The 32-year-old American was in seventh place after the downhill portion of the race. But his time of 51.01 seconds in the slalom lifted him over Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, among others. Miller finished with a combined time of 2 minutes, 44.92 seconds — 0.33 better than runner-up Ivica Kostelic of Croatia. None of the skiers who finished in the top five of the downhill portion made the podium.

“It was completely fast on the bottom. On that last pitch, my legs started to feel wobbly, and it didn’t even feel like I was looking at the gates anymore,” Miller said. “When I passed the line, I did my normal thing and stood for a second, and I was like, ‘That was unbelievable. I can’t ask for anything more.’ For my first Olympic gold, it was absolutely perfect.”

Miller previously won a bronze medal in the men’s downhill and took silver Friday in the super-G. He is only the 12th Alpine skier to win three medals in the same Winter Olympics and now has five overall. Miller also took silver in the super combined and giant slalom races in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

His performance in Vancouver has erased the sour memories of the 2006 Games in Torino. There, Miller entered hoping to win multiple medals. Instead he left with none as critics carped about his attitude and dedication to the sport. As recently as last summer Miller contemplated retirement after struggling at last year’s world championships.

“The way I executed, the way I skied is something I’ll be proud of the rest of my life,” he said.

The U.S. Alpine team continued its historic Olympics with a total of eight medals through six events. That’s three more than the previous mark set by the group that went to Sarajevo in 1984. And there are still four events to go this week — men’s and women’s slalom and giant slalom.

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