A Tribute to The Winter Olympics

A Tribute in Honor of:

The Winter Olympics Day 10

Olympics-Speedskating-Witty leaves rivals feeling sick

By Lynda Dugdale

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - American Chris Witty made an extraordinary comeback from a debilitating illness to smash the world 1,000 metres record and win the Olympic title at the Salt Lake City Winter Games on Sunday.

Fighting back tears, Witty threw her hands in the air as she crossed the line in one minute, 13.83 seconds, as the crowd at the Utah Olympic Oval erupted.

Her performance, which left previous world record holder Sabine Voelker of Germany 0.13 seconds back in silver, took speedskating's world-record tally at the Salt Lake Games to four from six races, with four more events to go.

American Jennifer Rodriguez, a former roller skating champion, produced a personal best by more than four tenths of a second to take the bronze.

"I saw 1:13 and that completely shocked me," Witty said. "Even if I was healthy my time would have been a surprise.

"It was a dream race and all I could have asked for."

Few thought the 26-year-old Witty would recover from a bout of mononucleosis -- an illness causing tiredness and which was diagnosed in mid-January -- in time to make an impression at the Salt Lake City Games.

She was scheduled to contest the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 metres but, just days before the opening ceremony, Witty conceded she did not know if she would be up to the challenge.

She said she was taking each training day at a time, taking time off if she felt too tired.

In the circumstances she had not been expected to come close to the world's current top sprinters.

Witty was paired with Olympic 500 metres champion Catriona LeMay Doan, looking to complete a sprint double in her farewell Olympic race.

The Canadian set the early pace but Witty pushed in the final 400 metres to round the last bend ahead before forging over the line.

LeMay Doan finished an anti-climactic ninth, timing 1:14.72, more than two tenths of a second off her personal best.

"I have done the best I could do," LeMay Doan said. "It is probably my best first 600 meters ever, I'm not disappointed."

Voelker, the World Cup leader and previous world record holder, also broke her old mark of 1:14.06 -- recorded at the same venue just two-and-a-half months before Salt Lake -- for her second medal of the Games. She won a bronze in the 500.

"It was so hard for me to race after Chris broke the world record," she said. "It was hard for me to calm down my nerves.

"Anyway, I skated an amazing time."

Rodriguez, mobbed by fans outside the stadium after her race, said she didn't know if her time would be good enough for a medal.

"I was crying that I didn't get a medal and then I was crying that I did," she said.

Witty completed her own medal collection on Sunday after winning the silver medal at the Nagano Olympics four years ago, when she also won a bronze in the 1,500 metres.

The diagnosis of her viral infection explained Witty's sub-par performances through the World Cup season, when she placed no higher than fourth.

"I was really frustrated the whole summer," Witty confessed. "I didn't know what was going on. I was not recovering between efforts."

She said she had even had good days and bad days in the past week.

"I just rested and slept and listened to my body," she said.

Of the race, she said: "I have no idea what pushed me. I chased her, and chased her, and chased her."

U.S. team doctor and former Olympic champion Eric Heiden praised Witty's mental toughness.

"It's outstanding what she did," he said.

23:12 02-17-02

Olympics-Winter Games to cost U.S. government $400 million

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The 2002 Winter Olympics will cost the U.S. government over $400 million, with nearly $60 million of that due to increased security after the Sept. 11 hijack attacks on America, an Olympic organiser said on Sunday.

Cindy Gillespie, an official with the Salt Lake Organising Committee for the Games, said an earlier estimate of $342million in direct costs to the federal government would rise by the time the Olympics conclude next Sunday.

Citing a preliminary congressional report issued last November, Gillespie told reporters: "When the final report comes out, what you will actually see will be a little over $400 million. That increase is primarily support that's been provided for security post-Sept. 11."

13:32 02-17-02

LINKS:

Olympics-Freestyle skiing-Cooper arrives home to face surgery

SYDNEY, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Top freestyle skier Jacqui Cooper arrived back in Australia on Monday after agonisingly crashing out of the Winter Olympics last week.

The Australian was favourite to win gold in the women's aerials, but failed to make it to the starting line after shattering her knee in practice, requiring a complete reconstruction.

Cooper, who was also the favourite at the 1998 Nagano Games before crashing during the qualification round, was due to go under the surgeon's knife on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old has vowed to make a comeback and compete at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

22:17 02-17-02

Olympics-Speedskating-Witty leaves rivals feeling sick

By Lynda Dugdale

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - American Chris Witty made an extraordinary comeback from a debilitating illness to smash the world 1,000 metres record and win the Olympic title at Salt Lake City Winter Games on Sunday.

Fighting back tears, Witty threw her hands in the air as she crossed the line in one minute, 13.83 seconds.

Her performance, which left previous world record holder Sabine Voelker of Germany 0.13 seconds back in silver, took the sport's world-record tally at the Salt Lake Games to four from six races, with four more events to go.

American Jennifer Rodriguez, a former roller skating champion, produced a personal best by more than four tenths of a second to take the bronze.

Few thought the 26-year-old Witty would recover from a bout of mononucleosis -- an illness causing tiredness and which she contracted late last year -- in time to make an impression at the Salt Lake City Games.

She was scheduled to contest the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 metres but, just days before the opening ceremony, Witty conceded she did not know if she would be up to the challenge.

She said she was taking each training day at a time at the Utah Olympic Oval, taking time off if she felt too tired.

In the circumstances she had not been expected to come close to the world's current top pair of sprinters, Catriona LeMay Doan of Canada and Monique Garbrecht-Enfeldt of Germany.

To make matter worse, Witty was paired with Olympic 500 metres champion LeMay Doan, looking to complete a sprint double in her farewell Olympic race.

The Canadian set the early pace but Witty pushed in the final 400 metres to round the final bend ahead of the Canadian before forging over the line.

LeMay Doan finished an anti-climactic ninth, timing 1:14.72, more than two tenths of a second off her personal best.

Garbrecht-Enfeldt, the world champion over the distance for the past two years, went in the final pair but could only finish sixth.

Voelker, the previous world record holder, also broke her old mark of 1:14.06 -- recorded at the same venue just two-and-a-half months before Salt Lake -- for her second medal of the Games. She won a bronze in the 500.

Witty completed her own medal collection on Sunday after winning the silver medal at the Nagano Olympics four years ago, when she also won a bronze in the 1,500 metres.

The diagnosis of her viral infection explained Witty's sub-par performances through the World Cup season, when she placed no higher than fourth.

22:07 02-17-02

Olympics-Medals table on the tenth day of competition

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Medals table on the tenth day of competition at the Winter Olympics on Sunday:

Gold Silver Bronze Total

1. Norway 8 5 0 13

2. Germany 6 10 6 22

3. U.S. 4 7 7 18

4. Russia 4 4 2 10

5. Italy 3 2 2 7

6. Switzerland 3 1 2 6

7. Finland 3 1 1 5

8. France 2 3 1 6

9. Netherlands 2 2 0 4

10. Canada 2 0 3 5

11. Spain 2 0 0 2

12. Austria 1 3 9 13

13- Croatia 1 1 0 2

13- South Korea 1 1 0 2

15. China 1 0 2 3

16. Estonia 1 0 1 2

17. Australia 1 0 0 1

18- Bulgaria 0 1 2 3

18- Sweden 0 1 2 3

20- Japan 0 1 1 2

20- Poland 0 1 1 2

22. Czech Republic 0 0 1 1

Note: Two golds, no silver awarded in the figure skating

pairs programme

Two silvers, no bronze awarded in men's

cross-country combined pursuit.

21:55 02-17-02

Olympics-Ice hockey-U.S. v Russia draws huge TV audience

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Saturday's ice hockey game between the United States and Russia drew the highest American television audience for a hockey game since the 198O Olympic final, NBC said on Sunday.

Twenty percent of households watched the game, a 2-2 tie, compared with 61 percent for the American defeat of Finland in the 1980 final, NBC said in a statement.

21:33 02-17-02

Olympics-Skeleton-Alcock is Canada's rookie in the Rockies

By Julia Ferguson

PARK CITY, Utah, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Lindsay Alcock used to drive a bus through the Canada Olympic Park in Calgary giving tourists a guided tour of the sporting venues.

In no time the Canadian became inquisitive about the events that went on there and decided to try out one of the winter disciplines herself.

Her aim was merely to gain greater insight into what motivates winter athletes so she could explain it to her passengers.

She chose skeleton, one of the most exciting and dangerous sports on the Olympic schedule.

Sliders hurtle themselves head-first, stomach down on a bare-bones stainless steel sled that rattles down a bobsleigh track at speeds surpassing 80 mph (130 kph).

Alcock made her debut on the World Cup tour this season with scant expectation of a ticket to the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

But the skeleton rookie raced to three World Cup medals, including a victory at home in Calgary, to end the season in third place overall.

The 24-year-old is now the Canadian women's team's top skeleton athlete as well as a favourite to take a medal.

"I started off with skeleton in order to have a better idea of what I was talking about," Alcock said in reference to her time as a tour guide in 1998.

But the journey to the top has not been easy.

Since skeleton was only reinstated as an Olympic event in 1999 after a half century absence, it has not been televised much and television exposure is what lures sponsors and their funding.

"It's been really tough. My Mom and Dad have been helping me out," Alcock said.

The Canadian attributes her meteoric rise to her background as a track and field athlete.

"The push is my strong point," she said. "This is a fast track which is good for fast pushers."

In the first training on Sunday for Wednesday's competition, Alcock was fastest and second-fastest in the all-important push times.

The Canadian is, nevertheless, keeping her expectations at this sporting extravaganza modest.

"I'm hoping to place in the top five," she said. "A medal would be a tremendous end to my season. It would be the cherry on top of the cake."

21:32 02-17-02

Olympics-Bobsleigh-Factfile on Christoph Langen

SOLDIER HOLLOW, Utah, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Factfile on Christoph Langen, who drove Germany I to victory in the Olympic two-man bobsleigh on Sunday:

Age: 39 (born 27 March, 1962. Cologne)

Country: Germany

A soldier and automotive mechanic, Langen is also one of the most successful bobsleigh drivers of all time. Came into his fourth Winter Games with 25 Olympic, world and European championship medals. Builds his own sleds, which are among the fastest in the world. Originally a decathlete before making the switch to bobs in 1986. His ambition to change from brakeman to driver in the early 1990s was hindered when the re-unification of Germany meant he had to compete against top East German drivers for a place in the national team.

Previous Olympics: Made his debut in Calgary in 1988 as a brakeman. Won bronze as a driver in the two-man event at the Albertville Winter Games in 1992. A bad set of runners saw him miss out on the 1994 Games. Returned at Nagano in 1998 to again win bronze in the two-man and gold in the four-man bob.

Other successes: Eight-time world champion, including gold in both four-man and two-man events at the last world championships in St Moritz last year. Five-time World Cup champion. European championship medallist 11 times (five golds).

Reaction: "That's the only gold medal I've missed in my career, the two-man at the Olympics."

21:14 02-17-02

Olympics-Ice hockey-Salo, Sundin shine for Swedes

By Alan Crosby

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Mats Sundin scored his second game-winning goal of the Olympic tournament on Sunday to hand Sweden a 2-1 victory over reigning champions the Czech Republic and put the Swedes firmly atop the Group C standings.

Coming off a stunning 5-2 romp over Canada to open the tournament, the Toronto Maple Leafs centre once again dominated play.

With four points from two games, Sweden is now virtually assured of claiming top spot in the group, meaning it is likely to face Belarus in the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, the win also gives added importance to the final game of the group on Monday between Canada and the Czechs.

The Czechs are now 1-1 while Canada and Germany are both 0-1. Those two teams play later on Sunday in a game the Canadians are expected to win.

Second spot in group C is coveted since that team is likely to line up against Finland in the quarterfinals, and avoid either Russia or the United States.

"It's still early in the tournament but we have played two very good teams and came away with four points. We have to be happy," said Sundin.

The Swedes drew first blood when Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Kim Jonsson's power play blast beat Dominik Hasek five minutes into the game.

The second period turned from a close checking affair into a wide open battle as the Czechs pushed forward, firing 18 shots at Tommy Salo after managing only eight in the first 20 minutes.

But it was Sundin found the back of the net first for the eventual game winner.

"It was Sundin, he surprised me. It was a great shot but a bad goal (on me)," Hasek said.

The Czechs got one back before the end of the second frame when Jonsson's NHL teammate Jiri Dopita put one high past Salo, who was outstanding in between the pipes.

The Swedish netminder faced 38 shots overall, including seven from Washington Capitals star winger Jaromir Jagr, who has come to life in the Olympics after a sluggish first half of the NHL season.

"I saw most of the shots and the defense cleared the rebounds well which made my job easier out there," said Salo.

"Every goal on Hasek is important and today we managed to do that and that was the key," he added.

Hasek, who backstopped the Czechs to their gold medal in Nagano, faced 22 shots in the game.

21:05 02-17-02

Olympics-Skeleton-Daredevil Greek puts himself in the picture

In PARK CITY story headlined "Olympics-Skeleton-Daredevil Greek puts himself in the picture" please read 2nd paragraph "He wanted to photograph Julie Walker, the 10 times U.S. national champion, after watching her in action at Lake Placid." (omitting reference to "22 years ago").

A corrected repetition follows.

By Julia Ferguson

PARK CITY, Utah, Feb 17 (Reuters) - It all started off as a dare for Michael Panagiotis Voudouris, Greece's only entry for the men's skeleton at the Salt Lake City Winter Games.

He wanted to photograph Julie Walker, the 10 times U.S. national champion, after watching her in action at Lake Placid.

She agreed but only on the condition that he dared to go down the sheer ice track on a bare-bones sledge -- the skeleton.

He dared, became hooked and six years on Voudouris is competing in the breakneck-speed discipline, where sliders hurl themselves down the serpentine head-first on their stomach at speeds of over 80 mph (130 kph).

The burly slider, who goes into action on Wednesday, tried to explain the attraction.

"You're speeding in your car along the autobahn and hit a patch of ice -- it's an electrifying feeling. Now imagine doing that for 52 seconds...it's wicked," he said.

The 41-year-old holds dual Greek-U.S. nationality and, when not careering down the world's bobsleigh tracks, earns his keep as an emergency medical technician.

For the last nine years he has been working as part of a team providing medical aid to workers building a water tunnel 850 feet (around 300 metres) below New York City.

He also joined in the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center following the September 11 attacks. His sled carries the number 30, in remembrance of his colleagues who died during the recovery operation.

"I do skeleton to relax. It's a matter of concentration and I have a very high threshold for excitement," said Voudouris.

The motivation certainly isn't financial. Skeleton is making its return to the Olympics for the first time since 1948 in St Moritz. It is also being staged on the same track as the bobsleigh and luge events, rather than on its own, natural course.

The absence of Olympic exposure has kept advertisers away, and funding consequently low.

"There's a number of things I don't have, compared to the other guys -- no funding for practice, for equipment or for coaching," the New York-born Voudouris said.

"I've even got to act as my own masseur."

18:37 02-17-02

Olympics-Figure skating-Canadians finally get gold

By Deborah Zabarenko

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Just as they had hoped, Jamie Sale and David Pelletier got to hear "O Canada" on Sunday and see their country's flag rise above the rink where they skated an Olympic gold medal performance six days ago.

But the medals platform was more crowded than usual as joining the Canadian champions were Russians Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, who had already collected a gold in the same event on February 11.

Despite a judging controversy that shadowed the first week of the Winter Games, the two couples were all smiles as they emerged onto the purple-carpeted surface of the Salt Lake Ice Center.

As a capacity crowd roared approval and flash cameras flickered around the arena, Sale and Berezhnaya walked side by side to the platform, followed closely by Pelletier and Sikharulidze. In their countries' respective warm-up outfits, they looked more relaxed than at any time since the controversy erupted.

The Russians already wore their gold medals on blue ribbons around their necks. The Canadians got theirs from Ottavio Cinquanta, president of the International Skating Union (ISU), who has been embroiled in questions over how a French skating judge was pressured to vote for the Russian pair.

There were four bouquets of traditional yellow roses for the four skaters -- though the men eventually hurled theirs into the stands -- and two national anthems were played.

The Russians sang spiritedly along with their anthem, which was played first.

Sale voiced the words to the Canadian anthem and Pelletier stood smiling behind her as the Russian and Canadian flags rose simultaneously to the top of the indoor stadium.

SUSTAINED APPLAUSE

During brief lulls in the 10-minute ceremony, and during the sustained periods of applause, the two couples chatted amiably, every so often seeming to register the thousands of people watching their every move. They hugged before leaving the ice.

To get to this point, the four went through six days of questions over who rightfully should take the gold in the Olympic pairs skating competition. The Canadians have returned the silver medal they received.

The gold medals they received were duplicates, made especially for this extraordinary ceremony.

Questions in the case are likely to continue even after Monday, when the ISU council is set to meet behind closed doors to discuss the "Skategate" scandal.

No decision is to be announced until February 26, when the Winter Games will be safely over, but public opinion has hastened developments before in this case, and might again.

At issue is exactly whether, and if so how, pressure was applied to French skating judge Marie-Reine Le Gougne, who cast the deciding vote for Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze.

Le Gougne has been suspended, but the larger debate is over a sport where judging can be highly subjective and vulnerable to charges of corruption.

Cinquanta said he would put forward a radical plan to overhaul the judging system, telling Reuters on Sunday: "My project is to totally innovate the change in the system of judging, not to evaluate the judge."

Cinquanta confirmed that Le Gougne had claimed she was pressured by French figure skating president Didier Gailhaguet, who is also the French team chief at the Games.

But Cinquanta added that Le Gougne did not say the pressure had actually influenced her to vote for the Russian pair. He dismissed reports that her vote for the Russians was a trade for a Russian vote for a French duo in the ice dancing competition, where medals will be awarded Monday.

The pairs skating medals ceremony came immediately after the original ice dance competition Sunday evening. French couple Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat led the field in that event.

00:50 02-18-02

Olympics-Alpine skiing-Canada fires five men's coaches

By Patrick White

SNOWBASIN, Utah, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Five Canadian men's Alpine ski coaches were fired on Sunday after poor results in the super-G and downhill competitions culminating at the Winter Olympics, Alpine Ski Canada vice-president Nick Wilson said.

"We have been disappointed by the overall performance over the past two seasons and we will make a fresh, new start. All of the five coaches' contracts will not be renewed," he told French-Canadian reporters after the women's super-G.

"We stop everything as of now, including World Cup participation," Wilson said.

The five coaches involved are Peter Bosinger, Rob Bosinger, Rob Boyd, Mike Syrovatka and Paul Lavoie.

Wilson also said that downhill skier Ed Podivinsky, 31, would be retiring and Darin McBeath, 25, would be demoted.

"Ed should announce his retirement in the next few days and we will send Darin back with younger skiers so he can re-find passion," Wilson said.

"We are talking about a lack of confidence and results here, not a lack of effort," he added.

Podivinsky won a bronze in the 1994 downhill in Lillehammer, the last medal won by Canada in men's Alpine skiing.

Both Podivinsky and McBeath failed to finish the Olympic super-G on Saturday and were 24th and 32nd in last Sunday's downhill.

However, two men's skiers and their coaches will remain for the slalom events starting on Thursday. Another slalom skier, David Anderson, was injured last Friday.

"That team goes well. It is a good mix of experience and promise," Wilson said, talking about Thomas Grandi and Jean-Philippe Roy.

Wilson said Alpine Ski Canada will start looking for replacements in the next few months.

15:11 02-17-02

Olympics-Italian outsider upsets Kostelic

By John Mehaffey

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Italian outsider Daniela Ceccarelli deprived Janica Kostelic of a second Olympic title by five-hundredths of a second on Sunday in the second major upset of the women's Olympic Alpine skiing programme.

Ceccarelli's surprise super-G victory over the 20-year-old Croatian was an even bigger shock than Frenchwoman Carole Montillet's victory in the downhill last Tuesday.

In two previous world championships, the Italian had not finished in the top 10 and managed only 20th in the downhill at Snowbasin.

"I just let the skis go," she said in disbelief. "I didn't think it would be enough. I knew I had skied well but I didn't think it would be enough for a medal."

Kostelic, winner of the combined, found herself somewhat bizarrely fielding questions about her possible retirement.

"What a question," she said. "I'm going to ski until I'm 28 if I can make it."

Karen Putzer confirmed Sunday would be a night of celebrations for the Italian Alpine team by taking the bronze.

Earlier Norway held off Italy by three-tenths of a second in the men's 4x10 km cross-country relay in a race that yet again came down to the same two nations.

In the past two Winter Games, one of the pair has taken gold in the relay with a victory margin of less than half a second each time.

FINNS TRIUMPH

"For some reason it always comes down to Norway and Italy in a sprint," said Norwegian anchor Thomas Alsgaard. "It's become a tradition."

The second title of the day decided at Soldier Hollow went to Finland in the Nordic combined 4x5 km cross-country relay.

Samppa Lajunen, who won the Olympic individual title a week ago, anchored the Finns to first place after the two biggest leaps the previous day.

On the middle weekend of the 17-day Games, Norway topped the medals table with eight golds while the backlash had already begun for the more unsuccessful athletes.

The Russian 4x5 km combined team, due to start ninth on Sunday after a poor performance in the ski jumping competition, did not start the event as officials decided to send them home.

A Russian Olympic Committee spokesman said a charter plane was scheduled to leave Salt Lake City on Sunday with some empty seats which would now be filled by the unsuccessful relay team.

"We decided why waste time and money on some athletes who can't compete with the elite," he said.

Canada reacted to indifferent results in the men's Super-G and downhill by firing five coaches.

"We will make a fresh, new start. All of the five coaches' contracts will not be renewed," said Alpine Ski Canada vice-president Nick Wilson.

19:58 02-17-02

Olympics-Cross country-We don't want Muehlegg back, say Germans

By Deborah Charles

SOLDIER HOLLOW, Utah, Feb 17 (Reuters) - If former German cross-country skier Johann Muehlegg -- a double gold medallist at the Salt Lake City Games for his adopted Spain -- wants to return to Germany he may not find a very warm welcome.

The members of Germany's 4x10 km relay team, who won bronze in their event on Sunday, played down media reports that Muehlegg might come back to rejoin them, arguing that they had much more team spirit without him.

"Now we've become a team," said Rene Sommerfeldt, who anchored the Germans to third.

"In Nagano, Johann kept to himself -- he basically was avoiding us, so therefore there was really no team spirit.

"Now we've really grown together and I think it may be better for Johann to stay in Spain and us to stay together."

Three years ago, after a series of high-profile arguments with the German federation, Muehlegg decided he would not compete again for his native country.

Instead he moved to Spain, becoming a naturalised Spaniard and was dubbed "Juanito" by the media. He began competing for his adopted nation in 1999.

Muehlegg has been heralded as a hero in Spain after his wins in the Salt Lake 30 km freestyle and the combined pursuit. The country had only made it to the podium in one previous Winter Games.

Francisco Fernandez Ochoa, however, Spain's only other Winter Olympics gold medallist, said he could not identify with Muehlegg.

"As a Spaniard I don't identify with him. It was as if a Norwegian or a Swede had won the medal," Fernandez Ochoa was quoted as saying last week.

Lately there has been some media speculation Muehlegg may try to return home to rejoin the German relay team. Spain did not have a team in Sunday's relay event.

Andreas Schluetter, who like Sommerfeldt was on the 1998 relay team with Muehlegg in Nagano where Germany finished eighth, also suggested it would be a bad move.

"I don't think it's going to be Muehlegg's decision if he comes back or not. We are a good team. It has worked out well now with this new team," he said to applause from the second-place Italian squad.

16:39 02-17-02

Olympics-Medals table on the tenth day of competition

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Medals table on the tenth day of competition at the Winter Olympics on Sunday:

Gold Silver Bronze Total

1. Norway 8 5 0 13

2. Germany 6 10 6 22

3. U.S. 4 7 7 18

4. Russia 4 4 2 10

5. Italy 3 2 2 7

6. Switzerland 3 1 2 6

7. Finland 3 1 1 5

8. France 2 3 1 6

9. Netherlands 2 2 0 4

10. Canada 2 0 3 5

11. Spain 2 0 0 2

12. Austria 1 3 9 13

13- Croatia 1 1 0 2

13- South Korea 1 1 0 2

15. China 1 0 2 3

16. Estonia 1 0 1 2

17. Australia 1 0 0 1

18- Bulgaria 0 1 2 3

18- Sweden 0 1 2 3

20- Japan 0 1 1 2

20- Poland 0 1 1 2

22. Czech Republic 0 0 1 1

Note: Two golds, no silver awarded in the figure skating

pairs programme

Two silvers, no bronze awarded in men's

cross-country combined pursuit.

21:55 02-17-02

Olympics-Alpine skiing-Kostelic, 20, aghast at retirement query

SNOWBASIN, Utah, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Janica Kostelic, 20, won her second Olympic medal on Sunday only to find herself answering a question about retirement.

The look of amazement on her face made quite clear that, despite well-documented injury problems in the last year, she was far from finished.

"What a question," she replied. "I'm 20 years old...I'm going to ski until I'm 28 if I can make it."

The Croat added a super-G silver to her combined gold and could easily collect more medals with the giant slalom and slalom yet to come.

Kostelic is an all-rounder, like Norwegian Kjetil Andre Aamodt who won his seventh Olympic medal on Saturday, and aims to carry on doing both the speed and technical events.

"I do them all. I'm all over the place," she said.

The reigning World Cup overall champion said fame would not change her but added that she would not be rushing home to Croatia for a while.

"I think I will not go home after the Olympics," said Kostelic, who painted her nails with the letters Mamma for her mother who had travelled from Croatia.

"If I go home it will not be really good for me. I will go to Austria to train until everything has calmed down a little bit.

"Fame is not a big thing for me," she said. "I don't like to be famous. I just love what I'm doing, just skiing.

"So far I have two medals. I don't need any more. If I win more it's perfect, if I don't it's perfect."

18:19 02-17-02

Olympics-Biathlon-Russian army sees promotion for golden Pyleva

NOVOSIBIRSK, Russia, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Army commanders are seeking an immediate promotion for Russia's Olympic biathlon champion Olga Pyleva, after the Siberian servicewoman won gold in the women's 10 km pursuit in Salt Lake City.

A duty officer at the Novosibirsk army sports club, where the 26-year-old Pyleva is a warrant officer, said on Sunday papers were being prepared for her to be made lieutenant.

"It is up to the defence minister to make the final decision but we have little doubt our application will be granted," the officer told Reuters.

He said everyone in the club, a division of Russia's Siberian military district, was ecstatic about Pyleva's victory.

"We are preparing a really warm welcome home to Siberia for her," he said.

Pyleva has been in the Russian army for five years.

She taught her rivals a lesson in accurate marksmanship at the Winter Olympics on Saturday, missing only one shot to come from an eighth-placed start to win in 31 minutes 7.7 seconds.

06:21 02-17-02

Olympics-Criminals stay away as security blanket covers Utah

By James Nelson

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Pickpockets, prostitutes and petty thieves aren't doing much business during the Olympic Games.

An unprecedented military and law enforcement presence on the streets of the capital of the state of Utah is quite a deterrent.

"As you walk around the downtown Olympic theater, there's a couple of cops on the corner, officers on bicycles, and because of September 11, we have additional law enforcement," said Sgt. Fred Louis of the Salt lake City police department.

More than 15,000 personnel are involved in the security surrounding the Games -- many of them toting machine guns.

Although Utah is not known for its high crime rate, like any society it does have its fair share of criminals.

Last year Salt Lake City had three homicides from January 1 to February 15 whereas in the same period this year there has been none.

STATISTICS DOWN

Statistics also show robbery, auto theft, assault and burglary down from a year ago.

Overall total calls to police in early 2001 were 28,394, while in the same six week period this year -- taking in the first week of the Olympics -- there were 27,576.

"We've had several calls of abandoned packages," Louis said. "That seems to be occupying most of our time. We're able to deal with those quickly and move on."

Louis says Salt Lake Police started preparing for the Games way back in 1995 and officers have trained and worked with law enforcement agencies in fellow-Olympic host cities Atlanta, Nagano and Sydney.

In August 2000, Rick Dinse was named chief of police for the city and he brought the experience he gained at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics along with him.

"I think it's safer than anywhere else," said Michael Allen, of Portland, Oregon, while pushing one of his three children in a stroller near the downtown area.

A Utah man with his wife and children in tow, walking near the Olympic Square, said he felt at ease.

"We still keep our eyes open, but they're doing a good job," said Reed Arnold, from Taylorsville, Utah.

For months leading up to the Games public awareness campaigns warned of heavy traffic, possible crime situations and increased security.

One activity which is greatly in evidence in Salt Lake and would be part of the crime statistics elsewhere is ticket scalping.

More than half of the states of the union and many large cities have laws against selling tickets above face value, but Utah and Salt Lake City are not among them.

Louis believes the security operation is helping keep crime down.

"They (the criminals) may be thinking twice about this Olympics," Louis said. "It's unprecedented, the number of law enforcement (officers) here."

But while the calm streets and low crime rate have law enforcement officials pleased, Louis said there would be no letting up.

"The plans are going well, this is no time for us to let our guard down," he said.

06:02 02-17-02

Olympics-Short track-China thrills to Yang's historic victory

BEIJING, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Chinese vice-premier Li Lanqing congratulated short track speed skater Yang Yang (A) on behalf of China's leaders on Sunday after she won the country's first ever Winter Olympics gold medal.

"The whole nation is delighted at the good news, which is a result of unity, hard work, strict management and scientific training," the Xinhua news agency quoted Li as saying.

"It is also a fruit of joint efforts by several generations of Chinese winter sports people," he said.

The 25-year-old skater, called Yang Yang (A) to distinguish her from namesake and team mate Yang Yang (S), won the women's short track speedskating 500 metres in Salt Lake City on Saturday.

Her victory ends a decade of frustration for China's winter athletes who had been unable to clinch a gold since competing in the Winter Games since 1992.

In three previous Winter Games, the Chinese won 10 silver medals and 4 bronze medals. Beijing will host the Summer Olympics in 2008.

03:56 02-17-02

Olympics-Ice hockey-U.S. ties Russia; Finland wins

By Alan Crosby

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Herb Brooks was behind the U.S. bench. Mike Eruzione was in the Olympic arena on home soil. Russia was wearing red.

But those were about the only similarities left over from 1980.

Russia and the United States squared off on Saturday for the first time at the Olympics since the Lake Placid Games where Eruzione's semifinal goal gave a bunch of college students a 4-3 win over the vaunted Soviet Union.

This time, the two faced off sporting rosters laden with highly paid NHL stars instead of sociology majors and Red Army sergeants. The result was a game that was just as inspired, though no victor was declared as the two battled to a 2-2 tie.

"It's a little different. 1980 was a bunch of 18- and 19-year-olds and at that time in hockey nobody expected it to happen," said Dallas Stars forward Mike Modano. "We were all glued to our TV sets back then. It's special for us and I'm sure pretty special for Herb to have another chance."

Russia had waited 22 years for a chance to exact its revenge. Now it has to wait a little longer, though maybe no more than a week.

Though the game meant little in terms of winning a medal due to the round-robin format, both teams played as though the Cold War had never thawed.

"The intensity out there was incredible. Both teams really gave it all they had," said U.S. hero Brett Hull, who tied the game with less than five minutes to play.

"You always want to beat the Russians. We're known as a bunch of plumbers so we were just trying to play to their level."

The Americans took the lead six minutes into the second period when St. Louis Blues forward Keith Tkachuk poked a loose puck through the pads of Nikolai Khabibulan during a two-man advantage.

Mike Richter sparkled in goal for the U.S. stopping several good scoring chances until Valeri Bure, on a power play, took Vladimir Malakhov's cross-ice pass and wristed home a high shot past the sliding netminder.

"To most of us the memories from 1980 do not mean much because we hardly remember what happened there," said Bure, who was 5 years old at the time. "But just playing the U.S. team on American soil in front of the packed house is enough to get your blood flowing and it was a big game for us no matter what."

Detroit Red Wings star Sergei Fedorov finally put the Russians ahead 2-1 at 2:06 of the third period when he banged home a rebound from close range.

Both sides then opened up an already wide-open affair with end-to-end rushes that had many fans jumping out of their seats for the last 10 minutes.

Khabibulan showed his All-Star form until Fedorov's Detroit teammate Hull one-timed a pass from Phil Housely to beat the Russian goalie and tie the game.

Though both teams would like to secure top spot in Group D, the three games in this round of the tournament only determine the seedings for the quarterfinals which begin on Wednesday.

The two teams are tied with three points each from two games, but the U.S. leads the group on goal differential.

Finland rebounded from a 6-0 loss to the U.S. as NHL stars Teemu Selanne and Olli Jokinen each scored a pair of goals in an 8-1 whipping of Belarus in the day's other action.

The Finns, who dominated throughout blasting 39 shots at Belarus goalie Andrei Mezin, scored six consecutive goals before Belarus finally got on the board.

Though Group A did not play, Canada made headlines when team director Wayne Gretzky announced Pittsburgh Penguins star Mario Lemieux may not play on Sunday against Germany due to a nagging hip injury.

03:47 02-17-02

Olympics-Short track-Bradbury misses mayhem to take gold

By Steve Keating

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - It's not like short track speedskater Steven Bradbury to avoid trouble but he did on Saturday and it resulted in Australia's first ever Winter Olympics gold medal.

Having been involved in his share of crashes and with the scars to prove it -- including 111 stitches in a wound in 1994 -- Bradbury steered well clear of the mayhem during the 1,000 metres final.

He cruised past the carnage, hands raised in triumph to claim victory and place in Australian Olympic history.

In a wild night that clearly illustrated why short track is described as roller derby on ice, American sensation Apolo Anton Ohno had appeared headed for what was expected to be the first of four gold medals when he became entangled with China's Li Jiajun entering the final corner.

The two skaters lost control, taking down Canada's Mathieu Turcotte and South Korea's Ahn Hyun-Soo in the process.

By the time Bradbury reached the pileup all he had to do was negotiate the four bodies sprawled across the Olympic centre ice to claim the win.

"I just saw a lot of skaters close together, I don't exactly know what happened," said Bradbury. "I just saw them all on the ice and said, 'hang on, this can't be right...I think I won'.

"Obviously I'm feeling excited I won the gold medal but obviously I have mixed feelings about how I won the race. It's a hard one for me at the moment.

"I have the gold medal around my neck but whether I deserve to be in the same place as people who have won gold medals without the luck I had is something I'll have to come to terms with."

STRANGE EVENING

In one of the strangest evenings in short track racing history, it appeared fate and an unbelievable string of events had preordained Bradbury's place in Olympic history.

In each of his races, the 28-year-old Queenslander advanced at the misfortune of others in front of him.

"I went into the race with the tactics of sitting back and waiting for something to happen," admitted Bradbury, who learned the sport from his speedskating father.

"The nature of short track is there are a lot of crashes but to have four guys go down is not really commonplace.

"The quarter-final I went in there and mixed it up but I ran out of legs with a lap to go and the three other guys went by me. But then two of them went down so I got through.

"In the semifinals I was riding at the back hoping for collisions and they all went down.

"It was the same deal in the final.

"Obviously I wasn't the fastest skater out there but those were my tactics and they worked like a charm."

In the rough and tumble world of short track speedskating, Bradbury has led a charmed life.

At a World Cup race in Montreal in 1994 he was cut on his leg and had to have 111 stitches. He lost four litres of blood and would have died if not for the quick medical attention he received.

HEAD FIRST

Then in 2000 he crashed head first into the boards while training, breaking his neck and for a month had to wear a 'halo' bolted into his scull.

"I look at this gold medal like it's a reward for the years of work I've put in," said Bradbury, competing in his fourth and last Olympics. "Obviously I had a lot of luck.

"But I don't think I'll look at this medal as a minute-and-a-half race, I'll take it as a reward for the last decade of the hard slogging I've put in.

"I've had highs and lows. I guess this is the ultimate way to finish, getting a gold medal."

To help support his skating, Bradbury started his own business, designing and manufacturing the special skates used by short trackers.

One of Bradbury's most famous customers is Ohno, who he asked a special favour of before the start of Saturday's race.

"I sent him (Ohno) an e-mail yesterday," explained the Queenslander. "I said, 'if you win a medal could you try and give us a mention."'

03:29 02-17-02

Olympics-Ice hockey-Women's result

PROVO, Utah, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Result of an Olympic ice hockey women's classification match on Sunday:

Russia 0 3 1 - 4

China 1 0 0 - 1

Scorers:

Russia - Larisa Mishina (22:07), Ekaterina Pachkevitch

(24:29), Tatiana Burina (24:49), Tatiana Tsareva (52:05)

China - Yang Xiuqing (1:12)

18:21 02-17-02

Olympics-Ice hockey-Russians differ on IOC figure skating stance

By Gennady Fyodorov

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Opinion in the Russian ice hockey camp has been mixed over the IOC decision to award a second gold medal to Canadian pair Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.

While all the Russian players were fully behind Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, some differences emerged over the IOC's stance.

"All of us were 100 percent behind our skaters," Russia ice hockey head coach Vyacheslav Fetisov told Reuters following his team's 2-2 draw against the United States on Saturday.

"When this controversy began I saw them (Yelena and Anton) and I could tell by just looking at their faces how it affected them.

"I told them 'you can't let yourself down, you must remain happy and enjoy your gold medal, you truly deserved it'. I also told them 'how proud we are of the two of you,"' he said.

"My personal opinion is that they deserved their victory because they won on the ice but, as far as the (IOC) decision is concerned, I don't think they should mix politics and sport."

But Fetisov's long-time friend and former team mate, Russia captain Igor Larionov, had a somewhat different view.

Larionov, at 41 the oldest player in the Olympic tournament, said: "It all started a few days ago when I was still in Detroit, playing for the Red Wings and the guys on the team kept asking me about this whole thing.

"Obviously, here in Salt Lake we all live in the village together and we see each other almost every day and, of course, we are very supportive of our skaters, who skated a wonderful programme and they deserved their gold medal."

But he added: "Looking at the circumstances, I think by awarding the second gold medal they (IOC) did the right thing."

The Canadian pair finished second to Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze in Monday's competition but were awarded gold on Friday after the French judge was suspended for misconduct. They will receive their medals in a ceremony on Sunday night.

16:51 02-17-02

Olympics-Speedskating-Witty leaves rivals feeling sick

By Lynda Dugdale

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - American Chris Witty made an extraordinary comeback from a debilitating illness to smash the world 1,000 metres record and win the Olympic title at Salt Lake City Winter Games on Sunday.

Fighting back tears, Witty threw her hands in the air as she crossed the line in one minute, 13.83 seconds.

Her performance, which left previous world record holder Sabine Voelker of Germany 0.13 seconds back in silver, took the sport's world-record tally at the Salt Lake Games to four from six races, with four more events to go.

American Jennifer Rodriguez, a former roller skating champion, produced a personal best by more than four tenths of a second to take the bronze.

Few thought the 26-year-old Witty would recover from a bout of mononucleosis -- an illness causing tiredness and which she contracted late last year -- in time to make an impression at the Salt Lake City Games.

She was scheduled to contest the 500, 1,000 and 1,500 metres but, just days before the opening ceremony, Witty conceded she did not know if she would be up to the challenge.

She said she was taking each training day at a time at the Utah Olympic Oval, taking time off if she felt too tired.

In the circumstances she had not been expected to come close to the world's current top pair of sprinters, Catriona LeMay Doan of Canada and Monique Garbrecht-Enfeldt of Germany.

To make matter worse, Witty was paired with Olympic 500 metres champion LeMay Doan, looking to complete a sprint double in her farewell Olympic race.

The Canadian set the early pace but Witty pushed in the final 400 metres to round the final bend ahead of the Canadian before forging over the line.

LeMay Doan finished an anti-climactic ninth, timing 1:14.72, more than two tenths of a second off her personal best.

Garbrecht-Enfeldt, the world champion over the distance for the past two years, went in the final pair but could only finish sixth.

Voelker, the previous world record holder, also broke her old mark of 1:14.06 -- recorded at the same venue just two-and-a-half months before Salt Lake -- for her second medal of the Games. She won a bronze in the 500.

Witty completed her own medal collection on Sunday after winning the silver medal at the Nagano Olympics four years ago, when she also won a bronze in the 1,500 metres.

The diagnosis of her viral infection explained Witty's sub-par performances through the World Cup season, when she placed no higher than fourth.

22:07 02-17-02

Olympics-Italian outsider upsets Kostelic

By John Mehaffey

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Italian outsider Daniela Ceccarelli deprived Janica Kostelic of a second Olympic title by five-hundredths of a second on Sunday in the second major upset of the women's Olympic Alpine skiing programme.

Ceccarelli's surprise super-G victory over the 20-year-old Croatian was an even bigger shock than Frenchwoman Carole Montillet's victory in the downhill last Tuesday.

In two previous world championships, the Italian had not finished in the top 10 and managed only 20th in the downhill at Snowbasin.

"I just let the skis go," she said in disbelief. "I didn't think it would be enough. I knew I had skied well but I didn't think it would be enough for a medal."

Kostelic, winner of the combined, found herself somewhat bizarrely fielding questions about her possible retirement.

"What a question," she said. "I'm going to ski until I'm 28 if I can make it."

Karen Putzer confirmed Sunday would be a night of celebrations for the Italian Alpine team by taking the bronze.

Earlier Norway held off Italy by three-tenths of a second in the men's 4x10 km cross-country relay in a race that yet again came down to the same two nations.

In the past two Winter Games, one of the pair has taken gold in the relay with a victory margin of less than half a second each time.

FINNS TRIUMPH

"For some reason it always comes down to Norway and Italy in a sprint," said Norwegian anchor Thomas Alsgaard. "It's become a tradition."

The second title of the day decided at Soldier Hollow went to Finland in the Nordic combined 4x5 km cross-country relay.

Samppa Lajunen, who won the Olympic individual title a week ago, anchored the Finns to first place after the two biggest leaps the previous day.

On the middle weekend of the 17-day Games, Norway topped the medals table with eight golds while the backlash had already begun for the more unsuccessful athletes.

The Russian 4x5 km combined team, due to start ninth on Sunday after a poor performance in the ski jumping competition, did not start the event as officials decided to send them home.

A Russian Olympic Committee spokesman said a charter plane was scheduled to leave Salt Lake City on Sunday with some empty seats which would now be filled by the unsuccessful relay team.

"We decided why waste time and money on some athletes who can't compete with the elite," he said.

Canada reacted to indifferent results in the men's Super-G and downhill by firing five coaches.

"We will make a fresh, new start. All of the five coaches' contracts will not be renewed," said Alpine Ski Canada vice-president Nick Wilson.

19:58 02-17-02

Olympics-Medals table on the tenth day of competition

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Medals table on the tenth day of competition at the Winter Olympics on Sunday:

Gold Silver Bronze Total

1. Norway 8 5 0 13

2. Germany 6 10 6 22

3. U.S. 4 7 7 18

4. Russia 4 4 2 10

5. Italy 3 2 2 7

6. Switzerland 3 1 2 6

7. Finland 3 1 1 5

8. France 2 3 1 6

9. Netherlands 2 2 0 4

10. Canada 2 0 3 5

11. Spain 2 0 0 2

12. Austria 1 3 9 13

13- Croatia 1 1 0 2

13- South Korea 1 1 0 2

15. China 1 0 2 3

16. Estonia 1 0 1 2

17. Australia 1 0 0 1

18- Bulgaria 0 1 2 3

18- Sweden 0 1 2 3

20- Japan 0 1 1 2

20- Poland 0 1 1 2

22. Czech Republic 0 0 1 1

Note: Two golds, no silver awarded in the figure skating

pairs programme

Two silvers, no bronze awarded in men's

cross-country combined pursuit.

21:55 02-17-02

Olympics-Ice hockey-Russians differ on IOC figure skating stance

By Gennady Fyodorov

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Opinion in the Russian ice hockey camp has been mixed over the IOC decision to award a second gold medal to Canadian pair Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.

While all the Russian players were fully behind Yelena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, some differences emerged over the IOC's stance.

"All of us were 100 percent behind our skaters," Russia ice hockey head coach Vyacheslav Fetisov told Reuters following his team's 2-2 draw against the United States on Saturday.

"When this controversy began I saw them (Yelena and Anton) and I could tell by just looking at their faces how it affected them.

"I told them 'you can't let yourself down, you must remain happy and enjoy your gold medal, you truly deserved it'. I also told them 'how proud we are of the two of you,"' he said.

"My personal opinion is that they deserved their victory because they won on the ice but, as far as the (IOC) decision is concerned, I don't think they should mix politics and sport."

But Fetisov's long-time friend and former team mate, Russia captain Igor Larionov, had a somewhat different view.

Larionov, at 41 the oldest player in the Olympic tournament, said: "It all started a few days ago when I was still in Detroit, playing for the Red Wings and the guys on the team kept asking me about this whole thing.

"Obviously, here in Salt Lake we all live in the village together and we see each other almost every day and, of course, we are very supportive of our skaters, who skated a wonderful programme and they deserved their gold medal."

But he added: "Looking at the circumstances, I think by awarding the second gold medal they (IOC) did the right thing."

The Canadian pair finished second to Berezhnaya and Sikharulidze in Monday's competition but were awarded gold on Friday after the French judge was suspended for misconduct. They will receive their medals in a ceremony on Sunday night.

16:51 02-17-02

Olympics-Short track-China,Australia speed to first Winter golds

By Steve Keating

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - The Chinese and Australian anthems were heard for the first time at a Winter Olympics on Saturday when Yang Yang (A) powered her way to victory in the short track speedskating 500 metres and Steven Bradbury avoided a last lap pileup to take the 1,000 metres.

Yang Yang's victory ends a decade of frustration for China's winter athletes, who only began competing in the Winter Olympics in 1992.

In three previous Winter Games, China had captured 14 medals but never managed to place a competitor on top of the podium.

Australia can count only three medals from Winter Games and Bradbury figures in two of them having also been a member of the short track relay team that took bronze at the 1994 Lillehammer Games.

"For me my dream has come true and for my country it is the first gold medal for the Winter Olympics," said Yang Yang (A), the letter added to distinguish her from team mate Yang Yang (S).

"I don't know what it means, but it has been a dream for the past few generations so I'm really happy that we achieved this goal today."

China's gold medal drought was expected to end on Wednesday in the 1,500 metres but the jinx continued when Yang Yang (S) crashed just laps from the finish and Yang Yang (A) struggled across the line in fourth.

Yang Yang (A) has dominated the sport in recent years winning the last five world titles but at the 1998 Nagano Games failed to win an individual medal and nearly retired from the sport.

YANG NEVER CHALLENGED

In the final, Yang Yang surged to the lead and was never seriously challenged taking the gold ahead of Bulgaria's Evgenia Radanova and compatriot Wang Chunlu.

"Before the race I had a lot of pressure but I just told myself to do my best," said Yang. "The 1,500 metres was like a nightmare for me.

"Before the 500 metres I told myself, "I am Yang Yang (A)" and to race like I did before."

The men's 1,000 metre final provided a clear explanation of why the sport of short track has been described as roller derby or stock-car racing on ice.

Badly trailing the five man final, Bradbury cruised across the line hands raised in triumph as four other skaters lay sprawled on the ice 20 metres behind him.

Ironically, Bradbury won the semifinal the same way -- everyone ahead of him wiped out.

"In the semifinals I was riding on back hoping for collisions and they all went down.... It was the same deal in the final," Bradbury said.

OHNO WIPES OUT

American sensation Apolo Anton Ohno had appeared headed for the gold when he became entangled with China's Li Jiajun entering the final corner.

The two skaters lost control, taking down Canada's Mathieu Turcotte and South Korea's Ahn Hyun-Soo in the process. After a review of the race by the judges Ohno was awarded the silver and Turcotte the bronze.

Ohno received six stitches for a cut on his left leg in the crash and Turcotte was sliced across his buttock but both skaters say they will race on Tuesday.

"I just saw a lot of skaters close together, I don't exactly know what happened," said Bradbury. "I just saw them all on the ice and said, "hang on, this can't be right...I think I won."

"I'm feeling excited I won the gold medal but obviously I have mixed feeling about how I won the race.... I wasn't the fastest skater out there but those were my tactics and they worked like a charm."

01:38 02-17-02