Eberharter Is Front and Center

Austria’s Stephan Eberharter is finally ready to ski out of the shadow of countryman Hermann Maier in today’s men’s downhill on the Grizzly course at Snowbasin. While the Herminator was dominating the World Cup circuit, Eberharter had to learn to live with the designation as the best of the other Austrians. He finished second to Maier 12 times in World Cup races over a three-year period and was second to him last year in the World Cup standings.

But Maier was injured in a motorcycle accident last summer and is not competing this year, leaving Eberharter as the favorite in the downhill and the super-G. Austrians could sweep the downhill, but Daron Rahlves of Truckee, Calif., last year’s super-G world champion, was third in a training run Friday.