THE SIDELINES : U.S. Skiers to Compete After All

SAALBACH-HINTERGLEMM, Austria —  American skiers were on the slopes for the first time today at the World Championships after the U.S. Ski Assn. reviewed security arrangements and decided to allow the team to compete.

“It was a last-minute decision,” team member Reggie Christ said. “I got a call at midnight that said we were going to go ahead and leave the next morning. I thought we were going to have another week off and then do some racing in the States.”

“You think about security before you go to bed,” Christ said after a downhill training run. “But when you wake up in the morning, this is your focus right here.

The U.S. men began training runs for Sunday’s downhill, but the U.S. women did not participate in today’s practice session and are not expected to compete in the combined downhill Friday or Saturday’s downhill race.