Skier Bode Miller, on the other hand, has spent the past year trying to manipulate his body to improve his technique. Miller is now 36 years old and competing in his fifth Olympics. He has won five Olympic medals in events that involve every Alpine discipline, from slalom to downhill.
In recent years he has followed the typical Alpine skier's career trajectory. He has gotten better in the speed events than in the more technical slalom and giant slalom competitions. This is partly due to an increasing familiarity with the downhill slopes on the World Cup circuit as well as the tendency of skiers to put on weight. In general, bigger skiers should finish speed events more quickly because the heavier they are the faster they glide down the mountain.
Norwegian Aksel Svindal, the current downhill world champion, is about 220 pounds, only slightly more than Miller was before microfracture surgery on his knee forced him to miss much of the last two seasons. After the surgery, Miller decided to lighten the load on his joints and accentuate what has always been his greatest strength on skis—his Gumby-like ability to pull his body out of the most precarious positions when he is on the verge of crash.
Much to the chagrin of his coaches, Miller dropped 20 pounds, getting down to 195 pounds, mostly by cutting down on the carbohydrates in his diet and through an intense conditioning workout conducted largely on the beach near his home in San Diego.
"He's almost skinny," said Mike Kenney, Miller's uncle and main coach since childhood. "You want to be big. You want to be over-muscled."
Miller, however, insists that being lighter makes him quicker and more nimble and improves his chances of winning, even if he won't glide in a straight line as quickly.
"We're not going in a straight line," he said. "If we were just speed skiing then definitely being heavier would certainly help but you are changing direction the whole way down, and in Sochi fitness is going to be a huge component." He added, "My biggest strength has been my athleticism and my ability to adapt and make recoveries and if I want to come back and race at the top, top level that I am capable of I think I have to capitalize on my biggest strengths."
Thursday, Miller posted the fastest training time of any skier in the downhill.
Graham
3 comments:
Very interesting to read. I also like Bode action picture in the report, looks very fit and quick.
Your low carbing doctor friend also ski's I think.
Laura
He's a vegetarian so he will not be eating saturated fats.
http://www.vegetarian-nation.com/sports-fitness/13-vegetarian-olympic-athletes-inspire/
There are lots of ways to eat sat fat without eating meat. How do you know he does not eat sat fat ?
Eddie
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