Olympics: Slalom placing buoys Riegler to stay on

SALT LAKE CITY - Just months ago, Claudia Riegler was crying her eyes out, ready to quit slalom skiing.

Now, she says her 11th placing at the winter Olympics has inspired her to stay on the circuit for at least another year.

Riegler, 25, posted her first finish in three winter Olympics yesterday, when she overcame terrible conditions and her own poor form to secure her best finish of the season in the women's slalom.

Seventeenth after the first run, Riegler managed to stay on her feet while others tumbled to finish 11th overall after the two runs.

But for a big error near the end of her second run, which cost her precious speed across the line, Riegler says she could have made the top 10.

She skied the first run in 55.17s and the second in 56.02s, for a combined time of 1m 51.19s.

Riegler was 5.09s behind the winner, Janica Kostelic, of Croatia, who collected her second gold medal and third medal in alpine skiing at this Olympics.

Riegler said she had considered quitting after a terrible World Cup season in which she fell more often than she finished. She had struggled to get used to new ski technology and a new technique pushed by her Austrian coach Thomas Schaaedle.

However, everything had come together and a couple of completed World Cup races in the past six weeks had boosted her confidence.

"I haven't skied that well in the whole season and all of a sudden all the technical things and everything are clicking.

"That gives me the confidence to go another year, because I wasn't quite sure. A few weeks ago I thought 'no, this is the last race, I'm sick of all this.'

"I cried my eyes out, I thought I couldn't do it anymore."

Riegler won four World Cup races in 1996 and 1997.

The valuable points she picked up for a top-15 finish at the Olympics will lift her start position in next season's races.

That starting draw, based on rankings, is vital for skiers, and Riegler said that with the appalling conditions at Deer Valley Resort, she had no chance of a medal after drawing 32.

Of the 70 starters, just 38 finished the two runs, with top racers such as Kristina Koznick, of the United States, and Australian bronze medallist at the last Games, Zali Steggall, early casualties.

Soft snow made the course break up, while heavy snow which fell during racing made visibility poor.

Riegler flew through the gates in the early part of her first run, recording the eighth fastest time overall, before two errors on the second half slowed her momentum considerably.

"The slope got really bad. In the first run I had no chance from 32," she said.

"Down the bottom it was really rough, there were holes. I just had to do everything to hold on and get to the finish.

"I was almost out of the course, and I thought 'no, no, no, stay in there'."

On the second run, Riegler battled not only an error but fogged-up goggles to stay on her feet and post a finish. "I'm very happy, that was very, very rough. It was the most difficult thing I've skied in the last few years."

Riegler's placing was the second best for a New Zealand skier at a winter Olympics, behind Annelise Coberger's silver medal in the slalom 10 years ago.

In other New Zealand results, Aucklander Liz Couch was 11th out of 13 racers in the women's skeleton, the sport making its Olympics debut.

She had hoped to break into the top 10 and managed that on her first run, but slipped back a place after a slower second run. Her combined time of 1m 47.80s was 2.69s behind the gold medal winner, Tristan Gale, of the United States.

"I had so much fun and now I'm having a glass of champagne it's even better," Couch said after racing head-first at 122.7km/h down the ice-chute on a tiny sled with no steering mechanisms or brakes.

Short track speed skater Mark Jackson had another disappointing day. He had high hopes of making the second round of the 1500m, but just missed being one of the three qualifiers from his heat.

He finished fourth in 2m 22.906s, just 0.25 of a second behind Australian 1000m gold medallist Steven Bradbury.

Jackson, who was also knocked out in the first round of the 1000m, will race the 500m this weekend.

- NZPA