American Skier Reaches Summit

When Daron Rahlves’ friends in the small Northern California town of Truckee heard the news, they ordered a bottle of fine champagne sent to his room in St. Anton, Austria.

But he, undoubtedly, already had begun to celebrate.

Rahlves, 27, made history Tuesday by winning the super-giant slalom at skiing’s World Championships--becoming the first American to do so.

“It feels great to hear the words ‘world champion,’ ” he said afterward. “It’s crazy, it’s been the dream of my life. My whole life has been geared to be the best, to win.”

His triumph, at the expense of Hermann Maier and the rest of the powerful Austrian team, has the U.S. feeling even better about the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. The one-year-out countdown for those Games begins Feb. 8.

Rahlves’ gold-medal performance came a day after Megan Gerety of Anchorage finished fourth in the women’s super-G.

“I know I surprised a lot of people, but those who were surprised were those who didn’t know me,” said Rahlves, who grew up in Truckee and spent much of his time on the slopes of Sugar Bowl Ski Resort on nearby Donner Summit. “But I knew I was able to do this. I know on my best day I can be the very best.”

One person who knows Rahlves well is Bill Hudson, marketing manager at Sugar Bowl. Hudson befriended Rahlves when both were members of the U.S. ski team, and Hudson acknowledged that Sugar Bowl hit the jackpot last year by signing Rahlves as the resort’s official ambassador.

“It’s huge,” Hudson said. “We’re planning a welcome-home parade for when he’s back in town. Not only is he Sugar Bowl’s skiing ambassador, but he’s such a great guy that you wouldn’t want anyone else to win but him.”

The Austrians would not agree. After being shut out in the women’s super-G, the home team had hoped to sweep the men’s event. And that seemed to be taking shape with Stefan Eberharter in the lead followed by Maier.

But it was not long before the blaring horns and cowbells went silent. Rahlves surged to victory in 1 minute 21.46 seconds, edging Eberharter by .08 of a second. Maier finished in 1:21.69.

The result was disheartening but not altogether surprising to the Austrians. Rahlves trained with them during the summer.

“I knew Daron was skiing really well,” said Eberharter, who won the super-G 10 years ago. “He’s a racer that made us all worry. We knew he could win here.”

They still have reason to worry, with the downhill slated for Saturday. Though the super-G is his specialty, Rahlves last year posted back-to-back World Cup downhill victories.

“I don’t like to make predictions,” he said. “Just expect me to ski as hard as I can.”

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The Associated Press contributed to this story.