Are: "Special K" gets best finish so far in combi

When U.S. tech specialist Kaylin Richardson skied into the finish area after her slalom run in the super combined Friday at the World Championships, she looked up at the scoreboard and saw her rank — fourth.
ARE, Sweden — When U.S. tech specialist Kaylin Richardson skied into the finish area after her slalom run in the super combined Friday at the World Championships, she looked up at the scoreboard and saw her rank — fourth.
    “I was like, ‘ehh,’ ” she said, knowing more racers with better downhill times were still to go.
    But the ever-optimistic and articulate 22-year-old quickly reminded herself that she needed to revel in the fact she made it to the World Championships.
    “I just want to enjoy it and ski my best and today, in certain sections, I skied my best and that’s all you can hope for,” she said.
    Richardson, the reigning U.S. national slalom champion and a three-time NorAm slalom champ, finished 12th in the super combined in her first trip to a World Championships. It was the second time this season she’s been in the top 15 in a super combined, an event she’s been working hard to improve in.
    “I’ve been on the speed circuit so long that it’s taken me a little time to get my timing back in slalom,” she said. “But that slalom run was decent. I wish it was faster, but I think it’s a really good platform for the slalom next Friday.
    “For it being my first World Championships, I’m perfectly happy with it.”
    Richardson, who was 14th-fastest in the downhill, said she was happy with her run despite a “big” mistake.
    Her mishap came after a three-gate technical corridor shortly after the top section where she admitted to skiing too direct a line after a fallaway turn, barely making the next gate.
    "I'm still getting a lot of experience in the downhill right now. Every run I learn something new,” she said.
    Coming in 14th-fastest in the downhill, which isn’t her specialty, had set Richardson up nicely in the slalom portion of the combi for a top-10 finish.
    “It would have been awesome to have top 10,” she said. “The slalom run was so easy. I was really attacking, but the snow was really aggressive. I think I might have been on my edges a little too much.”
    Richardson said she was thinking of her teammates once she got to the finish area.
    “The course really ran well. There were no trouble spots whatsoever,” she said. “So I radioed up to Julia [Mancuso] and Lindsey [Kildow] and I was like, honestly, there’s nothing to hold back. You guys need to go.
    “Julia rose to the occasion. Lindsey had bad luck after a good run and that’s just ski racing, especially the slalom.”
    Mancuso went on to win the silver while Kildow missed a gate and was disqualified.
    With two women’s races down and three to go, Richardson said her team would definitely party Friday night and then get back to business and continue to put more American women on the podium.
    “One thing the Americans do so well is that we love skiing. We just like to have fun. Other teams have commented — they say you guys seem like you are always having fun — and we are, and that helps you get through such a long season…,” she said. “We just get along so well and keep it light. Then, we get our game faces on before the run.”