Mancuso looks for fresh start in Aspen

COPPER MOUNTAIN, Colo. -- Julia Mancuso has always known how to have fun. Whether it’s climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, working for NBC at the Summer Olympics, surfing in Hawaii as part of her offseason conditioning program or wearing a tiara while ski racing, Mancuso can be extraordinarily creative when it comes to play.

This past summer she climbed a corkscrew-shaped pinnacle on the Fisher Towers in the red rock country of Moab, Utah, a three-pitch ascent of an improbably shaped tower called Ancient Art.

“The scariest thing ever, in my life so far,” Mancuso says, clearly relishing the memory. “It was really cool. We had a couple guides and it was me and my sisters. You’re anchored, but the guide is on the other side of rock and you have to walk across this balance beam (of rock) with slack on your rope. Down both sides is like a couple thousand vertical. Then you climb to the top of this tower.”

She’s also starting an underwear company with two items soon to be available on her website. One is a piece of lingerie, the other “boy shorts” which say, “Kiss my tiara.”
    
But the famous Mancuso ability to live in the moment and shake off bad World Cup results took a beating last season, her worst since 2004. She failed to make a podium, cracked the top 10 only three times and finished one of three races at the world championships (18th in giant slalom, the event in which she is the reigning Olympic champion).
    
The woman who seemed incapable of getting down on herself got down on herself.
    
“I just felt like my confidence was slowly getting chipped away, and it was really tough,” Mancuso says. “But I guess in everything you really learn. I think that taught me to work a little harder on my mental strength. Because it’s there, and when everything’s good and I’m confident, it’s great.”
    
Part of the problem was ongoing physical issues, starting with hip surgery after the 2006 Olympics and compounded by compressed vertebrae suffered in offseason training in 2008. As her performance suffered, so did her confidence.

“It’s tough, because you want to please everyone around you, but it’s hard to do that,” Mancuso said. “My confidence comes from being healthy. When I feel I can do whatever I want, I feel the same confidence (as before). Not being healthy has played a big role in not being able to perform at the level I know I’m capable. That was my main objective this summer, and things are going really well. I feel really strong, and I’m excited for the race season.”
Jim Tracy, head coach of the U.S. Ski Team women, says Mancuso is in a much better place physically than she was a year ago.

“I think mentally that’s helped, it’s put her in a better spot,” Tracy said. “I don’t want to say last year was a blessing in disguise, but every true champion at some point is going to struggle. You never want to see it happen, but it does happen. If they are true champions, they can overcome that, and I have the utmost belief that Julia can do that.”

No one doubts Mancuso’s natural talent for skiing or athletic ability – when she’s healthy. She won two bronze medals at the 2005 world championships when she was only 21 years old. A year later she became Olympic champion, and the following season she won a world championships silver medal in combined.

But some have questioned her commitment to ski racing. She gave them ammunition in 2008 when she went to work for NBC at the Beijing Olympics while her teammate were training in New Zealand.

“If you’re a gold medalist, you seem to gain 300 new friends, and everybody wants a part of you,” Tracy said. “It’s hard; you really have to be strong to manage that stuff. Before you know it, sometimes you can be overcome and your focus on your main goals kind of gets put on the back burner.”

While Mancuso has slumped the past two years, teammate Lindsey Vonn has emerged as the world’s best female racer, claiming two World Cup overall titles -- the first American woman to win more than one -- and three World Cup discipline titles. She also won two gold medals at the 2009 world championships.

Vonn has had her share of offseason distractions -- people are talking about her as the Michael Phelps of the Vancouver Olympics, so there have been a lot of media opportunities, television appearances and photo shoots.

But no one questions Vonn’s work ethic or dedication to skiing above all else. Vonn’s success had to affect Mancuso, who is the same age (25) and came up the ski team system with her.
    
“She won’t show it, because she’ll try to be herself and keep a stiff upper lip,” Tracy said, “but you go behind closed doors and sure, every athlete will think to themselves, ‘Have I worked as hard as the person that just won a gold medal?’”

Tracy is less worried about that this season. “Julia has worked hard, she’s gone through the adversity with her chin up, maybe a few tears,” Tracy said. “She wants to show the world she is as good as she was before.”

At the season-opening giant slalom in Soelden, Mancuso was 21st in the first run, then switched skis and went out in the second run, saying she still lacks confidence because of her struggles last season.
    
The next step in rebuilding her confidence comes this weekend in Aspen. She tells herself she’s been successful before, so there’s no reason she can’t be successful again.

“I just have to forget about what people expect me to do,” Mancuso said. “Feeling good, I should be able to go out there and win again, but it might be a little bit of a longer process to get the ball rolling. I have to go into this season prepared that the first races -- even though I’m skiing well -- maybe things won’t go as well as I want them to.”