Let Them Eat Slush

No American male has ever won an Olympic medal in alpine skiing -- gold, silver or bronze -- and if France's Robert Faure has anything to say about it, U.S. skiers may never win one. Faure has a lot to say about it. An official of the Federation Internationale de Ski, he has authority over seedings in all international ski meets, including the 1964 Winter Olympics at Innsbruck, Austria.

In competitive skiing, seedings are crucial: the best skiers get first crack at a course -- while the snow is fresh. The rest make do with slush. Last month when Faure announced his seedings, no American was ranked among the top ten in the downhill, slalom, giant slalom. In the past, that would have caused no great gnashing of teeth. But this year the U.S. has its best men's team ever.

Nobody would know it to see the rankings. Colorado's Buddy Werner, 27, who has been winning international races since 1954 and sat out the 1960 Olympics with a broken leg, was seeded twelfth in the downhill, 22nd in the slalom, and 23rd in the giant slalom. Others fared worse: Michigan's Chuck Ferries, 24, who beat Europe's best slalom skiers in Austria and Italy in 1962, was rated 24th in his specialty.

"We want justice," screamed U.S. Olympic Coach Bob Beattie. At first Faure sniffed at the criticism. But at Val-d'Isere, France, in the season's first big international meet, Buddy Werner won the men's slalom and the combined championship, and Oregon's Jean Saubert, 21, took the women's giant slalom and combined. Faure acted uncomfortable. "I foresee difficult discussions at Innsbruck," he conceded.

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