First gold for Miller in super combined (UK only)

American Bode Miller secured his first ever Olympic gold medal, in the super combined, after rival Aksel Lund Svindal failed to finish the slalom.

Miller, who was tipped to win five medals in Turin four years ago but left empty-handed, had already taken bronze in the downhill and super-G silver.

Seventh in the downhill, he responded with a slalom time of 51.01 seconds.

Super-G champion Svindal was fastest in the downhill but made an error early in the slalom then missed a flag.

Croatia's Ivica Kostelic took the silver medal and Silvan Zurbriggen of Switzerland the bronze.

The way I executed, the way I skied, is something I'll be proud of the rest of my life Bode Miller

Great Britain's Ed Drake finished 29th overall - his best Olympic result so far - coming 33rd in the downhill section and 28th in slalom.

Four years ago in Turin, Miller led after the downhill section of the super-combined but was disqualified in the slalom.

This time, he produced the third-fastest slalom leg for a combined time of two minutes, 44.92 seconds.

Miller also won two silver medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and his fifth Olympic medal overall added to his status as the most decorated US Alpine skier.

"I skied with 100% heart. I didn't hold anything back," Miller said. "It's just awesome. There's nothing else to say.

"The way I executed, the way I skied, is something I'll be proud of the rest of my life."

It's great to start around these guys - they're the pinnacle of the sport and that's where I'm aiming to be Britain's Ed Drake

Defending champion Ted Ligerty was fastest in the slalom but could only come fifth overall after a disappointing downhill, which was 1.91 seconds off the pace.

Meanwhile Drake, from Kingston-on-Thames, was more than happy with his position, 5.99 sec off the pace.

"I can't complain about that, it's my best finish of the Games," he said.

"I would have settled for a top-30 before. I would have liked to get into the top-30 on the speed run, but I missed that by twelve hundredths of a second.

"I'm loving every moment of it here. It's great to start around these guys - they're the pinnacle of the sport and that's where I'm aiming to be."

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