Winter Olympics: Mayer's skis help Strolz seal Austria's second alpine gold

Matthias Mayer wore while winning his Olympic gold medal in the super-G on Tuesday end up in a museum it will not just be his fans making pilgrimages to see them. On Thursday, Mayer's skis powered team mate Johannes Strolz to a fourth-place finish in the downhill run of the men's combined, providing the platform for Strolz to go on to win the country's second alpine title of the Games. "My skis were perfect today, especially the downhill skis.

They were absolute rockets," Strolz told reporters at the Yanqing Alpine Centre. "I got the skis from Matthias Mayer and obviously he has very fast skis." Strolz won the combined gold 34 years after his father, Hubert, achieved the same feat at the Calgary Games in 1988. He talked to his dad just before taking questions from reporters at the winners' news conference.

"I just spoke to my father. He is happy for me and proud of me," Strolz said. "It's just an unbelievable moment for all of us in my family." The 29-year-old was within a whisker of missing the Olympics after being dropped from the super-competitive Austria team a year ago after his performances dipped.

He had to work as a police officer to supplement his income, driving a patrol car and controlling traffic. But Strolz stuck it out on the World Cup circuit, paying his own way and preparing his own skis to get back on the team. He earned a spot at the Olympics last month with a stunning World Cup slalom win in Adelboden in Switzerland -- his first in his nine years of racing.

One habit Strolz picked up during his year in the skiing wilderness stuck and it served him well in China. "The slalom skis were also very nice to ski," Strolz said. "I had a perfect feeling on them.