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Thursday, 14 February, 2002, 01:48 GMT
A breath of fresh air
BBC Sport's skiing expert Martin Bell looks back at the men's combined and how Bode Miller came very close to delighting his home crowd.
Wow! What a thrilling event that was. It's hard to know where to start.
Rather than talk about the now 'legend' and champion Kjetil Andre Aamodt, I think it's worth devoting some attention to the bravado of American Bode Miller.
When he was 2.4 seconds down after the downhill, I always thought he would put in an impressive slalom.
He didn't exactly nail it, but he came incredibly close to giving the home crowd something to cheer about.
I think for him to be classed in the 'superstar' category in the future, he needs to be more consistent.
In the combined I really think he should improve on his downhill technique - I know for a fact his coaches have their hearts in their mouths when he goes down at speed.
He, like compatriot Picabo Street, was raised by hippy types and he certainly does things his own way.
But the silver medallist shouldn't really steal the limelight away from the new champion.
Aamodt calculated his challenge brilliantly. He had 2.4 seconds on him and used 2.2 of it - enough for the gold.
I personally thinbk he is one of the best all-round skiers of all time.
His Olympics isn't over either - he has a chance in the slalom along with seven or eight others, so it would be wrong to rule him out.
A final word should go to Ross Green. I was pleasantly surprised with is performance, especially by his downhill.
He was only 4.5 seconds off the pace, which left me wondering why he hasn't entered the World Cup events.
He is a determined character and I am very happy for him.
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