Swiss skier rolls to victory as Winter Games come alive

VANCOUVER: Didier Defago handed Switzerland its first men's downhill gold since 1988 on Monday.

After days of heavy snow and rain caused chaos to alpine events, the Vancouver Games finally came alive as the Swiss veteran all-rounder held off Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal and American Bode Miller to land the title.

It ended a long wait for Switzerland dating back to the great Pirmin Zurbriggen at the Calgary Olympics 22 years ago.

"I'm very happy. It was a crazy run, not very easy because it was very different from the training," said Defago, who clocked 1min 54.31sec down the 3,105-meter-long Dave Murray course on the Whistler mountains.

"I really wanted to go back home with a medal. After three Olympics and a lot of championships, I think my experience made the difference."

Training also got underway in the women's alpine skiing opener, the super-combined, after the final was rescheduled to Thursday, allowing superstar Lindsey Vonn time on the slopes as she recovers from a shin injury.

Organizers though could face more problems with further overnight snow forecast which could derail both the men's super-combined final and a second women's downhill training session on Tuesday.

It was a good Olympic day for Asia with South Korea's Mo Tae-Bum celebrating his 21st birthday by taking out the men's 500 meters speedskating gold, with Japanese pair Keiichiro Nagashima and Joji Kato in second and third.

Switzerland also had a day to remember when Dario Cologna joined Defago as a winner, cementing his status as one of cross-country's rising stars by taking out the men's 15km freestyle.

The 23-year-old blew away his rivals to finish in 33min, 36.3sec with Italy's Pietro Piller Cottrer second and Lukas Bauer of the Czech Republic third.

Sweden got in on the act when Charlotte Kalla claimed gold in the women's 10km freestyle cross-country, crossing the line in 24 mins, 58.4secs ahead of Estonia's Kristina Smigun-Vaehi and Norway's Marit Bjoergen.

In other medal events, America's Seth Wescott was the surprise winner of the men's snowboard cross gold, beating out Canada's Mike Robertson and Tony Ramoin of France.

Meanwhile, National Hockey League superstars assembled for their first complete workouts on the eve of a tournament that should produce epic showdowns and a defining moment of the Olympics.

Hockey-mad host Canada will be a favorite with playmaker Sidney Crosby of the NHL champion Pittsburgh Penguins joined by a star-studded cast, including all-time winningest NHL goaltender Martin Brodeur.

AFP

(China Daily 02/17/2010 page12)