Olympic downhill favorite Kilde is skiing’s muscle man

By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer

BEIJING (AP) — A freak of nature. A beast. Ironman. The Arnold Schwarzenegger of skiing. Aleksander Aamodt Kilde has been called each of those names and more for his unusually high ability to withstand pain and set lifting records in the weight room. It’s a big part of what makes the Norwegian the favorite for gold in the Olympic downhill on Sunday. One of the few things that Kilde has not won is a medal at a major championship. That seems destined to change over the coming days at the Beijing Games.