Bode Miller racing against time as he looks toward Olympics

Pushing toward his fifth trip to the Winter Olympics, Bode Miller faces some tough obstacles, and it’s not surprising that age ranks at the top of the list.

“I’m healthy enough that I’m skiing as hard as I can,” Miller, speaking from Germany, said on the “Today” show Thursday. “But I’m definitely feeling my age ... I’m trying to catch up to the young kids right now.”

The 36-year-old Miller, who made his Olympic debut in 1998 and has won five medals since, would be one of the oldest American athletes at the 2014 Sochi Games in February.

A knee injury wiped out last season but he has returned considerably lighter and has earned promising results in early World Cup events.

“The Olympics, everyone kind of knows anything outside of the medals is not really why you’re going there,” he said. “I think it is the performances I’m looking for.”

But he added: “My knee, it is a liability, probably a lot of things I’m dealing with right now are liabilities.”

The racer has lost his younger brother, Chelone, who died of a seizure near Mammoth Lakes last spring. He has also endured a very public custody battle with his ex-girlfriend.

On the brighter side, Miller talked about his marriage to beach volleyball player Morgan Beck.

“Morgan is a great woman, and she’s been able to travel around with me a lot,” he said. “Being able to share the experiences ... has been an absolute pleasure.”

[For the Record, 8:52 a.m. PST Jan. 9: An earler version of his post stated that Bode Miller was in a custody battle with his ex-wife. He and the woman involved in the case were not married.]

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