Ted Ligety: Unknown No Longer

Everybody was counting on skier Bode Miller to shine at the 2006 Winter Games but, instead, his relatively unknown teammate, Ted Ligety, won the gold in the Alpine Combined on Tuesday.

The Early Show national correspondent Tracy Smith says people in Torino, Italy are still shaking their heads Thursday, wondering how the 21-year old first-time Olympian could have skied out from Miller's shadow and into first place.

No one, she says, is more surprised than Ligety himself.

At the medal ceremony, Ligety was still in shock, shaking his head in disbelief.

The youngest man on the United States ski team had been in 32nd place when he skied down the slalom course and into Olympic history.

"It's pretty unbelievable, for sure," Ligety told Smith. "…It was a great feeling, but I was pretty surprised. It was pretty crazy, for sure.

Miller, the man widely expected to win the event, was disqualified for straddling a gate.

"Are you bummed for Bodie?" Smith asked.

"Yeah, for sure," replied Ligety. "I was with him when we found out he was disqualified, and he was definitely bummed about it, and I was, too. We're a good team, a tight-knit team, and we like to see each other do well. And I don't like to berate people because they straddle or go out, so it was a big bummer for the team when he went out.

When Smith noted that Miller still has three shots at Olympic gold at these games, Ligety noted, "He's such a good skier, he can win on any given day."That wasn't always true for Ligety, Smith points out. He didn't even make the junior ski team the first time he tried out. And there was no hint he'd ever become an Olympic champion.

"I definitely wasn't he best guy when I was younger," Ligety confirms. "I was with some of the younger guys, or the guys who weren't as good, and it definitely put a little fight in my system to help me get where I am now."

At one point, Ligety was so unknown that, while other skiers had the names of sponsors on their helmets, he had "Mom and Dad" on his, because they were the only ones supporting his skiing career.

Needless to say, sponsorship's not much of a problem now.

Ligety has the chance to pick up medals in two more events, if he can keep his winning form, and if he can shake a nasty cold that was evident when Smith spoke with him.

"I'm battling it and taking antibiotics and stuff," Ligety says, "so hopefully, I can kick it out of my system pretty soon."

And, Smith observes, even if he doesn't add any medals, the man who was a virtual unknown only a few days ago has become the center of attention, on and off the mountain.

"I have to ask you a question that every woman in America wants answered," Smith remarked. "Do you have a girlfriend?"

"I actually do," Ligety said.

"OK, you broke millions of hearts, but that's all right," Smith chuckled.

"Sorry, girls!" Ligety kidded.