Monday, February 17,2014 • The World • B5
Sports
Sweden sweep cross country relay golds KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — Sweden successfully defended its Olympic gold in the men’s 4by-10-kilometer crosscountry relay on Sunday to become the first country in 42 years to win both the men’s and women’s team events in the same Winter Games. A day after its women’s team earned a narrow comefrom-behind victory, Sweden’s anchor Marcus Hellner skied alone for the entire final leg and was so far ahead he could leisurely ski down the final straight waving a Swedish flag. Russia took silver in front of President Vladimir Putin. France finished third. Hellner started the fourth leg with a 14-second lead on Russia’s Maxim Vylegzhanin, and quickly extended the gap. Sweden won by 27.3 seconds. It was another disappointing day for Norway, which had fallen a minute behind by the second exchange and ended up fourth, a day after its heavily-favored women surprisingly failed to get a medal. Sweden had a bad start as Lars Nelson fell on the first leg when he got tangled up with another skier. He had to spend a few seconds putting one ski back on but quickly caught up to the main pack, and then set the pace to shake off everyone but Finland at the first exchange. Finland’s Iivo Niskanen was still with Sweden’s Daniel Richardsson at the
second exhange, but Johan Olsson then pulled away from Lari Lehtonen to give Sweden a comfortable lead heading into the final exchange. Hellner did the rest, keeping Vylegzhanin from getting closer and giving himself ample time to start the celebrations early. It was a vastly different finish to Saturday’s women’s relay, when Sweden’s Charlotte Kalla made up a 25second deficit on the final leg before winning a three-way sprint for the gold. It was the first time since the Soviet Union’s double in 1972 that the same country won both the men’s and women’s Olympic crosscountry relays. Hellner also skied the anchor leg for Sweden in Vancouver four years ago, with Richardsson and Olsson on that team as well. For Nelson, it was his first Olympic medal. Vylegzhanin quickly lost ground to Hellner on the fourth leg and was caught by Ivan Perrillat Boiteux, but managed to pull away from the Frenchman on the final sprint for silver. Hellner took silver in the opening skiahtlon race in Sochi, while Olsson and Richardsson were second and third in the 15K classical race to give Sweden the status as favorite in the relay. Dario Cologna won both those races but didn’t compete for Switzerland in the relay. The Swiss finished eighth, nearly 2 minutes behind.
Third gold for Domracheva in women’s biathlon KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — Darya Domracheva of Belarus completed an unprecedented hat trick of Olympic gold medals in women’s biathlon by winning the 12.5-kilometer mass start race on Monday. Domracheva, who also won the pursuit and individual race last week, took the lead for the first time after four minutes and stayed ahead of the field after the first shooting. She missed one target before finishing in 35 minutes, 25.6 seconds. Gabriela Soukalova of Czech Republic was 20.2 seconds behind for silver and Tiril Eckhoff of Norway finished 27.3 behind for bronze. Domracheva is the first woman to win three biathlon gold medals at the same Olympics. Norway’s Ole Einar Bjoerndalen has the overall record, with four gold medals at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. Domracheva is also expected to compete in the relay, but Belarus is not among the favorites for gold. Retired Kati Wilhelm is the
only other woman with three biathlon golds, but the German won them over two Olympics — the sprint and the relay in 2002 and the pursuit four years later. Domracheva faulted on the fourth target in her final shooting, but as her nearest rival, Soukalova, also missed, the Belarusian could still carry a 14.7-second lead into her final 2.5K lap. She stretched that lead and crossed the finish line while waving her right pole above her head in celebration. One of the pre-race favorites, Tora Berger of Norway, fell and slid into the safety netting after crossing her skis two minutes into the race. Berger stayed clean in the first shooting but missed four targets afterward and finished 1:42.2 behind Domracheva in 15th. More athletes fell because of the difficult conditions. Drizzle in the morning hours and fog until the afternoon softened the track, which had already been weakened by the mild weather last week.
Thick fog causes event disruptions KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — Thick fog lingering over the mountains Monday caused the biggest weather disruptions of the Sochi Olympics so far, with a biathlon race and a snowboard event both postponed until Tuesday. The fog rolled in over the mountains in Krasnaya Polyana on Sunday night and was still shrouding some of the Olympic skiing venues in a cloud-like mist by late Monday afternoon. That prompted organizers to call off the men’s biathlon mass-start race and men’s snowboardcross almost simultaneously. The rescheduling didn’t seem to be a major concern for the athletes, though. “This is standard for
snowboarding and ski events. Mother Nature doesn’t always cooperate,” American snowboardcross rider Nate Holland said. The biathlon race had already been pushed back from Sunday evening to Monday mornin. It will now be held Tuesday at 2:30 p.m., organizers said. The fog eventually subsided and the women’s massstart race went ahead at its scheduled 7 p.m. start. At the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, the snowboardcross was also first delayed then postponed. Organizers first canceled the seeding runs for the event, then pushed back the elimination races before calling it a day.
The Associated Press
Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States compete in the ice dance short dance Sunday.
Davis and White set record SOCHI, Russia (AP) — Charlie White threw his arms in the air in celebration to try to describe how he’d felt Sunday morning. After four years, the moment had finally arrived for White and Meryl Davis, seeking to win the United States’ first Olympic gold medal in ice dancing. “I definitely woke up today ready,” Davis said. “And yes, it’s great to wake up with a smile on your face.” They were grinning even more broadly after their short dance, when they set an international personal best with 78.89 points to lead training partners Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada by 2.56. Davis and White won silver at the 2010 Games when Virtue and Moir became the first Olympic ice dance champions from North America. The free dance is Monday, and Davis and White, both from Michigan, are one performance away from gold. “I told Charlie in the middle of the program I felt like I was in a dream,” Davis said. “It is such a surreal experience.” Virtue and Moir rebounded from a shaky performance in the team event, but the Americans, skating last, have overtaken their rivals over the last four
years, and it was no different Sunday. A Russian team was in third, though it wasn’t world bronze medalists Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev. Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov were 3.29 points behind Virtue and Moir. France’s Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat were fourth, just 0.26 out of the bronze position, with Bobrova and Soloviev fifth. Davis and White will again skate last Monday. Their twizzles are at another speed from the rest of the field, and yet they spin across the ice in perfect unison. Skating to “My Fair Lady,” they gaze at each other and into the crowd with an exuberant bliss. “They fly,” said their coach, Marina Zoueva, who also works with Virtue and Moir. “And you can see at the same time where they are strong. And they are so light at the same time and so flowing.” With White’s tuxedo and tails and Davis’ gauzy pink dress, they were decked out for a coronation. “They really did the best this program can be done, with joy,” Zoueva said. “Total joy.” When it was over, they held their embrace for a few extra seconds. “We kept in the moment and neither
of us was pushing it,” White said. “We were out there enjoying each other’s company. This was special for us.” The other American teams, Madison Chock and Evan Bates and siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani, were eighth and ninth. Virtue had a bobble on a twizzle during the team short dance, but on Sunday, she and Moir looked much more like the couple that charmed the home crowd in Vancouver four years ago. Their footwork again crisp, they seemed to bounce over the ice as they performed to jazz standards from Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald. In his black bowtie and suspenders, Moir, ever the showman, smiled coyly from start to finish, eyebrow arched. Virtue’s face beamed brighter than the sparkles on her flapper-style dress. With the two still posed cheek to cheek just like the lyrics to the final song in their medley, Moir shouted out “Yes!” and pumped a fist. “That was more like it,” Moir said afterward. The week between their programs seemed to drag on forever — Moir called the waiting miserable. “I just wanted my chance to be on the stage and do that,” he said.
Samkova survives snowboard carnage Disappointment for Jacobellis in Sochi semifinals ■
KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia (AP) — Eva Samkova slapped a camera atop her helmet before the women’s Olympic snowboardcross finals on Sunday, hoping to give TV viewers a better grasp of her sport’s unique mix of speed and chaos. Samkova provided the speed. It’s the chaos that was missing — at least in front of her. Riding a board that appeared propelled by booster rockets, the 20-year-old from the Czech Republic sprinted to Olympic gold with three wire-to-wire victories. They probably looked pretty boring from her helmet camera’s point of view, what with nothing in front of her but a softening course and a raucous crowd that roared in appreciation of her dominance. Her body rock steady in an event that again claimed perennial gold medal contender Lindsey Jacobellis among its victims, Samkova credited the wax techs that turned her board into a 5foot-long lightning bolt and a form that didn’t falter as the madness piled up behind her. “It’s just physics, that’s all,” Samkova said with a laugh. And Groundhog Day for Jacobellis. The eight-time X Games winner gave away gold in Turin eight years ago when a botched grab near the end of the finals cost her the top spot on the podium. The greatest racer in the sport’s history failed to make it out of the semifinals in Vancouver and her quest to fill the one hole left on her peerless resume ended in Sochi’s semifinals. Well ahead of the other five riders at a slushy Rosa Khutor Extreme Park, the 28-
The Associated Press
Czech Republic's Eva Samkova, bottom right, leads the field in the women's snowboard cross final at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park on Sunday. Samkova went on to win the gold medal. The other boarders are, from left, Italy's Michela Moioli, Bulgaria's Alexandra Jekova, Canada's Dominique Maltais, France's Chloe Trespeuch, and United States' Faye Gulini. year-old from Park City, Utah, lost her balance coming out of a jump and washed out in one of the final turns. She recovered to win the consolation final, though it served as little solace. “There are worse things in life than not winning. A lot worse,” Jacobellis said. “And, of course, it’s very unfortunate this didn’t work out for me. I trained very hard for this moment. It doesn’t come together for who knows what reason.” Samkova’s win was the first podium finish in the Olympics by a Czech snowboarder. Dominique Maltais became the first multiplemedal winner in women’s snowboardcross when she finished a distant second. Chloe Trespeuch of France topped Faye Gulini of the U.S. for bronze on a day that featured both the beauty and the danger of snowboarding’s version of NASCAR. Barely 24 hours after Russian skicross racer Maria Komissarova severely injured her spine while training on
the same slope, American Jackie Hernandez sustained a concussion when she smacked her head after catching an edge during qualifying. The 21-year-old was treated and released, but barred from competing in the elimination rounds. Hernandez’s accident came only minutes after Helene Olafsen of Norway hurt her knee near the top of the course and needed to be taken off the mountain on a stretcher. Such injuries are commonplace in snowboardcross, though they typically happen when riders racing six-abreast are darting over the series of jumps and banked turns. The supremacy Samkova showcased is far more rare. She was the quickest in qualifying by nearly a full second and only appeared to get faster as temperatures soared into the 50s. The flag of her home country was painted above her lip like a patriotic mustache for “luck,” but none
was required. In each of her races, Samkova held the lead by the time the field reached the first tabletop feature and the margin only grew wider during her runs. “My coach told me that will be best thing I can do, just be in front of them,” Samkova said. Against a deep field that included Jacobellis, Maltais and defending Olympic champion Maelle Ricker, Samkova drained any real drama out of the fight for gold. She peeked over her shoulder after clearing the last jump in the final then thrust her arms aloft in triumph. By then Jacobellis was recovering from another Olympic disappointment, Maltais was but a speck in Samkova’s rearview mirror and Ricker was done after wrecking in the quarterfinals. “She was running very well today,” Trespeuch said. “She was way ahead of us. She really wants it and she did a good job.”