sunvalleylaw
February 26th, 2007, 09:10 AM
Not this man. Phil Mahre, alpine skiing gold medalist from the 80s is making a comeback at 49. I grew up skiing at White, and he was a childhood hero. (the 5 year difference in age seems less now :p ) Anyway, here is a report from White Pass regarding his comeback. Whether or not he really starts winning races (may not be his goal anyway), it is really inspiring to me to see him in the mix. He is not letting himself be defined by conventional views of age. Rock on Phil!!! :DR
Steve
WHITE PASS SKI AREA Phil Mahre Comeback
As many of you know, 49-year-old Phil Mahre, is making a comeback. We often have folks ask how it is going so here is an update from the FIS race at Mammoth picked up from the Mammoth Times. Note - The article says that Robert Mahre is Phil's son, they missed that. Robbie is Dave Mahre's son, and Phil's nephew. Prepared to be inspired!
Mammoth hosts Western Region FIS races
by Susan Morning in the Mammoth Times
Race marks Phil Mahre's return to FIS racing
The word was out. In fact, it was the buzz on the Mountain. Racers young and old alike were all talking about it.
Phil Mahre, Olympic gold medalist in the 1984 Sarajevo slalom event and three-time World Cup overall winner, and his son, Robert, were at Mammoth for the Western Region FIS races. Robert was here to race in the Western Region FIS races and Phil was here to watch Robert race.
Wrong. Phil was here to mark his return to FIS racing after a 23-year absence. At 49, Phil Mahre is officially on the comeback.
The Aug. 3 edition of Ski Racing magazine quoted Mahre as saying, "It's probably a lofty goal," when referring to his desire to qualify for the 2007 U.S. Nationals at Alyeska, Alaska. "I'll go out and catch some FIS races," he said. "I don't want to pull any strings to make this happen. I want to qualify like everyone else."
On Tuesday, Jan. 2, Robert Mahre started 40th in the slalom. His father started 89th, with 36 other 990-point holders. By the end of the day 19-year-old Robert sat in 41st place while his dad, 30 years his senior, finished 16th. Never mind that Phil was competing against 123 other racers who weren't even born when he won his first Olympic medal, and only one that was born when he retired from racing!
On Wednesday, the news wasn't as good for the elder Mahre, who dropped back to 20th place in the slalom, the event he had won his gold medal in, while Robert moved up to nab 25th place. But on the other hand, the good news for Phil Mahre is that he is no longer a 990 in slalom. He dropped nearly 920 points in one weekend. By comparison it took Errol Kerr, a top Far West racer and winner of Wednesday's slalom race, two years to reduce his points to just below 70.
Thursday's giant slalom race was cancelled due to heavy snow, high winds and freezing temperatures, but by Friday the storm was gone and the second scheduled giant slalom race was on. Again, the name Phil Mahre was tossed in with the 990-pack, but by the second run Mahre was starting 27th after having a time of 1.05.99 the fourth fastest time from the morning. The "coaches knoll" was abuzz with spectators asking, "has he gone yet?" or "when is Mahre coming?" Soon Mahre did appear, charging down the course to earn a time of 1.07:85. Three other much younger racers followed Mahre, including Kerr a 20-year-old racer, a Squaw Valley Ski Team racer. Kerr, who had the fastest first run time of 1.05:15, posted a time of 1.07:94-not fast enough to beat Phil Mahre's second run time, but good enough to take the win by .75 seconds over Mahre, who placed second in his first FIS giant slalom in 23 years.
Only time will tell, but Mahre's goal may not be so "lofty" after all....."
This message is brought to you by www.NWinfo.net
Steve
WHITE PASS SKI AREA Phil Mahre Comeback
As many of you know, 49-year-old Phil Mahre, is making a comeback. We often have folks ask how it is going so here is an update from the FIS race at Mammoth picked up from the Mammoth Times. Note - The article says that Robert Mahre is Phil's son, they missed that. Robbie is Dave Mahre's son, and Phil's nephew. Prepared to be inspired!
Mammoth hosts Western Region FIS races
by Susan Morning in the Mammoth Times
Race marks Phil Mahre's return to FIS racing
The word was out. In fact, it was the buzz on the Mountain. Racers young and old alike were all talking about it.
Phil Mahre, Olympic gold medalist in the 1984 Sarajevo slalom event and three-time World Cup overall winner, and his son, Robert, were at Mammoth for the Western Region FIS races. Robert was here to race in the Western Region FIS races and Phil was here to watch Robert race.
Wrong. Phil was here to mark his return to FIS racing after a 23-year absence. At 49, Phil Mahre is officially on the comeback.
The Aug. 3 edition of Ski Racing magazine quoted Mahre as saying, "It's probably a lofty goal," when referring to his desire to qualify for the 2007 U.S. Nationals at Alyeska, Alaska. "I'll go out and catch some FIS races," he said. "I don't want to pull any strings to make this happen. I want to qualify like everyone else."
On Tuesday, Jan. 2, Robert Mahre started 40th in the slalom. His father started 89th, with 36 other 990-point holders. By the end of the day 19-year-old Robert sat in 41st place while his dad, 30 years his senior, finished 16th. Never mind that Phil was competing against 123 other racers who weren't even born when he won his first Olympic medal, and only one that was born when he retired from racing!
On Wednesday, the news wasn't as good for the elder Mahre, who dropped back to 20th place in the slalom, the event he had won his gold medal in, while Robert moved up to nab 25th place. But on the other hand, the good news for Phil Mahre is that he is no longer a 990 in slalom. He dropped nearly 920 points in one weekend. By comparison it took Errol Kerr, a top Far West racer and winner of Wednesday's slalom race, two years to reduce his points to just below 70.
Thursday's giant slalom race was cancelled due to heavy snow, high winds and freezing temperatures, but by Friday the storm was gone and the second scheduled giant slalom race was on. Again, the name Phil Mahre was tossed in with the 990-pack, but by the second run Mahre was starting 27th after having a time of 1.05.99 the fourth fastest time from the morning. The "coaches knoll" was abuzz with spectators asking, "has he gone yet?" or "when is Mahre coming?" Soon Mahre did appear, charging down the course to earn a time of 1.07:85. Three other much younger racers followed Mahre, including Kerr a 20-year-old racer, a Squaw Valley Ski Team racer. Kerr, who had the fastest first run time of 1.05:15, posted a time of 1.07:94-not fast enough to beat Phil Mahre's second run time, but good enough to take the win by .75 seconds over Mahre, who placed second in his first FIS giant slalom in 23 years.
Only time will tell, but Mahre's goal may not be so "lofty" after all....."
This message is brought to you by www.NWinfo.net