CORTINA D’ AMPEZZO, Feb 18: Ami Nakai and Japanese teammate Kaori Sakamoto upstaged Alysa Liu and the rest of the “Blade Angels” from the U.S. to take the lead after the short program in the women’s figure skating competition at the Milan Cortina Olympics on Tuesday.
Nakai rode her opening triple axel to a career-best 78.71 points, while Sakamoto was right behind with 77.23 as she chases just about the only gold medal she has yet to win. Liu was third with 76.59, keeping her within range of the top step of the podium.
Things didn’t go quite so well for the rest of the American team.
Isabeau Levito lost a level on her step sequence and wound up eighth with 70.84 points, while three-time reigning U.S. champ Amber Glenn likely had her medal hopes dashed when she doubled up a triple loop, making the jump invalid and worth no points.
Glenn, trying to hold back tears as she stepped off the ice, was in 13th place with 67.39 points.
Mone Chiba gave Japan three women capable of stacking the podium when the women’s free skate on Thursday wraps up the figure skating program at the Winter Games. She scored 74.00 points.
Germany sweep in two-man bobsled
Germany swept the medals in the two-man bobsled race in a show of absolute dominance. It was the second Olympic sweep in bobsled history; the other was by the Germans, also in two-man, at the Beijing Games four years ago.And leading the way was Johannes Lochner, who got his first gold medal while posting the biggest Olympic two-man winning margin in nearly a half-century. The U.S. was the closest to thwarting the sweep; Frank Del Duca and Josh Williamson were fourt
Snow postpones women’s slopestyle snowboarding
The Olympic final for women’s snowboarding slopestyle was scrubbed off Tuesday’s schedule due to a heavy snowstorm in Livigno.The slopestyle final was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. local time, but organizers said it was called off. A new date for the final has not been announced.It delays New Zealander Zoi Sadowski-Synnott’s attempt at a repeat. She qualified first on Sunday – an opening round that was moved up a day because of the storms rolling in.
Late surge lifts France to gold in biathlon relay
France went from last place on the first leg to being first on the final lap to secure the country’s first Olympic gold medal in men’s biathlon relay.World Cup champion Eric Perrot, skiing the final leg for France, missed two shots in his last standing shooting bout and was only seven seconds ahead of Norway’s Vetle Sjaastad Christiansen as they headed out to ski tracks packed with fresh snow.Perrot stayed ahead of Christiansen and took his team of Fabien Claude, Emilien Jacquelin and Quentin Fillon Maillet across the line first, in a time of one hour, 19 minutes and 55.2 seconds. (PTI)
