Miller lands 70th in alpine skiing

Philippines’ Asa Miller competes in the Men’s Giant Slalom at the Jeongseon Alpine Center during the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang on February 18, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Fabrice COFFRINI

Asa Miller made a huge leap in his second run to finish 70th overall in the men’s giant slalom event in alpine skiing Sunday in the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics at Yongpyong Alpine Centre.

Seeking to improve his time of 1:27.52 after finishing 81st in Run 1, the Fil-Am alpine skier performed better in Run 2, completing the course in 1:22.43, the 68th-best in the round.

That showing hiked his total time to 2:49.95, still 31.91 seconds behind the leader but enough to get him a spot in the top 70 among 108 competitors.

Marcel Hirscher of Austria claimed the gold medal after topping the field with a total time of 2:18.04.

Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway made a huge run in Run 2 to take home the silver with his 2:19.31, while Alexis Pinturault of France settled for bronze with his time of 2:19.35.

“I’m very thankful to finally have two gold medals,” said Hirscher, who finally won an individual gold in the alpine combined on Tuesday after dominating the World Cup for the last six years. “Remembering back to 2010 and 2014, finishing twice in fourth position [in giant slalom], it’s really good to be in first position.”

Miller will also compete in men’s slalom on Thursday. —RANDOLPH LEONGSON, AFP