U.S. chances in Alpine skiing take a big fall, literally

  • Wednesday, February 20, 2002 9:00pm
  • Sports

Associated Press

PARK CITY, Utah – Kristina Koznick was so sure she had it together this time, that her nerves would not betray her, that she would come through in the biggest race of her life.

She didn’t even make it through the first run. Five gates from the finish in the Olympic slalom Wednesday, Koznick hit a hole on the choppy course, lost her balance and fell. With her went the last realistic hope for the U.S. women to win Alpine skiing medal in the Salt Lake City Games.

“I just couldn’t see the bumps that were coming,” she said. “I tried to hang on with everything I had, but it didn’t work.”

Koznick, 26, lay face-down in the snow for a long, long time, then she climbed back on her skis and coasted slowly through the falling snow to the cheers of the crowd.

She has won five World Cup slaloms. This winter, she has one first and three seconds, yet Koznick never has won a medal in a world championships or Olympics. Her eighth-place in the 2001 worlds marked the first time she’d even finished one of the major events.

Still, she felt so good Wednesday, and her No. 3 starting position was perfect.

“I thought ‘Great, I’m skiing the best I’ve ever skied,’ ” she said. “I’ve totally peaked at the right time. I’m in great shape.’ “

But the course wasn’t. Fresh snow warmed the hard surface below, creating ruts mixed with choppy pieces of ice. She was nervous at the start, she said, but no more than usual.

As she bounced down the steep course, though, she simply couldn’t stay in control.

“It was like trying to ride a bull,” she said.

The rest of the U.S. team faltered as well. Sarah Schleper lost a ski and failed to finish the first run. Tasha Nelson skied off the course in her first run. Seventeen-year-old Lindsey Kildow made it through the first run, but fell in the second. She climbed back on her skies and finished in 32nd.

The only race remaining for the women is the giant slalom on Friday, and U.S. coach Marjan Cernigoj already has admitted his skiers have little chance in that event.

Koznick will be there.

‘My best finish ever in GS is ninth,” she said, “but you know what, heck, I’ve got nothing to lose. It’s kind of fun being an underdog.”

Speedskating

Bronze for U.S.: Jennifer Rodriguez’s bronze medal gave the United States eight medals in eight long-track events, equaling the 1980 team as the most prolific in U.S. history. Rodriguez, 25, finished behind the German pair of gold medalist Anni Friesinger and silver medalist Sabine Voelker. Friesinger set a world record in the 1,500 meter race.

Hockey

Swedes shocked, Russians squeak out a win: The Russians, avenging a gold medal game loss from 1998, nipped the Czech Republic 1-0 to oust the defending Olympic champion. Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 41 shots, outdueling Dominik Hasek as Russia moved into the semifinals.

Earlier, a surprised Swedish goalie Tommy Salo took a sailing puck in the head … and stood helplessly as it trickled into the net behind him. Within minutes, the entire Swedish hockey team had their heads hanging.

Underdog Belarus, on Vladimir Kopat’s fluke goal with 2:24 remaining, stunned the heavily-favored Swedes 4-3 in one of the biggest hockey upsets in Olympic history.

“I think it hit my glove, and I don’t know what else it hit,” Salo said. “Somehow, it went in.”

The Swedes, who outscored their opponents 14-4 in winning their first three games, lost their shot at a medal. Belarus – listed as a 10-million-to-1 shot to win the gold medal – moved into the semifinals.

Biathlon

Norway’s Bjoerndalen wins fourth gold: Ole Einar Bjoerndalen became the third Olympian to win four gold medals at a single games as Norway won the men’s 30-kilometer biathlon relay.

“This is very special,” said Bjoerndalen, who added that he would skip Saturday’s 50K cross-country race and a chance at a fifth gold.

Curling

Americans falter: The gold is gone for the U.S. women’s curlers, although they remain in the running for a bronze. The Americans lost 9-4 to Switzerland, snapping a four-game winning streak and setting up a bronze medal contest today against the defending gold medalist Canada.

The Canadians lost 6-5 to Great Britain, setting up a match between the winners and the Swiss for the gold.

In the men’s semifinals, Canada advanced to Friday’s gold medal game with a 6-4 victory over world champion Sweden. The Canadians will play Norway, 7-6 winners in extra time over defending Olympic champion Switzerland.

Ice dancing

Lithuanian ice dance protest denied: The International Skating Union, already facing enough problems with judging controversies, denied it had another one by rejecting Wednesday a protest of the ice dancing results filed by Lithuania.

Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas questioned how they could finish fifth in the free dance program when the two teams that finished ahead of them fell, and they didn’t. They insist their complaint wasn’t to get a medal, only to expose judging inconsistencies.

A spokesman for the Lithuanian Olympic team said the ISU’s response “was very terse, one sentence. It said, ‘The judging was fair.’ “

Copyright ©2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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