Arnold Schwarzenegger

What else would you expect from two Austrians who've made international celebrities out of themselves by blowing things up. Hermann Maier, for blowing up himself in the men's Olympic downhill race last year, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, for blowing up thousands of movie extras during his long action-movie career.

Schwarzenegger, one of Hollywood's biggest stars, flew into Colorado Friday night, fulfilling a promise to Maier that he'd be in Vail to watch him race the downhill.

"I met him last year, but I've known him for years on TV," said Maier. "He told me he would come to Vail. I wanted to win the gold today very much."

Schwarzenegger, who calls himself a "very good skier," had some good boards to ski on Saturday. Maier gave Schwarzenegger his gold-medal GS skis last year after the Nagano Winter Olympics.

"He skis with them here today, but he said he doesn't crash," Maier said.

Schwarzenegger is a keen fan of skiing and spends about 30 days a year skiing in the United States and Europe. He was seen pumping his fist after Maier won.

"I think he has tremendous inner strength. He has great vision of the course. If his vision of the course is clear, you can't beat him," Schwarzenegger said, after cheering Maier from the grandstands at the bottom of the Birds of Prey course.

Later, Schwarzenegger joined Maier in the race pit and then on the podium, much to the delight of Austrian ski fans.

"They are the two most famous Austrians. We love them both," said Wolfgang Giefing, one of about a dozen members of the Hermann Maier fan club who trekked to Vail for the two-week Worlds.

"We are going to party all night long. We hope to drink with Arnold and Hermann. We're going to party like rock stars," he said. Schwarzenegger, staying in Beaver Creek, stole the spotlight from the race. When the towering actor went on a visit to the bathroom, about 20 journalists followed him and waited at the door until he came back out.

— Andrew Hood, Mountain Zone Correspondent