Miller Ends American Drought in Giant Slalom

Bode Miller did something an American man hadn’t done since 1983: He won a giant slalom.

And he did it Sunday at Val D’Isere, France, against the circuit’s best technical skiers for his first World Cup victory.

“I felt I could ski fast enough to win for a long time,� said Miller, of Franconia, N.H. “To have a World Cup victory under my belt is important. To see an American on the podium after such a long time is important. It charges everyone up.

“Most of the skiers on our team are at the same level as I am, so when I won, they’re all thinking they can do the same.�

France’s Frederic Covili, who won the season-opening giant slalom, finished second and Austria’s Stephan Eberharter, winner of the weekend’s downhill and super-giant slalom races, was third.

Miller was third after the opening leg, then had an excellent second run to win in a combined time of 2 minutes 36.02 seconds.

The last American man to win a World Cup giant slalom was Phil Mahre at Bormio, Italy.

It was also the first World Cup victory by an American man in more than a year.

Daron Rahlves, the super-G world champion, won consecutive downhills at Kvitfjell, Norway, in February 2000.

Swiss skier Silvano Beltrametti is paralyzed from the chest down after a crash during a World Cup downhill and will be transferred to a special facility in his home country.

After consulting with doctors at a hospital in Grenoble, Beltrametti’s family decided to move the 22-year-old skier to a center in Nottwil, Switzerland, as long as his condition remains stable.

The extent of the paralysis was confirmed Sunday.

Beltrametti was injured in a high-speed crash during a World Cup race Saturday at Val D’Isere.

Wrestling

Olympic champion Rulon Gardner of the United States added a world title to his collection, winning the gold medal in the Greco-Roman World Championships at Patras, Greece.

Gardner defeated Hungary’s Mihaly Deak-Bardos, 2-0, at the end of overtime in the 286-pound division.

Swimming

Jason Lezak of the United States won the 50-meter freestyle and countryman Ed Moses won the 200 breaststroke on the final night of a World Cup short-course swim meet at Melbourne, Australia.

Germany’s Toni Helbig won the 100 backstroke and Australia’s Geoff Huegill won the 100 butterfly.

Britain’s Zoe Baker won the women’s 50 breaststroke to defeat American Amanda Beard and Australian Brooke Hanson.

World and Olympic champion Jana Klochkova, whose trip from Ukraine took her 27 hours, won the women’s 100 butterfly.

Soccer

Yoo Sang-chul’s goal on a header in the 20th minute lifted South Korea over the United States, 1-0, at Seogwipo, South Korea.

The U.S. nearly equalized in the 79th minute when a shot by forward Ante Razov from short range hit the post during a goal-mouth melee.

Santa Clara won its first NCAA women’s soccer championship and denied North Carolina its 17th, beating the Tar Heels, 1-0, at Dallas.

Aly Wagner scored four minutes before halftime.

Santa Clara (23-2) had been to the national semifinals six times.

North Carolina’s normally aggressive offense never found a rhythm. The Tar Heels (24-1) had only one shot on goal in the first half and few opportunities in the second.

The loss ended North Carolina’s 11-game winning streak in the NCAA tournament and 34-game overall win streak.

Ronaldo, the frequently injured Brazilian, scored his first goal in more than two years, helping Inter remain in first place in the Italian league with a 3-1 victory at Brescia.

Miscellany

The San Jose Sharks sent rookie defenseman Jeff Jillson, their top pick in the 1999 NHL entry draft, to their minor league affiliate at Cleveland.

Jillson had three goals and 11 points in 28 games.

Canada’s Catriona LeMay Doan clocked 37.22 seconds to set a world record in the women’s 500 meters in a World Cup speedskating event at Calgary, Canada.

The gold medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics remains unbeaten at 500 meters after two World Cup stops.

Three-time Olympic champion George Hackl won the luge singles in another strong World Cup outing by Germany at Koenigssee, Germany.

The top U.S. finisher was Tony Benshoof in seventh place.

Finland’s Samppa Lajunen finished first in a 7.5-kilometer cross-country sprint to win a World Cup Nordic combined event at Strbske Pleso, Slovakia.

Todd Lodwick of Steamboat Springs, Colo., finished fifth.

Mbarak Hussein of Kenya covered the course in 2:15:08 to win the Honolulu Marathon for the second time.

Lyubov Morgunova led a 1-2-3 Russian sweep in defending her women’s title, finishing in 2:29:54.

Hussein was well behind the record of 2:11:43 set by his brother Ibrahim in 1986.

A week after leading France to a Davis Cup victory over Australia as captain, Guy Forget won another title.

Forget, 36, served 21 aces en route to a 7-5, 6-7 (5), 11-9 victory over Petr Korda in the Honda Challenge seniors tournament at London.

Police at Sao Paulo, Brazil, captured the last two suspects they were seeking in the killing of Peter Blake, a yachting champion from New Zealand.

Blake was shot to death Wednesday night near the mouth of the Amazon, where his boat was moored.

Police said the suspects were found with objects missing from Blake’s yacht, including an outboard motor and his watch.

Authorities said Blake was killed by assailants who wanted to rob his yacht.