Bode Miller to Leave U.S. Ski Team

Miller, 29 and a three-time Olympian, earned two silver medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and has won four world championships.

Former Olympic medalist and World Cup champion Bode Miller has decided not to join the 2008 U.S. Alpine Ski Team, it was announced Saturday.

PARK CITY, Utah - Former Olympic medalist and World Cup champion Bode Miller has decided not to join the 2008 U.S. Alpine Ski Team, it was announced Saturday.

He informed Men's Head Coach Phil McNichol about his decision following a meeting at U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association headquarters this week.

Miller, who has been a member of the U.S. Ski Team for 11 seasons and came up through the USSA pipeline, will train and travel independently next winter if he races on the World Cup tour, Alpine Director Jesse Hunt said.

"Bode is a great athlete and we hope he will continue to have athletic success," Hunt said. "We had a serious discussion with Bode about his responsibilities as a Team member, and he later advised us he was choosing to not join the Team."

Miller, 29 and a three-time Olympian, earned two silver medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and has won four world championships.

He's the reigning World Cup super G champion and has won four Cup titles, including the 2005 overall crown; he has 25 World Cup victories - two below Phil Mahre's U.S. record - and is tied with two others for the most U.S. men's alpine titles with nine.

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