Ted Ligety: Unknown No Longer

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano, left, shakes hands with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili in Tehran, Iran, May 21, 2012. / AFP/Getty Images

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."