MAIN Sports Sports Stars Bode Miller

Miller began his sports career as a state tennis champ and avid soccer player. A natural sportsman and risk-taker, Miller soon began turning his attention to the ski slopes of his home state of New Hampshire where he was born on October 22, 1977 in the rural town of Easton.

On the slopes, he is known for his daredevil style - sometimes dubbed downright ungraceful - but Miller continues to entertain crowds with his all-out attempt at endurance and speed, and remains one of the most exciting skiers to watch on the circuit today.

A first-rate bowler, he also appears at celebrity golf matches and was ranked one of the best athletes in the world by Men's Journal in 2003. The following year he made Outside Magazine's list of "Ultimate Bad Boys of the Outdoors."

Miller's winning time of 1:56.22 in the downhill at the 2005 World Championships made him the only American in history to win the event. His downhill win was preceded by a gold medal win in the super G a week earlier, making him only the second man to win the double downhill and super G since legendary Austrian Hermann Maier in 2001.

Later in 2005, Bode Miller became the first American in 22 years to win the overall World Cup when he finished ahead of his only remaining challenger, Benjamin Raich of Austria, in the season's final giant slalom to capture the title.

One of skiing's most notorious party animals, Miller appeared typically unphased by the possibility of a big win in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino and made tabloid headlines when he admitted - in a January 2006 60 Minutes interview - to heavy drinking and occasionally "being wasted" while on the course.

During the Winter Olympic games in Torino, Miller was rumored to be partying late into the night before major events, and unfortunately failed to medal in any competition he entered.

To end the year, Miller exhibited a major comeback with a downhill victory on the Birds of Prey course in Beaver Creek, Colorado as well as multiple victories at the World Cup standings in Hinterstoder, Austria.

Kicking off 2007, he continued to exhibit his trademark daredevil style with a spectacular crash and slide across the finish line to win the downhill in Wengen, Switzerland. Although off his game for the overall season, Miller later ended it by capturing the Super-G in the the World Cup finals.

More news followed in May 2007 when it was announced that the ever-free-spirited Miller was quitting the USA team to become an independent skier.

Miller's roller coaster career was once again on track in early 2008 as he tied Phil Mahre for the most World Cup victories by a U.S. skier when he won the 78th Lauberhorn downhill in Wengen, Switzerland. Days later, he surpassed Mahre when he won the World Cup combined on January 20, making him the most successful U.S. ski racer with 28 World Cup victories.

Miller finished a remarkable season after his split with the US Ski Team by taking his second overall World Cup crown in March 2008.

Returning to the US Ski Team after two years racing independently, Bode Miller is currently competing in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver, where he has taken home gold in the super combined, a silver medal in the super G, and bronze in the downhill.

Off the slopes, Miller often does not talk to the press about his private life, but in the past has been romantically linked to professional log roller Lizzie Hoeschler in 2002. However, the current love of his life is his daughter, Neesyn Dacey, about whom Miller first volunteered information in a Web interview in 2009.

"My daughter's name is Neesyn Dacey, but everyone calls her Dacey. Her mom chose Neesyn and I chose Dacey after she was born," said Miller. He failed to identity his daughter's mother, however, only saying "the mother is a good friend of mine who I was seeing a while ago. We are no longer together."

Nevertheless, fatherhood seems to agree with American skiing superstar, who after rejoining Team USA in 2009, has gone for the gold in Vancouver.

More about Bode Miller around the Web:

Bode Miller's Blog - Information on his participation in the Vancouver games with facts about his training regimen and personal observations on his medal-winning performances.

U.S. Olympic Committee - Bode Miller - A fast profile including a world record stats, picture gallery, interesting factoids on his career, related links to feature stories.

Bode Miller - Wikipedia - A complete profile detailing his personal life, career lows and highs, with photos and related references and resources.

Bode Miller - Fan Club - Facebook community featuring fan discussions, photos.

also see -> Skiing | Olympics | Olympic Alpine Skiing