t raced there since.
“It’s nice returning to a trail that you’ve won on, especially if the last time you raced on it was the time you won it,” Ligety said.
“It’s a hill that suits me, but it’s 12 years ago so it’s a long time ago.”
The American failed to fire in Vancouver in 2010, but went on to add a second Olympic gold in the giant slalom four years later in Sochi.
His medal haul also includes five world championship golds and two bronzes, while he has notched up 25 victories and 52 podiums on the World Cup circuit, where he has claimed five giant slalom crystal globes.
“The one thing that is truly remarkable about Ted is that he is an absolute competitor who hates to lose,” said Sasha Rearick, head US men’s coach and involved with Ligety’s career since 2004.
“He will do everything he can to put in a 100 percent effort into getting better every single day.
“Whether he has a a great day or bad day or the best day he will still find where he’s got to put the effort in to move forward.”
Ligety has endured a rotten couple of years, tearing right knee ligaments in January 2016 and then undergoing back surgery 12 months after that.
But he said: “I’m the healthiest I’ve felt in how many years, a long time now,” he said, adding that neither his back nor knee “felt like issues”.