Anna Gibson and Cameron Smith celebrate surprise 4th-place finish in skimo’s mixed relay at Olympics

BORMIO, Italy (AP) - This wasn't the typical mood of a pair of Olympic fourth-place finishers: Happy and upbeat.

Anna Gibson and Cameron Smith were weaving around Saturday, from interview-to-interview, with grins on their faces and matching pink cowboy hats on their heads.

Sure, the Americans finished just off the medal stand as they combined forces in ski mountaineering's mixed relay. But given their road to the Milan Cortina Games - they didn't even have a spot about two months ago - they're relishing just being here, in Bormio, as the sport referred as "skimo" made its Olympic debut.

"If we finished 12th there would have been so much to celebrate," said Smith, who's from Crested Butte, Colorado. "We said no matter what, we'd be happy. Here we are skiing better than we could have imagined. We are thrilled with fourth."

Up until this summer, Gibson was an elite trail runner. Skimo was the last thing on her mind.

But at a trail race in June, Smith brought up the idea of partnering in an effort to make the U.S. mixed relay. Given her extensive background - she was an Alpine ski racer, track-and-field standout, recreational ski mountaineer and cross-country skier - Smith figured she'd be a natural.

She was, too. In her very first World Cup event last December, Gibson and Smith won the race and secured a spot at the starting line for the Olympics.

"This has been such a journey for both of us to be here," said Gibson, who made it to the semifinal round of the women's sprint race on Thursday. "It's been an incredible experience. There's nothing to complain about getting fourth place."

The stands were filled with their cheering section as Gibson and Smith finished 42.99 seconds behind the winning time of French racers Emily Harrop and Thibault Anselmet.

For Smith, his mind was on someone back home - Murray Banks, a father-figure to Smith who's battling prostate cancer. Banks helped raise money to support Smith's ski-mountaineering ambitions.

"I committed to making sure if Murray was living vicariously through me, then I sure as heck better make sure I compete in a way he would be proud of," Smith explained. "So in truly every difficult moment ever since, I thought of him.

"I resolved to do everything possible to give him the experience of lifting one of his friends to the Games. Which I can assure you he did. There's a 0% chance I would have been there without him, and I'm forever grateful to have shared that journey together."

This mixed-relay course offered a different setup than the sprint race, with an extra ascent and descent adding to the already difficult challenge. The mixed teams alternated between female and male racers over four lung-burning laps.

Gibson and Smith were in the back at the start of the race. But they steadily climbed up and up as they made their way along the challenging course. At one point, they were in bronze-medal position. The Swiss team of Marianne Fatton and Jon Kistler earned silver, while Spanish racers Ana Alonso Rodriguez and Oriol Cardona Coll captured the bronze.

Finishing fourth? It didn't deter their accomplishments.

"This entire season feels like a huge surprise to everyone coming from us," said Gibson, who's from Wyoming. "I think it's a testament to the fact that no one ever knows what's going to happen. We're here to play and today we I think we showed that. We were up in a fantastic position, contending for a medal."

Added Smith: "We've been underdogs since Day One. We've just embraced that, 'Why not us,' mentality. ... Everything we've done has shocked the world, from being here to being competitive to vaulting all the way to fourth.

"I think the reason we did that is because we were here having fun and goofing off and having a good time."

Like those pink cowboy hats they donned. It was the idea of Gibson, who wore the hat on the podium when they won the World Cup race.

"For me, it's just a reminder to stay loose and stay joyful," Gibson said. "Remember that it's all for fun."