Are: Kildow savors first worlds medal

ARE, Sweden — Watching the finish of the women’s super G on Tuesday at the World Championships, you could almost feel the weight of expectation being lifted off Lindsey Kildow’s shoulders.
ARE, Sweden — Watching the finish of the women’s super G on Tuesday at the World Championships, you could almost feel the weight of expectation being lifted off Lindsey Kildow’s shoulders.
    You may not have been able to sense the relief by watching the powerful 22-year-old’s reaction as she crossed the finish line, though.
    "I don’t know why I didn’t look happier. In the finish I thought that she was going to beat me,” said Kildow while pointing across the press conference stage at Renate Goetschl. I was like, ‘OK, third is good.’ ”
    But second was much better. That’s where Kildow ended up Tuesday, earning the first World Championships medal of her career after a pair of agonizing fourth-place finishes at the last worlds two years ago in Bormio, Italy.
    She also stumbled at last season's Olympics, failing to medal and spending time in a hospital after a hard crash during downhill training.   
    “I’m just really excited,” Kildow said. “… I may not have won, but for me it’s still special and still very good.”
    Kildow finished behind Sweden’s Anja Paerson but in front of the prerace favorite, Goetschl. The Austrian, enjoying one of her finest seasons and possibly last on the World Cup, currently is leading the overall, downhill and super G standings. But Kildow is right on her tail in the speed events — and Tuesday she passed her on ski racing’s biggest stage.
    “Of course you want to be the world champion, and I think the moment I crossed the finish line I was like, ‘OK I didn’t win,’ ” said Kildow, who skied six spots behind Paerson. “But then you realize, ‘I was second, so that’s pretty cool too.’ And I beat [Goetschl], so that was good.”
    “Say it once more,” Goetschl then chimed in with a smile from across the stage, drawing more than a few laughs.
   Kildow admitted to being “relaxed and determined” entering the race. She also acknowledged making a few mistakes in the middle section of the course where she lost some time. And Kildow said she drew on the confidence she gained from winning the last super G of the World Cup season before the break for worlds at San Sicario, Italy.
    “I kind of relied on what I did there. I kept that routine fresh in my mind and that confidence,” she said. “I was just myself. I wasn’t thinking too much about the outcome, just the skiing.”
    And Kildow has a lot more skiing to do at these championships. She’ll race in the super combined on Friday, the downhill on Sunday and likely the slalom next week. No doubt, Kildow will stay aggressive in each race.
    “The only thing that counts in World Championships is a medal,” she said. “So for me it’s just relief and satisfaction in today’s race. It gives me a lot of confidence for the next races.”