This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sochi, Russia • Ski racer Ted Ligety takes his last best chance at bringing a medal home to Utah from the Sochi Olympics when he races the giant slalom, his best event, Wednesday.
In the premier event of the day, the Park City native tries to add an Olympic medal to his trophy collection that includes a world championship and overall World Cup titles in the event. He's also trying to make up for an otherwise underwhelming performance here, with 12th and 14th place finishes in the super-combined and super-G, the other two events in which he won world titles last year.
Ligety is a distinct favorite for the title, ahead of Austria's Marcel Hirscher and France's Alexis Pinturault. Salt Lake City's Jared Goldberg and former Park City resident Tim Jitloff also are racing for the U.S.
The only other competition involving Utahns on Wednesday is the women's 5,000 meters in speedskating, where Park City's Maria Lamb competes in her second Olympics. She's not expected to medal, however, likely continuing U.S. Speedskating's abysmal medal drought in Sochi.
- Michael C. Lewis