Sochi Olympics: Ted Ligety arrives quietly, wants to make some noise

SOCHI, Russia — Ted Ligety and Bode Miller are both great American ski racers — Miller is just louder.

While Miller has been making noise all week in Rosa Khutor, Ligety quietly took a back trail and slipped into the Sochi Olympics.

America’s most legitimate threat for an alpine medal “triple” watched Sunday’s men’s downhill from Austria, where he was training for what he hopes to be a life-changing next few days.

Ligety, who last year became the first racer in 45 years to win three gold medals — in combined, super G, GS — at the World Championships, took a downhill training run here Tuesday in advance of Friday’s men’s super combined.

Ligety won the combined gold in 2006 (when it required two slalom runs) and Miller won gold in 2010 (when it was changed to one slalom).

Ligety, 29, should contend for medals in combined and super G, but is the prohibitive favorite to win next week’s giant slalom.

He won the last World Cup last GS in St. Moritz by a staggering 1.51 seconds.

“My confidence is high,” Ligety said Tuesday at a news conference announcing his arrival at the Gorki Media Center

Ligety got his Olympic gold out of the way, but is eager to make up for his medal-less performance four years ago in Vancouver.

He was the favorite in GS then, too, but finished ninth.

He said winning Olympic gold at age 21, in his first event, didn’t make him complacent. He said it motivated to win a second, which is what made 2010 so disappointing.

“I didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder,” Ligety said.

Ligety has trained on the GS course at Rosa Khutor and says it is a good match for his skiing skill set.

He can’t do anything about the warm weather and softening snow but is ready to adjust accordingly.

“The snow is what it is,” he said. “It’s not something we have much control over.”

ALSO:

Bode Miller wins another race that doesn’t count

Jeremy Abbott leaves Olympic Village to regain his focus

Evgeni Plushenko puts pain aside, will compete in figure skating