While recuperating from the various operations, he returned to stay with his mother, D.B. It, and various other post-Olympic endorsements and contracts, made Johnson enough money to afford a flashy sports car and a house in Malibu, but when his winning stopped, so did some of his earnings. The original made-for-TV movie, shown in 1985, did little for either ski racing or the cinematic arts. Johnson, asked recently if he might be able to make a comeback at 31, said: “After two back surgeries and two knee injuries, I’ve had enough.”īesides, if he were to attempt serious racing again, they might have to make the sequel, “Guts and Glory: The Bill Johnson Story II,” which would be unfortunate. Stock, who will turn 34 next month, won the Olympic men’s downhill at Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1980-four years before Johnson’s gold-medal performance. One of Kitt’s main rivals today will be Leonhard Stock of Austria. We partied together, along with all the other downhillers.” Johnson said he became “good friends” with Kitt before retiring and added: “He was on his way up, and we got along pretty well. Kitt, for his part, has expressed more confidence during training the past week, but has avoided making any brash predictions. I’m not that bad a guy when you get to know me, and not too many people do.” “I don’t think I was too bad the way I did it. “I don’t know if he was setting himself up to be the goat or just trying to take the pressure off himself, but it sure was different from the way I approached things. Then he said he probably didn’t have much of a chance in the Olympics because he didn’t like the course. “I saw him race at Val Gardena (Italy) in December, and he would have won (instead of placing fourth) if he hadn’t made one little mistake. “How’s our boy doing?” was Johnson’s first question Friday. Today, as the Olympic men’s downhill gets under way at Val d’Isere, France, Johnson can’t help but smile as he remembers his little coup of eight years ago, and roots for AJ Kitt to become only the second American male to win this race. It was part of the three-race Tournament of Champions series, in which Johnson was the top money-winner. Johnson still races-but only in celebrity events, including one recently at Deer Valley, Utah, where he defeated 1952 Olympic gold medalist Stein Eriksen, more than twice his age but also benefiting from a huge time handicap. “I also just spoke to my mother, and it looks like we’ve sold our apartments in Portland, so we’ll have some capital to work with.” We’re looking at a couple of pieces of land here, and a condominium, and may build a few houses on speculation. My wife, Gina, and I just sold our house at Lake Tahoe and are in the process of moving to Crested Butte full time. He is moving along quite nicely with an assortment of ski industry endeavors, including promotional activities for the resort at Crested Butte, where he is the full-time “skiing ambassador.” After two more World Cup victories, at Aspen and Whistler Mountain, Canada, his career went downhill when knee and back injuries eventually forced him to retire two years ago at 29.īut there is no need to hold any fund-raisers for Johnson. But what it meant personally and emotionally was the successful culmination of 20 years of ski racing.”Īs life after the Olympics turned out, his estimate was probably a few hundred thousand off. With the Olympics the way they are and people capitalizing on their gold medals, I answered it frankly. The question wasn’t about what it meant to me, but about what it was worth. You’d think it was him who’d just skied down the mountain.”Īsked what the downhill gold medal was worth to him, Johnson replied without hesitation: “Millions!”įriday, speaking from Crested Butte, Colo., Johnson said: “That comment was widely misinterpreted. “Look at Marolt over there,” Johnson said during post-race interviews. Alpine Director Bill Marolt, who had been generally cool toward him because of the racer’s somewhat undisciplined approach to training. Swiss star Peter Mueller was 0.27 of a second behind in second place, and Klammer was 10th. On race day, which finally arrived after delays caused by snowy weather, Johnson conquered Sarajevo, winning the downhill in 1:45.59.
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