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Kjus rooting for Maze in record run
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LASSE Kjus is eager to show he can still race, even if he has to rent his skis and boots to do so.
The Norwegian great is competing again at the world championships. Only, it’s in a ski legends race for charity later this week, and he has no expectations of earning any sort of medal.
Kjus certainly picked up enough of them at the 1999 worlds in Beaver Creek, when he captured a medal in all five disciplines. Now, his mark is being challenged by Slovenia’s Tina Maze, who’s 3-for-3 in medals so far after winning gold during the Alpine combined at the same venue on Monday.
He’s rooting for her to tie his mark at worlds because, “that’s what records are for, right?”
Kjus flew in from Norway just to watch the championships. It’s only fitting that Maze make a run at his impressive mark with him around. He’s not surprised that she’s doing so well and hopes more skiers follow in her tracks and train both for speed and technical events.
“Everybody is talking about how it’s impossible to do slalom and downhill, but just look at Tina,” said the 44-year-old Kjus, who’s looking forward to the legends race today that’s expected to include quite a few big names. “It’s fantastic. You need skiers like her. She brings an identity to the circuit.”
Kjus won his first event, the super-G. He also won the giant slalom, while finishing runner-up in the downhill, combined and slalom in 1999. And while he may not be able to recall his winning times, he does remember that his three second-place finishes were by a combined margin of 0.58 seconds. He was that close to five golds.
“I’ve had some good success here,” said Kjus, who has two young kids and another on the way. “I enjoy being here. I’ve had some really good results here. Vail, this area, have always been good to me.”
Almost as good for Maze — so far anyway. Last week, Maze earned the silver medal in the super-G and gold in the downhill. She’s looking to match Kjus’ mark by picking up medals in the giant slalom tomorrow and the slalom on Saturday.
“It would be awesome to (do) that,” Maze said. “I really hope I can do that, because I know I can be in each event on the podium. Of course, it’s not easy.”
Austria’s Nicole Hosp, the combined silver medalist at last year’s Sochi Olympics, finished second to Maze, followed by compatriots Michaela Kirchgasser and Anna Fenninger.
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