River Radamus skis to ‘bittersweet’ fourth; Tommy Ford 12th ‘like riding a bike’

It was probably an unlikely scenario: If Olympic GS champion Marco Odermatt would have made a major mistake or skied off course, racing in exceedingly difficult conditions, an Olympic bronze medal would have belonged to River Radamus.

“It didn’t seem real seeing that I was second with three people left, then you start to dream and think about all the what-ifs,” Radamus said. “But Marco is the best GS skier in the world right now, so I wasn’t holding my breath for sure.”

Radamus and U.S. teammate Tommy Ford – in his first race on the comeback trail from injury, both executed superb second runs, as snow continued to fall and visibility was limited in an afternoon run that was delayed by one hour, 15 minutes due to the abundant snowfall.

The Colorado racer and triple Youth Olympic Games gold medalist climbed five spots from ninth place after his first run to finish fourth, 0.26 out of the medals, while Ford vaulted seven places from 19th to 12th in Sunday’s men’s Olympic GS.

Radamus grabbed the second-run lead and said to the finish area cameraman: “Hey everybody at home, I hope I did you all proud.”

Despite coming close to winning an Olympic medal, the 24-year-old racer said he is satisfied with what he has accomplished.

“It’s bittersweet for sure, but I know in my heart that I did everything I could to prepare for today, I couldn’t have asked for more — I could have hoped for more — but I’m really my proud of my work today and throughout the season, so I’ll take pride in this result,” Radamus said.

His second run of 1:07.15 was the fifth-fastest among the top 30 racers, while Ford’s 1:07.34 was the seventh best. Top names Luca de Aliprandini, Manuel Feller and Lucas Braathen were all victims of the unfavorable conditions, all failing to finish their afternoon runs on the Ice River course as snow accumulated and course conditions deteriorated.

“I was proudest of the second run – I think it was a sloppier run, but there was a lot of pressure, and I felt it on myself, but pressure is a privilege and I tried to relish it and execute as hard as I could,” said Radamus, who also finished 15th in the super-G five days ago. “I didn’t back off, so I’m proud of my effort.”

Radamus overtook two-time Olympic GS champion Alexis Pinturault by .09 seconds to become leader in the clubhouse after gaining ground on the lower section of the course, making up three-tenths in the final split. However, the next racer down, Slovenian Zac Kranjec, the eventual silver medalist, bumped Radamus out of the lead by a staggering 1.41 seconds. Radamus remained, however, among the top three, surviving six racers until the winner Odermatt came down and bumped him to fourth, while claiming his first Olympic medal.

Radamus, who is sporting a tiger striped hairstyle under his helmet, touched upon the difference in conditions between Runs 1 and 2 with snowfall falling throughout the day for the first time at a ski race during the Games.

“The visibility was way better on the second run, so people were able to attack more and approach the run a little differently,” Radamus said. “The snow was a little bit slicker on the second run, it caught me a little bit by surprise up top, but the two runs brought out the best skiers in the world today.”

U.S. head coach commends Radamus

U.S. men’s head coach Forest Carey discussed the 24-year-old Radamus’ maturity and continued development as an all-around ski racer.

“River is skiing like a man now,” Carey told Ski Racing Media prior to the Beijing Olympic races. “I think one thing is maturity, primarily physical maturity, because he’s always been a pretty mature person. He’s been super dedicated to the fitness, strength training and physical side of things the last couple of years and that is really coming to fruition now.

“He’s strong enough to be able to ski the deep, aggressive lines and obviously, having two parents that were ski coaches, he probably has more miles than anyone else his age. He has a great feel and touch for the snow.”

Carey said Radamus has benefited greatly from his U.S. teammates, past and present.

“He’s really been in the draft of Ted and Tommy the last three years in the sense of learning how they approach ski racing, every aspect of it.”

Ford’s successful return from injury

Ford competed in his first race since January 2021, when he suffered knee, head and neck injuries in a horrific crash in Adelboden. He only returned to skiing in November and admitted Sunday was a victory in itself, just to be racing at the Olympics.

“I’m just happy to be alive and skiing out here, there’s part of me that knows I can win a medal here, but that was at a different time and I learned a lot this past year,” Ford said, referring to how the significant injuries have affected his career.

Asked what it was like returning to the start gate in his first run, Ford said: “Just like riding a bike, it was pretty familiar and I felt comfortable and ready to charge.

“I had been working to get back, but also there is continuity from where I was last time, so it’s not totally different. I’m just really grateful to be skiing again and around this crew,” said the 32-year-old racer, who trains out of Mt. Bachelor.

Heading home to Vermont, medal in hand

In his final race of the Beijing Games, Olympic super-G silver medalist Ryan Cochran-Siegle skied off course under rough conditions in his first run. Still, he heads home to Vermont with great satisfaction, joining his mother Barbara, who won a gold medal in Sapporo 1972, as another Olympic medalist in the proud ski family.

“I’m happy and excited to go home,” said Cochran-Siegle. “I didn’t execute that well and skied out today, but the past few days – I’m excited to keep moving with my skiing from here.”

 “I’ll have a week at home with some down time and then get ready to go over to Kvitfjell for the last few races of the season.”

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