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Patrick Riml leaves U.S. Alpine director role after 7 seasons

FILE - In this Oct. 14, 2011, file photo, Alpine director Patrick Riml of the United States ski team looks on during the presentation of the United States ski team in Innsbruck, Austria. Riml tells the AP that his men's team's Olympic performance was "disappointing" and acknowledges "we definitely have to rebuild" before the 2022 Beijing Games. (AP Photo/Kerstin Joensson, File)

Park City • U.S. Alpine director Patrick Riml is leaving his role after seven seasons and following a Winter Olympics in which the women's side accounted for all three medals.

Riml joined the ski squad in 2001 and became the women's coach two years later, helping with the development of Julia Mancuso and Lindsey Vonn. He left in 2008 to join Team Canada before returning to the U.S. in 2011 as Alpine director.

U.S. ski and snowboard chief of sport Luke Bodensteiner credited Riml with leading "some of the most successful teams in our history."

At the Pyeongchang Olympics, Mikaela Shiffrin earned a gold and silver, while Vonn captured a bronze. Riml called the men's performance in South Korea "disappointing" and acknowledged the team had to rebuild before the Beijing Games in 2022.