BEAVER CREEK, Colo. — For most of the last five years, winning the giant slalom had come easily to Ted Ligety. Almost too easily.
Pressure-filled moments did not matter. World championship races? Ligety roared to the finish line first in 2011 and 2013 at the Alpine event, which is held every two years.
The 2014 Olympic Games? He dominated both runs of the giant slalom and routed the field.
Each of those victories made American ski racing history. But few champions earn a permanent place of distinction without enduring periods of hardship and finding ways to win anyway.
Perseverance is always the lasting quality.
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After crossing the finish line at the end of his second run, Ligety repeatedly pumped his fists in front of a sold-out grandstand, then blew kisses at the crowd. When Hirscher completed his run and the scoreboard showed that Ligety’s time would stand up as the best of the day, Ligety ran across the snow and raised his arms before the home fans once again.
“I love racing in the U.S.,” he said. “That’s one of the real anomalies for the American ski racer. We don’t get to do it very often. So when something like this happens, you have to enjoy it.”
Ligety, 30, has 24 World Cup victories and is closing in on 50 World Cup podiums. But on a sunny afternoon in Colorado, with his parents and friends watching, he won more than just another ski race. And it hardly came easily.
“When things aren’t always going your way, it’s important to rise up,” Ligety said late Friday, preparing to leave for the evening medal ceremony, a few miles away in Vail. “That’s what will always make this a memorable race for me. I came through. I rose up.”
