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Alpine skiing-Miller eyes six-medal haul after opening-day win

By Mark Ledsom

BORMIO, Italy, Jan 29 - Newly-crowned super-G
world champion Bode Miller is now setting his sights on a record
six medals at the Alpine ski world championships.

The American all-rounder is expecting to compete in all four
individual disciplines as well as the combined event and the new
nations' competition.

Following his strong performance on Saturday, when he beat
Austria's Michael Walchhofer and Benjamin Raich to the top of
the podium in the opening race, Miller reckons his chances are
strong.

"I would love to get medals in all the events I'm skiing in
and it's definitely possible, more than possible even," Miller
said shortly after his super-G triumph.

"I guarantee that I'll be trying to ski as well as I can in
all the events and if I do that and make it to the finish, then
there's a good chance I'll be on the podium.

The addition of the new nations' event means that Miller has
the chance to surpass the record, set by Norwegian Lasse Kjus in
1999, of five medals at a single world championships.

Having already won World Cup races in all four individual
disciplines this season -- a feat achieved by only four other
skiers in the sport's history -- Miller certainly has the
potential to meet his target.

After failing to finish six of this season's seven slalom
races to date, however, the World Cup overall leader also knows
that his attacking, all-out style could be a factor in thwarting
his dream.

"I'm still going to be skiing hard and aggressive, trying to
win and trying to ski my absolute best on every race day, and
when I do that it's easy to make mistakes," Miller said.

Miller also admitted on Saturday that he found winning
medals easier than holding on to them, confessing that he had
lost one of the two gold medals he won at the 2003 world
championships in St Moritz.

"I don't carry the medals around with me, because I'd be
even more likely to lose them if I did, so I left them at home,"
Miller said.

"I was using one of the golds to hold up the toilet seat for
a while, because it was one of those seats that keeps falling
down. But I don't know where it went after that."

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