Word: phil
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...Phil's triumph over his friend Stenmark, gold medal winner in the giant slalom at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics, had been a long time coming. He was second to Stenmark in World Cup points in 1978, and third for each of the past two seasons. No one on the ski tour doubted that this likable, easygoing American had the ability or the courage to win. He had gritted out last year's third-place finish, and a silver medal in slalom at Lake Placid, on an ankle shattered the year before and still mending...
There was another equally important factor. When a change in Cup rules two seasons ago favored skiers who race all three Alpine events, Phil, a slalom and giant-slalom specialist, set about training intensively for the frightening and dangerous downhill. Stenmark is so accomplished at slalom and giant slalom that he not only wins effortlessly, but also controls the manner of his winning-typically skiing a safe, relatively slow run, and then a second run just fast enough to beat the field on combined time. Stenmark refused to enter downhill races last season. He was narrowly beaten in the World...
...scoring more complicated than triple-decker gin rummy. The most important change is to carefully limit the number of points a skier may score in one event. After reaching the maximum in that event, he must compete in one or both of the others to continue to score. Thus Phil Mahre, whose best downhill showing of the season was a ninth place on Kitzbühel's difficult Hahnenkamm course, nonetheless has an advantage over skiers who do not take the risk. Stenmark decided this season that he needed those extra points to win the Cup, but in downhill...
Races are still ultimately decided on the snow, however, and last week both Stenmark and Phil Mahre faulted momentarily under the pressure. At Borovets, Bulgaria, a second place in the G.S. would have won the Cup for Phil, but he wobbled in fifth behind Stenmark and the lanky, sandy-haired Zhirov, who won. A day later, a slalom win would have given Stenmark another five points to cushion his lead, but once more Zhirov won, and while a second place would again have wrapped it up for Phil, the wrong Mahre took second. Phil came in third behind his brother...
...Phil, who is friendly with nearly everyone on the tour, including the Soviets, ignored this nonsense. His mood seemed easy and contented. Downhill racing takes nerve, he said, but not much else. "I like the speed, the thrill, but otherwise it's boring," he added, "a bit like Evel Knievel on his motorcycle." He was glad that the deciding race of the season was the giant slalom, the technically most demanding of the races. Next? asked a reporter. "A summer doing absolutely no skiing," was the answer. Then Mahre, with a grin, returned to the subject at hand...