BORMIO, Italy — The Olympics can tug at the heart like few other sporting events: the ecstasy of glory, the misery of defeat and everything in between. The near-misses, the mistakes, the come-out-of-nowhere show-stoppers.
And so it was in northern Italy on Monday. There was Atle Lie McGrath, the Norwegian skier with a slalom gold medal within sight and competing with a heavy heart, walking off into the distance, crushed by what had slipped away when he straddled a gate.
Meters away was a Swish coach, arms aloft — joy — as Switzerland won gold once again on the Stelvio. And at the bottom of the slope, the newly crowned men’s slalom Olympic champion, Loic Meillard, with tears in his eyes, hands over his mouth, disbelieving the gold was his.
McGrath had a relatively handsome lead after the first run. The gap between him and Meillard was 0.59 seconds, and with conditions improved — early-morning snowfall had made way for afternoon sun — what was required of McGrath seemed relatively simple. Yes, there was pressure; this was the Olympics, and the gold medal was on the line. And, yes, nothing is a foregone conclusion in Alpine skiing, especially on a slope as formidable as the Stelvio. But McGrath had done the hard work, going out first when visibility was poor and the snow was falling, putting down a first-run time of 56.14 seconds no one could beat.
At the top of the gate, as the last skier to go, McGrath knew if he were to go quicker than Meillard’s total time of one minute, 53 seconds, the gold would be his. But he made a mistake and missed a gate. And as soon as he realised he wouldn’t even finish with a medal, he threw his poles, unstrapped his skis, and stormed off, alone with his thoughts as the world watched on.
McGrath threw both of his poles over one side of the course after skiing out in Monday’s race. (Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
It wasn’t only the gold that had gone but the silver (won by Austria’s Fabio Gstrein) and bronze too (Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway). A DNF to McGrath’s name when he thought it could be gold.
McGrath walked off the course and reclined in the snow near the edge of the woods at left. (Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)
McGrath had more on his mind than just skiing. His grandfather, the man whom he had previously said had inspired his career, died on the night of the opening ceremony, aged 83.
The Vermont-born McGrath, 25, is a five-time World Cup winner in slalom and is currently leading the World Cup slalom standings this season. He was seeking his first Olympic medal.