Olympics

[Winston]

No doubt about it. I remember him being one of the very first Norwegians (in my time - ever?) to actually leave his mark on Alpine skiing, back in the early 90's. And how!

Great athlete, and great to see him triumph again so late in his career.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

Aamodt

Janica

Kostelic won three gold medals and a silver in the 2002 Winter Games to claim the throne of women's premier all-around skier. But injuries (four knee operations in 2003, one in 2005) and illness (she had her thyroid removed in 2004) derailed the 24-year old for almost three seasons.

Kostelic returned in a huge way in last year's World Championships, winning the downhill, slalom and combined. But she had battled ill health in these Olympics and complained of feeling terribly after the two slalom runs. She considered not racing Saturday.

"But after the slalom I had to race the downhill," she said. "I always ski good when I'm sick. It was a challenge for me to beat my sickness."

she is not going to compete in Super G tomorrow by the way, but she is on for Slalom and Giantslalom

[Zoid]

Originally posted by Gangerolf
Jesus Christ

Norwegian propaganda machine TV has started to show clips from previous Olympics now (where we actually won gold medals), "to cheer up the nation".

Norway has taken the most medals of any nation so far. Ok, only one of them is gold but still... At least it´s better than Calgary (0 - 3 - 2)

[Datajack Franit]

and most of America doesn't care

Italy is still located in Europe




and Canada loses to Italy in curling- 7-6 on ES

the end of the world

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Gangerolf
I didn't see that.

At least he didn't finish last. I think he saw snow for the first time in 1996. And this is his third Olympics... He named his first-born, Daehlie Boit, after skiing legend Bj�rn Daehlie. He thinks Kenya will dominate cross-country skiing in 25 years.

Like I said, he's my hero

He actually named his kid Daehlie because in his first Olympics he finished dead last... 20 hours after Bjorn Daehilie. But Daehile was there at the finish to congratulate Boit at the end of the race, and Boit was very touched. It's a great story .

[Imran Siddiqui]

WOW.... what an ending to the biathalon pursuit. Defrasne (Fr) making a Hell of a final lap run to capture gold!

[Gangerolf]

yep, great story
But I think you mean 20 minutes

[Winston]

Could be 20 hours. Maybe he lost his way in all that white stuff.

[Lawrence of Arabia]

We get french TV here, and they are showing that biatholon in a continuous loop. Its getting obnoxious (plus french commentators are so slanted towards their own guys.) They made comments on this one ice dancing pair (I think the winners) calling the woman the most graceful ice danser and the guy an ungaingly cow on skates. When the french woman was disqualified from the short track for using her hand to hold back a competitor (it was 15 laps, semifinals) they said that they referees throughout the games had done a bad job, that they should look at the replays at an even slower frame by frame and that it was way too harsh.

[Winston]

The French are obnoxious when it comes to sports, also. They invented obnoxious.

And they're in no position to complain about any referees or jury decisions. They got a figure skating judge expelled in Salt Lake City 2002 for corruptly favouring a Russian couple over a Canadian couple who should've won. The Canadians were subsequently advanced from Silver to joint Gold position with the Russians by the appeals commitee. It was the biggest judging scandal I can recall since the Seoul 1988 boxing conspiracy, and a Frenchman was at the center of it. So shut up Frenchies.

[Datajack Franit]

Today a french skier made an obscene gesture after missing a gate in the men's super-g. Later in the interview he claimed he was robbed of the gold medal, as the race was stopped and repeated after he completed the run with the best time overall, but cancelled for bad weather. He was robbed of the overall 8th time, and had the advantage of skiing a second time the same race (a huge advantage, as super-g does not allow training on the track)

France STFU

[OneFootInTheGrave]

yep, he got lucky with a good run which was subsequently cancelled, and than he couldn't cope with the pressure. I guess he was his own worst enemy. Tough luck is tough luck but I can bet both Herminator or Aamodt and many others would have given their best no matter what start.

I can understand he was dissapointed, but well it is not the best form to blame it on others, nor will it help his skiing prospects in the future.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

By the way Anja was dissapointed with the bronze too... she just made a grim face as Janica eclipsed her... not something you see often. Schild was enjoying her silver very much but Anja was dissapointed it seems...



Well at least she is healthy and has another go for gold tomorrow in SuperG and another two later on (but Janica will be there too )

[Datajack Franit]

I can understand he was dissapointed, but well it is not the best form to blame it on others, nor will it help his skiing prospects in the future.

He's 31!



Tomorrow THE event: Cross country-Men's relay 4x10km

Relay rivalry: Round four

Norway and Italy get set for another cross-country clash

By Brian Brown, NBC Olympics

One tenth of a second. The blink of an eye. The snap of a finger.

Or, amazingly, the amount of time separating two nations over three nearly marathon-length races in perhaps the Winter Olympics' best rivalry.

The men's cross-country relay features four skiers per team, each completing a leg of 10 kilometers, or 6.2 miles. Winning teams cover the distance in about 1 hour, 40 minutes.

Getty ImagesFauner edges Daehlie in 1994 (top), then Alsgaard gets payback in 1998 (middle) and nips Zorzi in 2002 (bottom).
In Lillehammer in 1994, Nagano in 1998 and Salt Lake in 2002, this distance event is reduced to a sprint finish between the Italian and Norwegian anchors. Each time, it comes down to a fraction of a second: gold and silver decided by a sliver.

In 1994, stunning 150,000 flag-waving Norwegians into silence, Italian neophyte Silvio Fauner edges eventual eight-time gold medalist Bjorn Daehlie by .4 of a second.

In 1998, Norway moves Daehlie to the third position and replaces him at anchor with Thomas Alsgaard, who takes on Fauner and his now notable sprinting speed. At the finish, Alsgaard lunges, Fauner dives. Gold to Norway, by .2 of a second (see video).

In 2002, Italy’s anchor is the man nicknamed Zorro, Christian Zorzi. Alsgaard returns for Norway. They go stride for stride in the final 100 meters. Alsgaard finds another gear and wins his dramatic duel with Zorro by .3 of a second (see video).

Comparing the margins of victory from all three races, which produced five hours and 70+ miles worth of skiing, Norway is faster by the blink of an eye, the snap of a finger. Or, mathematically, one tenth of a second.

Next, it’s Torino, where the Norwegians could earn a kind of spiritual payback. Though the triumphs in Nagano and Salt Lake were surely delicious, the defeat in Lillehammer remains galling. It is where this rivalry begins. And where -- it was assumed -- Norway couldn’t possibly lose.

February 22, 1994, is a Kodak day in the hills above the picture-perfect winter hamlet of Lillehammer. For days beforehand, hearty Norwegians camp in woods of drifting snow, in actual abominable sub-zero cold, to ensure a decent viewing spot along the course. The morning of the race blooms crisp and sunny, the air is thick with the incessant clanging of cowbells and non-stop coordinated cheering. It appears every man, woman and child is waving Norway’s elegant flag -- a cross of bright red and deep blue.

Norway’s dream team includes Daehlie, Alsgaard and Vegard Ulvang, the triple gold medalist from the prior Games in Albertville. No one on the Italian team has ever won Olympic gold.

Italy gambles that 43-year-old Maurilio DeZolt can keep the race close in the opening leg. When he does, the Italian team is suddenly infused with confidence -- and they shadow Norway’s titans for the next 20 miles of racing and ultimately surmount one of the great home team advantages ever witnessed in sports history.

Come February 19, 2006, the Italians have the home snow advantage. Unlike the Norwegians, Italy’s skiers have the benefit of training their entire lives in the thin air of the gorgeous Alps and Dolomites. Predictably, the 2006 Olympic cross-country course -- mountainous and nasty with climbs -- suits the home team. But the intangibles of this race are many and impossible to calculate.

At the past three Olympics, Norway and Italy have waged some of the most tenacious competitions on the planet. And for Norway, a victory on Italian snow just might erase a certain nagging disgrace leftover from Lillehammer, on that day where this rivalry cinematically bloomed, this eye-blink of a rivalry that is about to resume once more.

Wonder who were the four guys carrying the torch together inside the stadium during the opening ceremony- running right in front of team Norway's stand?

[Datajack Franit]

Oh breaking news: 30 mins ago police stormed into the private accomodation rented by team Austria (biathlon and cross-country skiing teams only) for anti-doping tests and room by room search for illegal products (drugs and stuff)