American skiing ace Bode Miller says he can understand while some athletes turn to drugs in their quest for fame. Miller, who on Tuesday was disqualified from the Winter Olympics' alpine skiing combined event after a slalom slip-up, believes the pressure to succeed forces some competitors to cheat.
"Sport was born clean and would remain so if it was about just competing for the fun of it, but the media and the public corrupt it because of the pressure they create," the outspoken Miller told the Gazzetta dello Sport.
"Any athlete who isn't doing well is left in the corner, nobody asks for their autograph and they're left out in the cold. However, those who win things are regarded as symbols.
"Fame is like a poison. I don't care for it. I used to have a better life when I was nobody.
"This pressure is inhumane, born out of an athlete's need to be number one.
"Sport should be a pleasure, a challenge against one's self. Sport is an act of freedom. On the piste you can push your limits and that is the essence of life."
Miller, 28, flopped badly in Sunday's downhill and the combined was his chance to make amends.
But after topping the opening downhill leg of the event, the World Cup champion overcooked it on the first of the two slaloms. Despite reaching the finish line, he was later disqualified for his infraction.
Miller has three more opportunities to finally win a first Olympic gold to add to his downhill world championship crown, in the super-G, giant slalom and slalom.
