TURIN, Italy – Even Bode Miller’s coach can’t figure the enigmatic skier out.
“I’ve given up trying,” said U.S. ski coach Phil McNichol in a phone interview yesterday with The Post.
The bad boy skiing superstar has gone bust at these Olympics, failing to medal in his first three events. He has two races left, including today’s giant slalom. McNichol is befuddled at his star’s struggles.
“I’m mystified that he didn’t get the job done,” McNichol said.
Speculation has run wild at these Games that Miller is drinking and partying in Sestriere, where the skiing venue is. McNichol emphasized he does not know if the rumors are true and hasn’t asked. After watching Miller practice well and appear ready to compete, McNichol does have some questions why his pupil has failed during the races, hinting that it could be due to Miller’s social life.
“He’s done a good job on the hill,” McNichol said, “but I have to question why he hasn’t done it [in competition]. I have to wonder.
“In skiing we’re evaluating so many variables, the wind, the snow . . . there’s so many things. You need to try to alleviate as many variables as you can. You need to take care of what you can control. If you don’t, you leave room for what-ifs.”
McNichol said Miller is going to have to answer for himself if he fails to medal at these Games. As his coach, McNichol is unsure whether Miller’s reported late hours have ruined his chances of becoming an American Olympic legend.
“I’m not ready to debate if what he’s done off the hill could have hurt him in the venue,” McNichol said. “He’s a big boy. He created the controversy. He’s going to have to answer for that.”
Miller was the cover boy entering these Olympics, featured in numerous magazines and on TV shows. Since he arrived in Turin, Miller has complained about the attention and avoided reporters for the most part, showing signs of wilting under the spotlight.
“It’s had a tremendous effect on him,” McNichol said. “He struggles with being a superstar. He’s contradictory. He doesn’t want the media or the frenzy around him, but then he whips the frenzy up.
“With a little management and foresight, he could control it. Instead he just tries to be himself and ignore the fact that he’s a star.”
Some thought Miller had a shot at five golds entering the Games. In his first race, Miller finished fifth in the downhill, but McNichol said he did not race well and Miller was not happy with himself. Two days later, he appeared on his way to gold in the combined when he was disqualified after straddling a gate. Then, he did not finish the super-G on Saturday after crashing into a gate and losing his balance.
Miller told an Italian newspaper last week that medals were not important to him, just performing well. McNichol said he finds that hard to believe, but even by that standard Miller has fallen short.
“Outside of the combined, I don’t think he’s had his best effort,” he said. “I think he’s walked off the hill twice saying that wasn’t my best effort.”
Miller has today’s giant slalom and Saturday’s slalom to gain some measure of redemption. According to McNichol, Miller usually comes through when the pressure is the greatest. He’s not an Alex Rodriguez or Peyton Manning, choking when the spotlight burns brightest. Now, he can prove it.
“I have some worry and trepidation [about the last two races], although I still believe in Bode,” McNichol said. “Until he proves to me he can’t get it done in this pressure cooker I have to believe in him because I’ve seen him do it before. I just hope that he comes to play. Even if he walks away with no medals, he’s one of the greatest skiers ever to grace the mountain but he’s also one of the most different.”
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YESTERDAY’S MEDALISTS
BOBSLED
Men’s Two
GOLD: Germany 1 (Andre Lange, Kevin Kuske)
SILVER: Canada 1 (Pierre Lueders, Lascelles Brown)
BRONZE: Switzerland 1 (Martin Annen, Beat Hefti)
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING
Men’s 4x10km Relay
GOLD: Italy (Fulvio Valbusa, Giorgio di Centa, Pietro Piller Cottrer, Cristian Zorzi)
SILVER: Germany (Andreas Schluetter, Jens Filbrich, Rene Sommerfeldt, Tobias Angerer)
BRONZE: Sweden (Mats Larsson, Johan Olsson, Anders Soedergren, Mathias Fredriksson)
SPEEDSKATING
Women’s 1000
GOLD: Marianne Timmer, Netherlands
SILVER: Cindy Klassen, Canada
BRONZE: Anni Friesinger, Germany
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Medals Table (after 49 medal events)
Nation G S B Tot
Germany 7 7 4 18
Norway 2 7 7 16
United States 7 4 2 13
Russia 6 2 5 13
Canada 2 6 5 13
Austria 4 5 1 10
Switzerland 2 2 4 8
South Korea 3 3 1 7
Italy 3 0 4 7
China 1 2 4 7
Netherlands 2 2 2 6
Sweden 2 1 3 6
France 3 0 2 5
Finland 0 2 3 5
Estonia 3 0 0 3
Croatia 1 1 0 2
Czech Republic 0 2 0 2
Australia 1 0 0 1
Britain 0 1 0 1
Bulgaria 0 1 0 1
Slovakia 0 1 0 1
Latvia 0 0 1 1
Ukraine 0 0 1 1
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TV schedule
All Times EST
Subject to change
TODAY
USA – Live: Men’s curling: USA vs. Canada, 8-11 a.m.
MSNBC – Live: Women’s Hockey Bronze Medal Game, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
NBC – Live: Women’s Hockey Gold Medal Game; Tape: Women’s Bobsled, 1-6 p.m.
CNBC – Women’s urling: USA vs. Britain, 5-8 p.m.
NBC – Figure Skating Ice Dancing Final; Alpine Skiing Men’s Giant Slalom Final; Alpine SkiingWomen’s Super-G Final; Freestyle Skiing Men’s Aerials; Ski Jumping K125-Large Hill Team Final, 8-11:30 p.m.
NBC – Medals Plaza Award Ceremonies, 12:05-1:30 a.m.
NBC – Primetime replay, 1:30-5 a.m.
TOMORROW
MSNBC – Live: Men’s hockey: Latvia vs. Kazakhstan; Switzerland vs. Italy; Finland vs. Germany; Canada vs. Czech Republic; Sweden vs. Slovakia, 5:30 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
USA – Biathlon Men’s Relay Final, 6-8 a.m.
USA – Live: Men’s hockey: USA vs. Russia, 2-5 p.m.
NBC – Nordic Combined Sprint Final; Ski Jumping K125-Large Hill Jump; Cross Country 7.5km, 4-5 p.m.
CNBC – Curling Tiebreaker, 5-8 p.m.
NBC – Figure Skating Ladies Short Program; Women’s Bobsled Final; Speed skating Men’s 1500m Final, 8-11:30 p.m.
NBC – Medals Plaza Award Ceremonies, 12:05-1:30 a.m.
NBC – Primetime replay, 1:30-5 a.m.