Jim Scherr, chief executive officer of the U.S. Olympic Committee, used words such as "aberration" and "fluke" this week in describing the Americans' performance, highlighted by 34 medals.

Actually, he was talking about the worldwide reaction to that showing. Citing historical figures that the most recent host country's medal count drops by 40 percent in the next Olympics, Scherr is convinced that will not happen to his team.

USOC officials are deviating from recent practice by not announcing any specific goals for Torino, Italy, but they are eager to prove their athletes can play on the road, too.

"Our goal is not to decline, because we did not drop our support," Scherr said during the U.S. Winter Olympic Team Summit. "Many countries put more money into funding athletes leading up to a home Games. We've maintained or increased our funding from the run-up to the Games in Salt Lake City to the Games in Torino, so the opportunities are there for them to maintain . . . a large chunk of our performance from Salt Lake City."

Just the same, Scherr and returning Olympians acknowledge having enjoyed a big advantage in 2002. They were motivated by adoring fans at every

venue, besides having made the most of four years of training access to the venues and becoming familiar with the competition environment.

Freestyle skiing gold medalist Joe Pack believes some of his rivals were "a little intimidated" by the pro-American crowd at Deer Valley. Casey FitzRandolph said the speedskating team's experience with the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns is a logical explanation for its success, but he's forecasting much of the same in Torino.

"I think our team is, quite frankly, even stronger this time around," he said. "I think you'll see at least equal results. It's a game of odds, of having people in a position to succeed. Fortunately, we've got a lot of chances to win."

And that's a lasting effect of the 2002 Games. The facilities, particularly the Oval and the Utah Olympic Park, are hardly going unused. Many athletes have remained in Utah, training for 2006, and the Americans' performances in the most recent series of world championships or equivalent events suggest they will bring home upwards of 25 medals from Torino - a much bigger haul than anything before 2002.

The hidden statistic from the Salt Lake City Games is 75 top-eight finishes for U.S. athletes, illustrating depth beyond the medal winners.

"So the pool was there, both with existing athletes and athletes coming into the system," Scherr said. "It was just a matter, with the [sport-specific] governing bodies, of whether we could support those athletes to continue on for Torino, and we think we have. We have a lot of athletes within reach of the podium."

FitzRandolph, who won the 500 meters in 2002, remains one of them. He considered retiring after the Salt Lake City Games, figuring he had reached the pinnacle of his sport, but decided that as much as the gold medal and world record represented, it did not mean that he had delivered his ultimate performance.

So while he plans to move back to Wisconsin after the Olympics, FitzRandolph has continued to train in Salt Lake City, supported by a share of the USOC's $12 million in funding of athletes for 2006.

"We've got a huge support system set up now," FitzRandolph said, "which we didn't have nearly to this extent a couple of Olympics ago."

At this level, that's what it takes to win on the road.

kkragthorpe@sltrib.com