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Posted: Wed February 18, 1998 
Here is the second half of our exclusive interview with Picabo Street. To see Part I, click here.
CNN/SI: The downhill was delayed three days because of poor weather. What did you do during the delay?
Street: I watched a lot of events on TV. I watched speed skating quite a bit. I saw Hiroyasu Shimizu of Japan win the gold medal in the 500 and the bronze in the 1,000. That was great. I watched the ski jumping competition. That was really exciting. I also spent some time walking around the village, seeing the people and all the little stores. I took some long hot baths, had some tea, and spent time with my friends and family. Basically, I tried not to think too much about my skiing. Skiing is so natural for me. You really need to spend the time during the day of your event thinking about what you need to do to be fast and good. But if you think about it too much before the event, you could end up distracted. I tried to save all my concentration and focus for when I got in my ski clothes and walked out the door to go skiing. So I just relaxed and tried not to get too impatient. I think I did a good job of it.
Street: No, not really, actually. The snow conditions had changed so dramatically from the day we trained to the day we raced. Those were some of the hardest and bumpiest conditions that I have raced on this season. When you look at the big picture, I was sixth in the last training run and I was sixth in the race. To come back after three days off from training to get sixth place was a great performance for me. I was very close to the podium. I was only two-tenths of a second off. We're talking six inches. It would have been nice to win another medal, but I'm kind of excited because now I can save something for 2002. I still haven't won my Olympic gold medal in the downhill, and that's the event that I've always wanted to win. It's kind of nice to have something that big out on the horizon. I'm going to need that kind of a mission to keep going for the next four years.
CNN/SI: What's next for you?
Street: When you are an athlete, you set short-term goals and long-term goals. In the real short term, I'd like to spend some time being quiet and celebrating with my family and close friends. After that, I'm going to race two more weeks in March and finish the World Cup season. Then I want to spend some time traveling around the States and meeting some of the young skiers. Then I will train as hard as I can all summer long, getting my form back to where I was before my knee injury, and even better. Next season, I'm going to get my downhill title back from whoever snags it this season. And I want to win a gold medal, at least in the downhill, at the next world championships, in Vail, Colorado. That's the course where I injured my knee. Longer term than that, I want to race in the 2002 Olympics, in Salt Lake City. I want to win the gold medal in the downhill that I didn't get yesterday.
CNN/SI: What will you remember most about the Nagano Games?
Street: I think I'll remember that the dream has come true. Winning the gold medal in the Super G was a dream I've had since I was 10 years old. The second thing that happened on that same day was that Alexandra Meissnitzer of Austria won the bronze medal. She is my best friend on the tour. We made a pact in April that we were going to come to Japan and win medals together in the Super G. So that was another really wonderful thing. I'll also remember the way the crowd cheered for me. I'll remember it for the rest of my life.
Quote of the day
"I'm hungry and I have to pee." —Colette Brand of Switzerland, bronze medalist in the women's aerials competition, after being asked, "How do you feel right now?" at the post-event press conference Bob Der and Erin Egan, senior editors at SI For Kids, will be filing daily from Nagano. For a kid-friendly version of these reports, check out SI For Kids Online. Anything you want to know about life in Nagano during the Games? Click here to send your question to Bob and Erin, or e-mail siwriters@cnnsi.com. Be sure to include your name and hometown. Selected questions will be answered in upcoming columns. You can also send questions for specific athletes, and our fearless correspondents will do their best to get a reply.
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