At the 2006 Torino Games, the United States won more medals than ever before on foreign snow and ice. But for some athletes, the record haul wasn't cause for celebration. A select few had entered Torino as strong contenders and even favorites for an Olympic medal, only to come up short. For others, the medal was of the wrong color.
Chief among them was alpine skier Bode Miller. The two-time Salt Lake silver medalist, who many thought would be face of the Games, spectacularly failed to win a medal in any of the five events he entered, registering Did Not Finish in three. Miller further alienated fans with his apathetic demeanor, even commenting at the conclusion of the Games, "I got to party and socialize at an Olympic level."
It remains to be seen whether Miller will take his mulligan and participate in the 2010 Olympic Winter Games or retire from the sport entirely. With his notable exception, here is a list of five American athletes who hope to erase memories of Torino with a strong showing in Vancouver.
HANNAH KEARNEY, Freestyle Moguls
Age: 23
Hometown: Norwich, VT
- 2005 world champion
- 2009 overall World Cup champion
- 2006 Torino Games: 22nd
Hannah Kearney entered the 2006 Olympic Winter Games as defending world champion, her immense talent as obvious as her relative inexperience. But after a poor run in the qualifying round, America's best moguls skier failed even to make the finals. That year's Closing Ceremony was slated for her 20th birthday, but instead of partaking in the rollicking celebration, Kearney was already back home in Norwich, Vermont.
"I felt deserted and alone," Kearney says. "My teammates had gone elsewhere. My family was on a vacation and I was stuck at the Olympic Village. I needed to get home and regroup."
So instead Kearney spent her birthday trying not to watch the event unfolding on television. A year later, putting memories of Torino behind her, Kearney tore her ACL at a World Cup event in France. According to Kearney, it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened.
"I had burnt out from the season before with the poor Olympic experience," Kearney says. "I needed a break, I hadn't had one since I was nine years old."
The injury allowed her to temporarily shelf the nomadic lifestyle of an elite winter athlete. Kearney was even able to adopt a dog, Lola, from a local elderly woman who had been unable to care for the Rhodesian Ridgeback. With Lola as her rehab partner, Kearney slowly returned to form. In 2008-09, her first full season back on the circuit after struggling through a concussion in 2007-09, Kearney won the World Cup title ahead of 2006 gold medalist Jennifer Heil of Canada. As the first athlete not named Heil to win the overall crown since 2002, Kearney enters Vancouver as a strong candidate for her first Olympic medal.
Evan Lysacek's free skate from the 2006 Torino Games.
EVAN LYSACEK, Figure Skating
Age: 24
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
- 2009 world champion
- Two-time U.S. champion
- 2006 Torino Games: 4th
A disastrous short program buried the typically consistent Evan Lysacek in 10th place at the 2006 Games. Lysacek, appearing in his first Olympics, skipped practice the next morning to get treatment for a lingering bout of the flu. Upon his return, he landed eight triple jumps in a flawless free skate to move all the way up to fourth, just short of a medal.
"The most inspirational and motivating experience was watching the medal ceremony," Lysacek says. "There was a moment where I thought, ‘I'm going to do everything that I possibly can to get on that podium the next time'."
Prior to the 2008-09 season, Lysacek decided to alter what he calls his "packaging" - the music, fashion and choreography that defines a skater. At the 2009 World Championships, in his adopted hometown of Los Angeles, everything fell into place for the two-time world bronze medalist as Lysacek who won his first world title.
With the recent return of reigning Olympic champion Yevgeny Plushenko and 2006 silver medalist Stephane Lambiel to an already deep field, the men's competition is shaping up to be the most compelling of the skating disciplines. Regardless of the opposition, Lysacek should still contend for a medal in Vancouver. Helping his cause is a bit of figure skating history - the last American man to enter an Olympics as world champion was Scott Hamilton in 1984 and he came away with the gold.
LINDSEY JACOBELLIS, Snowboard Cross
Age: 24
Hometown: Stratton, VT
- 2006 Olympic silver medalist
- Five-time X Games gold medalist (2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2009)
- Two-time world champion (2005, 2007)
Snowboard cross made its crashing debut in Torino. In the women's event, American Lindsey Jacobellis provided one of the indelible images of the Games when she attempted a trick on the final jump, only to fall and surrender what had appeared to be an insurmountable lead. Jacobellis was left with second place and the backlash of near universal consternation.
Yet despite obvious disappointment, the silver is hardly a badge of discontent for Jacobellis. The medal proudly sits above the mantle at the family's home in Vermont in a frame that opens so visitors can try it on. "When I came across the finish line not getting gold, immediately I was like, ‘I still got a medal, I messed up, but that's got to be worth something,'" Jacobellis says. "I was just so excited to still be holding a medal."
Four years later, Jacobellis remains at the pinnacle of her sport and is favored to upgrade the silver to gold in Vancouver. Despite the unpredictable nature of the event, Jacobellis has been consistently dominant, winning her fifth gold medal in six years at the 2009 X Games. If she is able to focus and put her Torino blunder behind, as most expect she will, the Jacobellis household will have a new main attraction come February.
JERET 'Speedy' PETERSON, Freestyle Aerials
Age: 28
Hometown: Boise, ID
- 2005 overall World Cup champion
- Two-time Olympian (2002: 9th, 2006: 7th)
With pre-event hype swirling like, well, a hurricane, Jeret "Speedy" Peterson attempted his famed trick in the final of the men's aerials competition in Torino. Peterson was squarely in third place following the first jump and needed only a conservative attempt to win a medal. But the adrenaline junkie who sky dives and rides motorcycles knows no such approach. He bobbled the landing of the quintuple-twisting triple flip known as "The Hurricane" - the most difficult trick in the world at the time - and instead placed seventh.
"I'd rather end up seventh and give 110 percent than win a gold medal and only have given 92 percent," Peterson explains, "Because at the end of the day I walk away knowing that I gave everything that I had." Soon after, Peterson was sent home by U.S. Ski Team officials when a drunken scuffle with a friend attracted the attention of the Italian police, conduct unbecoming an Olympian.
Now, with Vancouver in his sights, Peterson considers himself a more humble competitor. The Boise native finished the 2008-09 World Cup season in third place in the aerials standings. But the year was not without difficulty. Nearly all of Peterson's savings, including the $200,000 he infamously won gambling in Las Vegas in 2005, was invested in real estate. After the recession hit, Peterson lost everything and was forced to declare bankruptcy in November 2008. "My entire life seems to be an extreme of highs and lows," Peterson says. "Middle ground and me, we just don't get along."
Without the toys of his previous life, Peterson is now more focused than ever. Though the aerials field will be crowded with strong Canadian and Chinese contingents, Peterson has the technical talent to finally land on the podium at his third Olympics. To use Peterson's own words, "If everything clicks, I'll just beat everybody by a mile."
KELLY CLARK, Halfpipe
Age: 26
Hometown: Mount Snow, VT
- Two-time Olympian (2002: gold, 2006: 4th)
- Six-time X Games medalist
- Three-time US Open champion (2002, 2004, 2007)
On her final run in Torino, Kelly Clark had two options: go easy and grab a silver or bronze medal, or, put it all on the line and try to win a second consecutive Olympic gold. Trailing leader Hannah Teter by 3.5 points, Clark launched into her run. The first five tricks were inspired, flying with more amplitude than any woman in Olympic history. But on her final jump at the bottom of the halfpipe, Clark caught an edge and was unable to land a rarely seen frontside 900. That left her in fourth place by less than a point. Clark declined to take off her goggles for the initial post-event interview, though her tinted lenses could not hide the tears.
"When you do well at the Olympics, it's crazy," Clark says of her gold medal experience after Salt Lake, "It is just one thing after another after another after another." Torino, then, was a completely different experience. "Being around the Olympic atmosphere after not achieving what you set out to achieve, you kind of just want to go home at that point."
Despite the fall in Torino, Clark's run was considered by many to be the finest ever by a woman, narrowing the gap between the sexes. It was also a sign of things to come from Clark. After deciding to return to the basics of riding, much as Tiger Woods famously reconstructed his stroke, Clark had her best season in 2008-09, winning the overall Ticket To Ride (TTR) World Tour title in the process. Having already gotten off to a quick start by taking first at the 2009 New Zealand Open, Clark has emerged as the early frontrunner for Olympic gold next February.
