Miller, Svindal, Swiss are the big Alpine winners

WHISTLER, British Columbia (AP) -- Bode Miller and Aksel Lund Svindal took home three medals apiece from the Vancouver Olympics, combining for six-times more than Alpine skiing's so-called "Wunderteam."

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The fifth and last Alpine title went to Italian Giuliano Razzoli, who beat Ivica Kostelic and Sweden's Andre Myhrer among the podium finishers on Saturday. Then attention quickly turned to the Austrian men's team which dominated the Turin Olympics four years ago but didn't win any of the 15 medals at the Vancouver Games.

Inquests will inevitably begin in places such as Innsbruck, Kitzbuehel and Schladming.

"For sure, it's really frustrating," Austria men's head coach Toni Giger said after another shutout in the slalom. "Everybody is really disappointed right now because we didn't achieve our goals."

The Austrian men were targeting three or four medals, which seemed a realistic soft landing from the peak of their eight medals in Turin.

It could have been salvaged with a repeat of the slalom podium sweep from four years ago.

But world champion Manfred Pranger crashed out, Turin silver medalist Reinfried Herbst never contended in 10th, and top prospect Marcel Hirscher was fifth, following his fourth place in giant slalom.

Most poignantly, Benjamin Raich was only 0.05 second off the podium in fourth place as he lost his Olympic slalom title. He needed a fifth career medal to become the most decorated Austrian Alpine skier in games history.

"That's very disappointing for me, for our team. But we have to handle that. It's not easy," said Raich, who turned 32 Sunday and might not return for the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.

Raich did not accept that Austrian skiing was in crisis, and will now focus on preserving his lead in the season-long World Cup overall standings.

Yet the media back home had already cried "debacle" after the downhill and super-G.

"We had a really strong team," said Giger, who has led the team for 10 years. "We have to accept that the other racers were faster."

Especially Miller and Svindal.

These two racers have shared four of the past five World Cup overall titles but came to Whistler with doubts about their fitness and dispelled them magnificently, each earning a medal of every color.

Miller enjoyed a games renaissance after his Olympic-level partying in Turin.

He started with a bronze in the downhill and got super-G silver four days later.

The 32-year-old American had enough energy left for a thrilling slalom run that clinched super-combined gold on the middle Sunday.

"It was really one of those things that I'll remember -- that feeling and my place in the whole picture -- really clearly, I think, for a long time," Miller said.

And he did it his way, true to his singular nature.

"To come into the games, and perform the way I did," Miller said, "and to feel the kind of enjoyment from skiing and from expressing myself on my skis the way I did, is phenomenal."

Miller has a share of second on the all-time list of men's Alpine medalists.

Svindal is more straightforward and almost impossibly affable for an elite athlete.

Even Miller smiled and applauded as the big Norwegian knocked him off the leader's spot in the two speed events.

Svindal got his deserved gold in super-G, silver in downhill and rounded off his schedule with bronze in giant slalom. He also led in super-combined before going off-course in the slalom.

"He was very happy. He left and said, 'Thanks for a great experience and Olympics,"' Norway men's head coach Marius Arnesen said.

Svindal's running mate Kjetil Jansrud charged down the second-leg in the GS to get silver.

When Norway was runner-up, Swiss racers stood atop the podium.

Carlo Janka, just 23, added Olympic gold to his world title in GS. He thrived in the second-week sunshine once he got the icy track he likes.

When the downhill course turned out soft in the bottom sections Didier Defago adapted best, defying those who doubted he could repeat his successful 2009 season.

Swiss strength was confirmed by Silvan Zurbriggen's bronze in super-combined.

Kostelic had his umpteenth surgery on his 30-year-old knees in December, yet charged down in second-leg runs to win his silvers in super-combined and slalom.

Only Razzoli could cope with Kostelic in the slalom, reviving memories of the great Alberto Tomba who did the slalom-GS double at the 1988 Calgary Games.

Tomba was back in Canada Saturday to leap and weep for joy as his 25-year-old protege from the same Emilia Romagna region succeeded him.

Slalom bronze medalist Andre Myhrer ended a 22-year drought for Sweden's men.

Austria at least can make amends at Sochi, on an Alpine hill near the Russian Black Sea resort that has not yet staged top-class racing.

Veteran campaigners Didier Cuche of Switzerland and Austria's Michael Walchhofer, who arrived at Whistler as favorites in downhill and super-G, have likely had their last chance to become an Olympic champion.

Miller will be 36 when at the Sochi Games, but he's not ruling out his chances of competing there, and even winning.

"There's a lot of priorities that sort of need to fit into place if that was to try to come about," Miller said Saturday. "I don't know. You never know."