It’s Double Gold for Dorfmeister

The contrast was obvious.

Two Austrian skiers stood at the bottom of the women’s super-giant slalom race, waving to the crowd, all smiles after winning gold and bronze to give their nation nine medals in Alpine skiing at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

“I just have fun when I go in the races,” said Michaela Dorfmeister, the winner.

A few hundred yards away, the American skiers walked off the mountain, contemplating yet another disappointing performance.

“I know that everyone’s trying,” said Lindsey Kildow, who managed the best U.S. finish at seventh. “For some reason, we’re just not having the luck.”

Dorfmeister said, “It’s all on my side.”

She made a late charge down the mountain, finishing in 1 minute 32.47 seconds, ahead of Janica Kostelic of Croatia and Austrian teammate Alexandra Meissnitzer.

If the U.S. Alpine skiers arrived at these Games with high hopes -- only Ted Ligety has earned a medal so far, winning the men’s combined -- the Austrians felt something additional.

“A lot of pressure too,” Meissnitzer said. “Everyone was expecting medals.”

Dorfmeister got off to a good start by winning the women’s downhill last week. The super-G would prove trickier.

The course here had previously been criticized as too slow and easy, and a blanket of soft, new snow over the weekend didn’t help matters. Workers spent all morning blowing and digging, trying to get at the hard surface beneath.

Faced with warm weather and a long, flat stretch in the middle, the racers struggled for every ounce of speed.

Kostelic seemed especially pleased that she was able to handle the conditions. She has battled illness, and Monday’s silver gave her an Olympic-record six individual medals in women’s Alpine events.

A good start was the key to her success. The same was true for Meissnitzer.

“I just went for it on the top,” the bronze medalist said. “Then, in the flat section, I was fighting for every meter. There was a lot of tucking.”

Dorfmeister, 32, who has announced that she will retire after this season, took a different route. Her first interval was not so fast, yet, somehow, she was able to coax seconds out of the middle and lower portions.

“I like the way she’s skiing right now,” Kostelic said. “With a good feeling.”

About the only time the winner appeared shaky was after she’d crossed the finish line. Her expression suggested utter confusion.

“I can’t find my name on the screen,” she explained later.

Kostelic hugged her and told her that she had the best time.

“What?” Dorfmeister asked.

Standing nearby, the American women looked equally confounded, if for entirely different reasons.

Kirsten Clark said she’d been charging and attacking the whole way down, but not getting a good result. Julia Mancuso figured she wasn’t pushing hard enough. Clark finished 14th and Mancuso 11th.

Kildow was still battling the effects of a crash during practice last week.

A pocket of fluid had formed in her back and would not go away, causing pain when she got into a tuck.

“What do you do?” she asked. “It’s just frustrating. I’m pretty sad.”

On a day when U.S. men’s skier Bode Miller briefly held the lead in the giant slalom, then slipped into a tie for sixth place, Kildow said the Americans were trying to ignore their disappointments and focus on the races that remain.

At night, she said, questions fill her head: “How can I do this? How can I make this work? Am I doing everything I can?”

The Austrians -- amid news of a doping investigation directed at their cross-country and biathlon teams -- faced no such mysteries.

They have won Alpine medals in a steady torrent, from Michael Walchhofer’s silver in the men’s downhill to Dorfmeister’s two golds to Benjamin Raich’s victory in the giant slalom Monday.

It seems that momentum has built and is carrying them along.

“We’re really satisfied and happy,” Meissnitzer said. “All the pressure goes away.”

*

MEDAL WINNERS

ALPINE SKIING, WOMEN’S SUPER-G

GOLD

* Michaela Dorfmeister, Austria

SILVER

* Janica Kostelic, Croatia

BRONZE

* Alexandra Meissnitzer, Austria