Mancuso Rises Above Mistakes

Julia Mancuso dreamed of becoming a downhill racer, flying down rugged slopes with a flawless blend of flash and finesse.

But when the 20-year-old from Olympic Valley, Calif., won a bronze medal at the World Alpine Ski championships Sunday, it was in the super-giant slalom -- and with a run that included mistakes that slowed her on the turns.

“I surprised myself,” she said Tuesday by phone from Santa Caterina Valfurva, Italy. “I got to the finish and I knew I didn’t have the best runs. I thought when you came to the world championships, you need to have a perfect run.

“Where I made mistakes, I just said, ‘Keep charging.’ I knew I was capable of making the podium.”

Mancuso’s time of 1 minute 18.40 seconds put her behind Anja Paerson of Sweden (1:17.64) and Lucia Recchia of Italy (1:18.09). It also continued her ascent to the ranks of international elite.

Mancuso was put on skis at age 2 by her father, a collegiate skier, and her mother, a collegiate gymnast. She finished 13th in the combined at the Salt Lake City Olympics and won a record five medals at last year’s U.S. championships and a record eight Junior World medals from 2002 to 2004. She followed that with top-10 World Cup finishes in all four disciplines this season, including top-five results in giant slalom and super-G.

She will race again Friday in the combined -- which adds times from a downhill run and two slalom runs -- and skip Sunday’s downhill to train for the giant slalom.

“Growing up skiing, I was always fast and I’m more challenged in the technical events,” she said. “That drew me to the giant slalom and slalom, because I wasn’t as good at them. Right now, giant slalom is my strongest. I had really good training [last] summer.”

Her main goal is to be atop the podium at the Turin Olympics. “These world championships, there haven’t been too many people in the stands, and the hotel is kind of funky, and it’s weird not being near the guys,” she said of the men, who are racing in Bormio. “There are no festivities. It doesn’t seem like a big event. The World Cup is run by the FIS [International Ski Federation] and the medals [resemble] snowflakes. In the Olympics, the medals are really different.”