HISTORY: CLARK WINS FOURTH STRAIGHT DH GOLD

BIG MOUNTAN, Mont. (March 23) - Soft-spoken Kirsten Clark (Raymond, ME)
continued to let her skis do her talking Friday as she became the first
skier to win four straight U.S. downhill titles, edging teammate Picabo
Street (Park City, UT) by .33. Jonna Mendes (Heavenly, CA) took the
bronze medal on Day One of the Chevy Truck U.S. Alpine Championships at
sunny Big Mountain.

 ESPN will broadcast coverage April 6-7 at 4 p.m. EST each day.

 Clark led at each checkpoint as she rolled to her sixth title overall
(including the last four DHs, the super G title a year ago and the 1996
U.S. combined championship). Winning time for the Carrabassett Valley
Academy graduate was 1:28.54 with Street taking the silver in 1:28.87
and Mendes third (1:29.17).

 Completing the top five were former Olympic, world and World Cup
champion Pernilla Wiberg of Sweden, who - like Street - used this season
as a comeback year after injuries sidelined her in '00 and was fourth
with Julia Mancuso (Tahoe City, CA) fifth in the field of 46.

 "Clarky had it figured out," said women's DH/Super G Head Coach Jim
Tracy. "She made the changes she needed to make" after finishing third
behind Street Thursday in a FIS downhill as a lead-up to the
championships.

Clark Defensive-minded

 With the men racing first Friday, Clark said the bright sunshine had
softened the snow a bit by the time the women raced at 10:45 a.m. MST.
"There was a little more on the line [than in the FIS race]. I had a
title I wanted to defend and I definitely think I fired out of the start
a little more out of the start than I did [Thursday]," she said.

 Despite the cloudless sky and relentless sun, she went on, "The snow
was pretty consistent. It was a little softer today; it was pretty warm
out...

"There are some big turns in there and with the soft snow I think it
makes it even a little more difficult because you have to be so precise
on your ski and you don't have the feedback from the snow," the winner
said. "I watched the men go this morning and I would've liked to have
gone a little bit earlier with the harder snow.

 "I tend to like harder snow anyway more than the softer snow. It's
technical, you have some big turns, there's some gliding, you have some
rollers and you have to be precise on your edges."

Street Learning Something Every Run

 Street was disappointed about not winning, but also philosophical about
coming back after two years on the sidelines, recuperating from multiple
injuries to both legs and another surgery in November on her right knee
in addition to learning a new racing technique this week. "I didn't have
the run I wanted," she said, "but it's been a year of training during
the races all year long and things have been coming together and I'm
just getting hungry again, y'know?...

 "I was really frustrated and then my coach came up to me and said, 'You
skied the best in my turn of the whole week' and I just went,
'Whaa-a-at? Are you sure that was No. 6 you saw go by?' That's not how
it felt at all, but he said 'You're just not used to the feeling...'

 "It's hard to have it at nationals with everybody watching. I'm just
getting hungry and I'm starting to get moody again and all I want to do
is go break something right now because I'm not happy with what I just
did. But at the same time, I can look at the big picture and say I've
made a lot of progress and the fact I'm even out here and still doing it
and not afraid any more is huge. First season," Street said, "that's all
I wanted to accomplish...

 "I'm ahead of where I thought I was gonna be; mid-season, I didn't
think I was gonna get here by the end of the year. I thought it was
gonna take me another whole prep period and the beginning of next
season. But, I'm here now and I'm not a patient person....it's like
'Okay I'm here now - it's time to be productive here...now...' and
that's kind of the way I'm feeling today - I wanted to be more
productive and I guess I was and I wasn't."

Mendes had no complaints. She figured Clark and Street beat her, she
didn't have a big mistake that kept her away from the gold (worth $3000)
or silver medal. "It was a good day. I don't have a problem behind
second those two," Mendes said. "I wanted to win. I came out and was
gunning for the gold; everyone wants to be a national champion and I'm
right in there....But I just got out-skied."

 The women savor a day off Saturday at the Chevy Truck U.S.
championships then resume Sunday with super G.

CHEVY TRUCK U.S. ALPINE CHAMPIONSHIPS
Big Mountain, MT - March 23
Women's Downhill
1. Kirsten Clark, Raymond, Maine, 1:28.54
2. Picabo Street, Park City, Utah, 1:28.87
3. Jonna Mendes Heavenly, Calif., 1:29.17
4. Pernilla Wiberg Sweden, 1:29.20
5. Julia Mancuso, Tahoe City, Calif., 1:29.45
6. Lindsey C. KIldow, Vail, Colo., 1:29.79
7. Bryna McCarty, Concord, Vt., 1:30.32
8. Sarah Schleper, Vail, Colo., 1:30.44
9. Tatum Skoglund, Bellevue, Wash., 1:30.57
10. Rachel Roosevelt, Storrs, Conn., 1:31.09
11. Brett Buckles, Steamboat Springs, Colo., 1:31.39
12. Alex Munteanu, Rumania, 1:31.44
13. Hilary McCloy, Waitsfield, Vt., 1:31.67
14. Suki Horton, Anchorage, Alaska, 1:31.99
15. Suzan Dole, Meeker, Colo., 1:32.02

 -- Best in the World! --