Just call him "King of the Mountain." Daron Rahlves, 27, won a gold medal in the super giant slalom (or super-G) last week at the World Alpine Ski Championships in St. Anton, Austria. He is the first American to capture the event, which combines the mad-dash speed of downhill racing with the tricky turns of slalom skiing. Austrian skiers, especially Olympic superstar Hermann ("the Herminator") Maier, were heavily favored to win. So how did the Californian do it? Rahlves admits that training with the Austrians last summer helped. More important, says the former jet-ski world champion, "my whole life has been geared to be the best."

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February 9, 2001 World Report