WINTER OLYMPICS 2010: NORWAY'S AKSEL Lund Svindal won a crash-strewn super-G yesterday to deny American showman Bode Miller a first Olympic gold medal.
The charging Miller, who was 11th out of the start hut on a bright and crisp morning, had to settle for the third silver of his career to become the first American to win four Alpine Olympic medals.
Team-mate Andrew Weibrecht, who had started third, was a surprise bronze medallist on another good day for the US skiers who also have a gold and two silvers from two women’s races.
The gold was the tall Svindal’s second medal in a week after the overall World Cup champion nabbed silver in Monday’s opening downhill ahead of third-placed Miller.
The Norwegian started 19th on Friday, with Miller’s time of 1:30.62 looking good for gold until then, and was faster by 0.28.
Weibrecht, in his first Games and without even a World Cup podium to his name, said he had been inspired by women’s team mate Julia Mancuso who has won two silver medals in Whistler after a largely-anonymous season.
The race had a lengthy delay when Patrik Jaerbyn, the 29th starter, crashed heavily on the upper part of the slope. The Swede flew through the air and landed on his back before cartwheeling further and coming to rest limply on his side.
A team spokeswoman said he was conscious, suffering from mild concussion and bruises to his face.
The Swede moved his hand as he was brought down the hill on a stretcher before being taken to a nearby hospital by helicopter.
Several others crashed out on the icy Dave Murray piste, including Canadian hopes Manuel Osborne-Paradis and Robbie Dixon.
Norway’s Marit Bjoergen won the cross country 15km pursuit to claim her second gold and third overall medal of the Vancouver Olympics.
The 29-year-old Bjoergen completed the course in 39.58.1, 8.9 seconds quicker than Sweden’s Anna Haag.
Bronze went to Poland’s Justyna Kowalczyk, who slid her right ski over the finish line just ahead of Kristin Stoermer Steira of Norway. The battle for bronze was so close it took several minutes to determine who crossed the line first.
Bjoergen, who took gold in the individual sprint, screamed with delight as she crossed the line.
Russian figure skater Yevgeny Plushenko has found a powerful ally in Vladimir Putin to support his claim that he was robbed of a gold medal as diplomacy lost out to finger-pointing and insult-trading. Plushenko was adamant the judges had got it badly wrong when they handed him the silver medal behind American Evan Lysacek on Thursday.
“I would like to sincerely congratulate you with the wonderful Olympic performance, your silver is worth gold,” Russian prime minister Putin, the former President, told Plushenko in a telegram.
“You were able to overcome all the obstacles in your brave comeback and performed the most accomplished programme on the Vancouver ice.”
