No, she didn’t win the downhill, nor did she even win a medal, but Super Jules – aka Julia Mancuso – did place 8th in the event. And that by itself was an accomplishment. It was the 7th time that Mancuso had placed in the top 10 at an Olympic Alpine skiing event, and that is the best ever for a US woman. In fact it equalled the USA best coming into Sochi, but Bode Miller’s 8th place in men’s downhill was his 8th time in the top 10. Here is the list of American Alpine skiiers with 3 or more top 10 finishes at the Winter Olympics.
[table]
Name,Gender,###
Bode Miller,M,8
Julia Mancuso,F,7
Phil Mahre,M,5
Lindsey Vonn (Kildow-),F,5
Andrea Mead-Lawrence,F,4
Picabo Street,F,4
Tommy Moe,M,4
Daron Rahlves,M,4
Christin Cooper,F,3
Eva Twardokens,F,3
Brooks Dodge Jr.,M,3
Jimmy Heuga,M,3
Billy Kidd,M,3
Ted Ligety,M,3
[/table]
Now overall, Mancuso is =5th among Olympic women with her 7 top 10s. The leader in this regard for Olympic female Alpine skiiers is surprising – Martina Ertl-Renz, who has 3 Olympic medals, but never a gold. The overall leader is as expected, Norway’s Kjetil André Aamodt, with 13. Aamodt also has the most Olympic Alpine skiing medals all-time with 8. Bode Miller is currently =3rd on the men’s list with his 8 top 10s. Here’s the list of all Olympic Alpine skiiers with 7 or more top 10s.
[table]
Athlete ID,Gender,NOC,###
Martina Ertl-Renz,F,GER,10
Katja Seizinger,F,GER,8
Anita Wachter,F,AUT,8
Janica Kostelić,F,CRO,8
Hilde Gerg,F,GER,7
Alexandra Meissnitzer,F,AUT,7
Michaela Dorfmeister,F,AUT,7
Julia Mancuso,F,USA,7
Anja Pärson,F,SWE,7
Kjetil André Aamodt,M,NOR,13
Lasse Kjus,M,NOR,9
Paul Accola,M,SUI,8
Benjamin Raich,M,AUT,8
Bode Miller,M,USA,8
Günther Mader,M,AUT,7
Guy Périllat,M,FRA,7
Markus Wasmeier,M,GER,7
[/table]