Guess what? Skiing begins at Winter Olympics; Miller takes bronze, Vonn sharp in training run

Miller, Vonn in high gear as Olympic skiing begins

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Alpine skiing finally got going at the Vancouver Olympics on Monday, and Bode Miller and Lindsey Vonn wasted no time showing why they’re the most decorated Americans to schuss down the slopes.

Under drip-free skies and cold-enough temperatures, Miller was among the first down Blackcomb Mountain, and among the fastest. He broke into a big ol’ grin at the end of his run, which put him in first place at the time. It held up for bronze, a huge step toward making up for the mess he made four years ago in Turin.

Vonn, meanwhile, posted the fastest time among the first 25 competitors in a women’s downhill training run. That’s a good indication the days of delays have helped her bruised right shin, and that she’s still the woman to beat.

Miller finished just nine-hundredths of a second behind the winning time posted by Didier Defago of Switzerland. Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway earned silver.

Miller won two silver medals in 2002, then went into the 2006 Winter Olympics as one of the headliners, only to make the wrong kind of history. A fifth-place finish in the downhill started his demise; it turned out to be his best finish. A rebellious, couldn’t-care-less attitude made things worse.

Now he’s 32, the father of a young girl and the winner of a U.S.-record 32 World Cup titles. For all his squabbling with U.S. Olympic types, he’s provided the delegation with its seventh medal, three more than any other nation.

The only other event finished by midday in Vancouver was in women’s cross-country. Four more events were to be decided, with the best chances for more American medal-winners coming in snowboardcross and speedskating’s 500-meter race.

Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla led from start in the women’s 10-kilometer freestyle race.

“I just tried to focus on my plan and be patient,” Kalla said. “It was fantastic.”

Kristina Smigun-Vaehi of Estonia, who won two golds in 2006 but has struggled this season, took silver and Marit Bjoergen of Norway got the bronze.

World Cup leader and double world champion Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland trailed from the start, finishing fifth behind Anna Haag of Sweden.

Bjoergen missed out on a gold medal again — she already had two silver medals from Turin and the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.

A brief, private service was held at a Vancouver funeral home for the Georgian luger killed in a crash during raining. Then his casket was taken to the airport to be flown home for burial.

The father of 21-year-old Nodar Kumaritashvili told The Associated Press in Georgia that shortly before the fatal run he spoke to his son, who said he was worried about the track’s speed.

“He told me, ‘I will either win or die,’” David Kumaritashvili said. “But that was youthful bravado, he couldn’t be seriously talking about death.”