German Hoefl-Riesch wins super-combined title
Different American, same result for Maria Hoefl-Riesch — another Olympic gold in the super-combined. Just as she did four years ago at the Vancouver Games, Hoefl-Riesch found herself trailing an American after the downhill leg before using her slalom skills to vault into first place and successfully defend her Olympic title in the dual-run event. The German finished less than a second ahead of both silver medalist Nicole Hosp of Austria and Julia Mancuso of the United States, who won the bronze, just as she did in 2010.
lindsey Vonn had the fastest downhill time in Vancouver, but when Vonn skied out on the slalom, Hoefl-Riesch roared back to claim gold. This time, Vonn is out with an injury, and Mancuso replaced her at the top the standings after the downhill. In the Olympic Park, Viktor Ahn earned the bronze to give Russia its first-ever short track medal. “It’s unbelievable. Of course, I was the big favorite for today,” said Hoefl-Riesch, who retained her Olympic title in an event designed to test the best all-around skier. “But I had some problems on the downhill course.”
Those problems left her in fifth place in the morning downhill, putting her more than one second behind Julia Mancuso’s inspired run. But the defending Olympic champion in slalom overcame the time difference in the afternoon and finished 0.40 seconds faster than silver medalist Nicole Hosp of Austria. Mancuso, who rarely skis slalom, battled down to finish third, 0.53 behind Hoefl-Riesch’s two-run winning time of 2 minutes, 34.62 seconds.
Mancuso punched the air with her right fist after seeing she had won her fourth career Olympic medal in Alpine skiing. No other American woman has won more than two. “I really thought I was blowing it in slalom,” Mancuso said. “I had a great downhill run and knew there was nothing to lose.” Hoefl-Riesch is now poised to make Alpine history at the Sochi Olympics. With her third career gold medal, she is only one behind all-time leaders Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway and Janica Kostelic of Croatia.
“I don’t think about records so much,” said the 29-year-old Hoefl-Riesch, who missed the 2006 Turin Olympics because of injury. “If it happens, it’s great. I’m not looking on this.” Hoefl-Riesch can match the retired greats on Wednesday in the downhill, an event in which she has three World Cup wins this season. She is also the current overall leader on the circuit.
On Monday, Hoefl-Riesch stood in the snow at the finish area to watch as Mancuso slalomed through the gates in the second leg. When the American’s time flashed up on the giant screen, Hoefl-Riesch let her skis fall to the ground and then turned to face fans in the grandstand, placing her hands on her head then kneeling on the snow. Hoefl-Riesch’s victory matched Kostelic’s back-to-back Olympic combined titles in 2002 and 2006. The Croatian won the traditional version, which includes two slalom runs.
Mancuso’s Olympic tally includes two medals in super-combined, a gold in giant slalom from the 2006 Turin Olympics and a silver in downhill from the 2010 Vancouver Games. She raised her level on the biggest stage again in the first of five women’s events despite having a best result of only seventh on this season’s World Cup circuit. “It just brings that extra bit on intensity,” said Mancuso, who also has five career world championship medals.
The event, which tests racers’ all-around ability to be fast and technically correct, proved challenging, especially on a steep slalom track lit by floodlights on a cloudy afternoon. Four of the 10 fastest downhill racers failed to get down the slalom, including lara Gut of Switzerland, who had been second behind Mancuso. One pre-race favorite for a medal, Marie-Michele Gagnon of Canada, crashed in the slalom and appeared to injure her left wrist. Medals were also being awarded in men’s 500-meter speedskating, men’s 12.5-kilometer biathlon pursuit, and men’s moguls.
Hamelin off to winning start
The Hamelin family of Canada got the Olympic short track competition off to a winning start. Charles Hamelin skated clear of the chaos that makes short track so unpredictable, winning the 1,500 meters on Monday for his third different Olympic title. At 29, Hamelin was the oldest skater in the final. The wily veteran maintained a top-three position throughout most of the 14-lap race, leaving enough at the end to defeat a loaded field.
“He deserves it,” American J.R. Celski said. “He went out there and raced his (rear) off.” Hamelin raised his arms in triumph after crossing the finish line at the Iceberg Skating Palace. He pumped his right arm through the turn and went hard into the pads to first embrace his coach and then his father Yves, the team leader for Canada.
“It’s so many emotions,” Hamelin said. “I have put so much work into it.” Hamelin will have two more chances to win individual gold in the 500 and 1,000, and he’ll be part of Canada’s team in the 5,000 relay. Han Tianyu of China took silver. Viktor Ahn of Russia earned the bronze, giving his adopted country its first-ever short track medal. Celski, the 2010 bronze medalist from Federal Way, Wash., finished fourth.
Ahn stepped on the medals podium to wild cheers from the mostly Russian crowd. He was a three-time gold medalist for his native South Korea, but after missing the Vancouver Games four years ago because of a career-threatening injury, he changed his name and became a Russian citizen. He was known as Ahn Hyun-soo when he won gold in the 1,500 at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
“I’m so happy to have this medal,” Ahn said through a translator. “I did feel the support of my fans and it played a significant role in my accomplishment. I would like to thank everyone for trusting in me.” Ahn became the second Winter Olympian to win medals for two different countries. “It’s even better when you win against those guys, those legends of the sport,” Hamelin said.