YANQING, China. – Asa Miller admitted on Monday that he learned a bitter lesson from his DNF–Did Not Finish–result in the giant slalom last Sunday at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics here.
Miller was aggressive from the get-go as he went for five gates as fast as he can. He skied for only 15.9 seconds before crashing out, which he later said was a case of him losing his focus.
“I just have to stick to my plan for the next race,” said Miller, 21, whose campaign is fully supported by the Philippine Sports Commission headed by Chairman William Ramirez.
Miller avoided blaming the weather–it snowed for the first time in weeks at the Ice River on Saturday and Sunday–in the first run that saw 32 of the 84 participants also getting DNFs.
“I’d kind of lost my focus when I got into the gate for so long waiting, and forgot what I want to think about, so I need to make sure to stick to my plan for slalom on Wednesday,” said Miller, who is No. 63 on the start list.
Miller’s American coach, Will Gregorak, said that Miller skied not to finish “but to run” and go for a strong result.
The two-time Olympian expressed his frustration by leaving right away for the Olympic Village and skipped a request for an interview at the Mixed Zone.
On Monday, he appeared in a good mood as he watched the giant slalom medal ceremony where Switzerland’s Marco Odermatt received his first Olympic gold medal. Slovenia’s Zan Kranjec clinched the silver and France’s Mathieu Faivre bagged the bronze.
“I’m pretty bummed about that (DNF), but I went out skiing my hardest and I went fast,” Miller said. “Ski racing is a hard sport. A lot of the best skiers struggled yesterday, and a lot of people didn’t finish so I’m happy that I put my best out there and laid it on the line.”
Miller finished 70th out of 110 participants in Pyeongchang in 2018.
“I’m looking forward to the slalom and I know I will put my best out there again and hopefully things align and we get a nice result,” he said.
