WINTER OLYMPICS : Women’s Slalom : Schneider Gains Her Second Gold; McKinney Falls

That wasn’t a re-run on ABC Friday night, when Vreni Schneider won a gold medal and Tamara McKinney fell down on her first run. It was, indeed, same-day coverage of the Olympic women’s slalom.

Of course, it sounds familiar. That’s also what happened Wednesday in the giant slalom on Mt. Allan.

So, Schneider, 23, has become the first Alpine skier to win two gold medals in the 1988 Winter Games, leading the Swiss women to a total of 7 medals out of a possible 15.

And McKinney, 25, has ended her Olympic competition without a medal, having only a fourth-place giant slalom finish at Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, in 1984 to show for her efforts.

Friday’s race also brought another medal for West Germany’s Christa Kinshofer-Guetlein, who took the bronze this time, after getting a silver in the giant slalom. The slalom silver went to Mateja Svet of Yugoslavia, whose time for two runs was 1.68 seconds behind Schneider’s 1:36.69.

Schneider, who is tied with teammate Michela Figini for the World Cup overall lead with 185 points apiece, led Sweden’s Camilla Nilsson by the slimmest of margins, .01 of a second, after the first run.

In the second run, Nilsson, who skied ahead of Schneider, missed a gate and failed to finish. Said Schneider: “When I was in the starting gate, I knew that Camilla was out because I hadn’t seen her going through the last gates. But I went ahead, anyway, and gave it everything I had, just to make sure.”

That is also what she did Wednesday, “trying 150%,” when she came from fifth place in the first run to win the giant slalom and give the Swiss women their first gold medal of the Games, after Anita Wachter and Sigrid Wolf had won two for Austria and Marina Kiehl one for West Germany.

In five Alpine events, American women had just one top-10 finish--Edith Thys’ ninth place in the Super G.

Before these Winter Olympics began, the No. 1 hope for a U.S. medal in skiing was thought to be McKinney, who like Thys, is from Squaw Valley, Calif.

A 10-year veteran of World Cup racing and the 1983 overall champion, McKinney missed all of the pre-Olympic races because of a broken fibula in her left leg, an injury she suffered in November while training at Copper Mountain, Colo.

However, she began working out on her own and finally resumed racing at the U.S. National Alpine Championships early this month, winning the slalom and placing third in the giant slalom.

“That was a real confidence-builder,” she said, after recovering from her spill Friday, “especially since I had only three days of slalom training before the Nationals. I was really optimistic about my chances here.”

Asked if her lack of recent competition on the international level hurt her this week, McKinney said: “It’s difficult to race in the Olympics without any international warm-ups, but I knew in January that it would be like this. I felt strong while warming up this morning. I could feel the snow where I wanted to make my turns. I did everything I could. I couldn’t have done any more.”

Wednesday, McKinney fell barely 12 seconds into the race. Friday, she lasted close to 20 seconds before her skis went out from under her. She managed to recover momentarily but then straddled a gate and went out.

McKinney had actually passed the first intermediate checkpoint, recording the third fastest time of the four racers who had started.

“I’m satisfied with what I’ve done,” she said. “The Olympics have a special feeling, and I’m proud to have skied for the United States. I tried my heart out, but it wasn’t enough. Now, I just have to look ahead.”

The worst aspect of her recovery process this winter, she said, was the constant uncertainty. “First, I was told it would be six weeks, and I’d be racing again right after New Year’s. Then it would be another week, and another week. It was hard to re-focus each time.

“I finally went skiing for the first time on Christmas Day at Squaw Valley. I couldn’t stand it any more. The wind-chill was 40 (degrees) below, but after being inside for two months, I was happy to freeze my feet.

“I started running practice gates on Jan. 20 with my brother, McLain, on the coin-operated course at Squaw. He calls himself ‘king of the coin-op,’ so he was really trying to beat me. Then I went to Sun Valley (in Idaho) to train before the Nationals.”

Her plans now are to compete in the World Cup races at Aspen, Colo., next week, then go home to Squaw Valley, where she has a house. After that, she faces an uncertain future.

At one point, McKinney said: “I love ski racing, and I’m not playing it down, but I’m going to have to let go.”

Moments later, when asked if there was a possibility that she might continue racing through next season, when the 1989 World Alpine Championships are due to be held at Vail, Colo., McKinney hedged, saying, “I just have to wait until spring and see how my heart feels, but I’m sure I have some quick feet left.”

As for her failure to win an Olympic medal in three tries--she also competed in the 1980 Games at Lake Placid, N.Y.--the slight (5-foot 4-inch, 117-pound) skier said: “I don’t know if it has left any void in my life, because I don’t know what it feels like to win a medal. I’ve had many great things happen in my career. I’m no different just because I don’t have an Olympic medal.

“I have other things in my life. There are people I love and want to be with.”

Right now, she wants to be with her mother, Frances, who just returned to Tamara’s house in Squaw Valley after being treated in a Reno hospital for a recurrence of cancer.

“They gave her chemotherapy,” McKinney said, “but her little body couldn’t take it. She seems to be better since coming home.”

Frances McKinney, 62, has been running the family horse farm in Kentucky since her husband, Rigan, died two years ago. While her seven children were growing up, she spent a lot of time in or near Squaw Valley so they could ski. Four of them, including Tamara, took up racing.

Her mother’s illness has affected McKinney more than she has let on, and she avoided contact with the media until Friday because she didn’t want to be questioned about it.

When the subject finally came up, she reluctantly discussed it in a barely audible voice--until breaking into tears. For Tamara McKinney, the Games are over, and now she must contend with reality.