As Schneider, McKinney Duel, Svet Steals Slalom
This was supposed to have been another showdown between Tamara McKinney of the home team and Vreni Schneider of the Swiss visitors. One of them surely would win the women’s slalom in the World Alpine Ski Championships.
It was an easy race to figure. No Svet.
Schneider had won all five World Cup slaloms this winter and finished second in the combined last week--to none other than McKinney.
Tuesday’s first run more or less confirmed the prerace consensus as McKinney took the lead with a time of 43.98 seconds. Schneider was in eighth place, 1.47 seconds back, but she usually skis a slow first run, anyway.
The only jarring note was the presence of Yugoslavia’s Mateja Svet in second place, just .04 behind McKinney. But, come on, her country had never won an Alpine gold medal in World Championship or Olympic competition. The second run was going to be Vreni trying to catch Tamara.
Schneider did indeed overhaul McKinney with the fastest time in the second run, 46.04, but Svet beat them both and grabbed the gold.
“I had a dream last night that I would win this race,” said the 20-year-old Svet, who finished second to Schneider in the 1988 Olympic women’s slalom. “Maybe my wish was so strong that nobody could stop me.”
The second-run drama began with Schneider, starting eighth, moving into first place with a total time of 1:31.49 and staying there until Svet, the 14th racer, came down in 46.86 for a 1:30.88 and the lead.
“I knew Vreni was fastest before I began my run,” Svet said. “But I did not want to think about her or Tamara. I just wanted to concentrate on skiing the best I possibly could.
“When I saw my name on top of the scoreboard at the finish, I was very happy because I knew I would at least be second.”
Then it was time for McKinney to take her best shot at winning her second gold medal in five days. At the timing interval, she was .01 ahead of Svet’s pace.
But then, she said, “I got too conservative at the bottom.”
Her time of 47.58 gave her a total of 1:31.56, good only for the bronze medal.
“The first course was really good,” McKinney said. “It was set by my coach, Martin (Rufener), and I was very comfortable with the long, straight line. The second (set by Sweden’s Lars Hjalmars) was more turny. I tried to ski a strong race, but a smart one, too. I’m happy with the way it came out. I wanted to win, but third place is pretty good.”
Asked what she had done in the three hours between runs, McKinney, 26, said, “I just tried to thaw out my frozen feet. They’ve been frostbitten for the last three days, and it was 25 below during the first run.” Whereupon she pulled off a boot and socks to reveal a rather bluish left foot.
“My brother, Steve, and three sisters--Sheila, Laura and Ouisha--are all here, along with a whole gang of other people, including my adopted daddy, Hans Standteiner (of Squaw Valley), and we all went back to the lodge, where I tried to find a quiet place.”
Schneider, 24, said she wasn’t too surprised by her slow start.
“I’m just not aggressive enough in my first runs,” she said in German. “I’m too cautious. But I’m not a machine. I’ve won five slaloms this season, and I thought I could make up the time in the second run because it was my kind of course. I tried hard, but it was just too big a difference to make up.
“I said last week, everybody has a chance to beat me once. Unfortunately, it had to happen here. I’m pleased with my silver medal, and I know I can still win a gold medal in the giant slalom (on Saturday).”
In that race, she will again race both McKinney and Svet, who took the silver medal behind Schneider in the giant slalom at the 1987 World Championships, besides earning a bronze in the slalom.
At both Calgary last February and at Crans-Montana, Switzerland, the year before, Svet had her own rooting section, about 20 men clad in furry folk costumes, banging drums, ringing bells and chanting, “Ma-te-ja, Ma-te-ja,” then carrying her on their shoulders after each race.
They’re not here, yet, but Toni Vogrinec, the Yugoslav team captain, expects a group of them to arrive before the giant slalom.
“Everybody in Slovenia will be celebrating tonight,” Ogrinec said. “All 1.8 million people. This is the peak of carnival time, and there will be some violent beer-drinking and a lot of wine consumed. We have been having economic problems and needed something like this--a gold medal.”
Svet, from Ljubljana in the Yugoslav republic of Slovenia, is no longer the shy girl of two years ago. She is an outspoken young woman whose English is also much improved.
“I like it here in the United States,” she said. “People are so kind. The first time I came to this country, I didn’t like it, but then I got to meet some of the people and saw how great everything is. I think I prefer to be here, rather than in Europe.”
Then, noting the frowns of some European reporters, she quickly added with a laugh: “Oh, but please don’t write that in the European newspapers.”
Skiing Notes
John McMurtry, the new U.S. Alpine program director, was almost as happy with Eva Twardokens’ eighth place as he was with Tamara McKinney’s bronze medal. “She is coming back after being out for a year because of major knee surgery,” he said. “And now it looks like she is six months ahead of schedule.” . . . McKinney and Twardokens are roommates, and they joined their coaches for a champagne toast at Beaver Creek after the race. Said McKinney: “The rules say that if you’re over 21, you can drink at your own discretion.” . . . Only 32 racers finished both runs, as 25 went out in the first run and 10 more in the second. . . . Both super-G races will be held today on Vail Mountain, the women competing in the morning and the men in the afternoon.