Goodwill Games

February 18, 2000

Chris Puckett Wins Second Silver At Goodwill Games Downhill

LAKE PLACID, NY (Feb. 18) -- Chris Puckett, Boulder, CO, will leave Lake Placid Sat. $25,000 richer with a pair of well-earned silver medals in his pocket. Puckett won his second straight silver Fri. behind Canadian Ed Podivinsky in the second of two Winter Goodwill Games downhills. Austrian Fritz Strobl was third.

After teammates Darin McBeath and Luke Sauder had swapped leads, Podivinsky, running ninth, took the lead. Podivinsky watched with interest as Strobl came down next, but was .8 back.

"My work was done halfway down the course," said Podivinsky, referring to the steep, technical top section. "The rest is up to the technicians and servicemen who worked on my skis. We had the right combination today!"

Puckett, meanwhile, was looking forward to a few days home with his wife in Colorado after a month straight on the circuit -- and with $25,000 more in his pocket! "Today I felt I was going to have to be even more aggressive because the Austrians were going to be trying even harder," said Puckett. "I took more risks during the first part (of the course) and lamost paid for them a couple of times.

"I almost went off the course in the last gates before hitting the flats, but that's what happens when you ski really aggressively - you can make mistakes and still be fast. And that's what I did today."

It was somewhat of a homecoming for Puckett, who spent four years racing out of Vermont's Burke Academy during high school, and parlayed his time off from ski racing into a degree at Dartmouth College over the past eight years. "I feel comfortable with this course since I've skied here a number of times," he said. "I think a lot of racers, like Strobl, weren't as comfortable with the course and that was a factor in my favor."

Puckett actually had only one previous run on the actual new downhill course, during the Jan. 1998 Gold Cup, but it was an important one. "We had just one run from the top at the Gold Cup. But with downhill skiing, it's pretty intense and dangerous. You focus so much in your mind that it gets burned into your head and you can't forget it."

American Daron Rahlves, Truckee, CA, stepped up big time to finish sixth. Just as he did a day earlier, Rahlves nailed the top section with his super G agility and small size. But it worked against him on the flatter bottom section.

The Goodwill Games were founded by Time Warner Vice Chairman R.E. Turner in 1986 to ensure that the world's best athletes have the opportunity to compete in world class competition. The four previous Goodwill Games have alternated between the United States and Russia; however, future Games will be staged in countries around the world in both winter and summer formats. In addition to the Winter Goodwill Games, plans are underway for the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia. TNT is the host network for both events. Goodwill Games, Inc., is a division of Turner Sports, the sports programming and production business unit of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

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