One of the greatest American downhillers of the 1960s, his Olympic career was over. Then when it came to the race I understood that there was a big difference between first and the rest, so to speak.”īode Miller has been alternately criticized and praised for his win-or-crash style of skiing - and for “partying at an Olympic level” in 2006 - but he’s also learned from his previous stints and collected five medals over the years (including three at last go-around in 2010).īarrows suffered a head injury after colliding with a French spectator while training for the World Championships in 1970 and wound up going pro a year later. Some of us were more naive and didn’t do it. “Some people like (teammate) Spider (Sabich) had the perception to understand what was at risk and what was available there. “When I became a coach later I understood that it was important … to get the experience of going through that at least one time in order to be successful the second time,” he said. Like having lunch one day with actress Audrey Hepburn. So in retrospect, I understood that I wanted to win the race and it would be a big deal winning the race, but the distractions were out there.” “I kept trying to treat it like just another race until I got there and then all of a sudden I understood it was a big deal because we’ve got movie stars and generals and everybody else hanging around and trying to tag along and jump on the bandwagon. “I guess I was so naive I didn’t realize how big the Olympics were,” Barrows said. If he has any regret it’s that he didn’t get another chance to build on what he learned the first time around. Ski Team does take seriously the opportunity the Olympics represent. “Nobody even knows Billy if he takes his hat off,” Barrows jokes, but the former downhill coach for the U.S. It doesn’t bother me at all.”īarrows’ famous fellow Steamboater Billy Kidd, who did win an Olympic silver in slalom in 1964 - the first ever for American man - is perhaps just as famous for his signature cowboy hat as his skiing. “It opens doors and it’s a lifestyle that I still live, and that’s the way I want to be remembered,” said Barrows, 69, who grew up and still lives in Steamboat Springs. Jean Claude-Killy won the race (and the other two men’s events at those games).īarrows never got another shot at an Olympic medal, and he never won on the fledgling World Cup circuit, but he did find fame for his misfortune, and the 1996 inductee into the Colorado Ski & Snowboard Museum Hall of Fame doesn’t mind that crash being his signature moment. The more famous footage was of a Slovenian ski jumper crashing during the show’s intro, but ABC’s expanded Olympic coverage in 1968 made Barrows famous for his terrible fall, in which he slid an estimated 200 yards, dislocated his hip and was airlifted off the mountain.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |