2012/2013 Winter Sports Thread

[Smallville22]

Cross-Country Skiing World Championships

Olsson takes remarkable gold in Val di Fiemme

Johan Olsson produced one of the greatest solo performances in the history of the Nordic World Ski Championships to win the final event of the 2013 edition in Val di Fiemme.
The 32-year-old headed into the closing event in Italy the 50km classic mass start having climbed the podium in both of the cross country skiing events he had entered.
However neither of those trips were to collect gold as Olsson had to settle for silver behind Peter Northug in the 15km freestyle and Norway again in the men's relay.
But it was a case of third time lucky for Olsson as the curtain came down on the Nordic World Ski Championships with the Swedish skier producing one of the greatest performances ever.
Olsson broke away just after the 10km mark being joined in doing so by Dario Cologna however he was to escape the Swiss skier with 30km left to go after a fall saw him gobbled by the pack.
Between the 20.5km and 22.9km marks Olsson had built a lead of 26 seconds, which he somehow maintained all by himself to win by just shy of 13 ahead of Cologna.
Olympic 50km classic bronze medallist Olsson effectively went a remarkable 30km all by himself with the rest of the field unable to reel him in as he clocked a winning time of 2:10:41.4hours.
There were expectations that Cologna would catch him up but he couldn't as he finished 12.9seconds behind for silver while Alexey Poltoranin claimed bronze another 3.9 further adrift.
That marked Olsson's first World Championship title and also Sweden's first in the 50km classic mass start since Torgny Mogren's victory in Falun 20 years ago in 1993.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Cup

Moravec beats Fourcade for first World Cup win of career

Ondrej Moravec prevented a second Martin Fourcade victory in Oslo in the mass start as the Czech Republican claimed his first ever biathlon World Cup win.
The 28-year-old missed just one target in the range on his way to a winning time of 39:48.7minutes with Fourcade unable to catch him in the dying stages.
Fourcade, who won the pursuit in Oslo, had to make do with second 13.7seconds back after three penalties while German Erik Lesser trailed by 16.8 overall but took third.
And, while he hadn't yet claimed a World Cup win, Moravec was confident he could hold off the charge of World Cup leader Fourcade at the death.
"That was perfect for me; my first victory it is like a dream come true. I tried to enjoy it all. This has been a great season for our team and I think it will continue," he said.
"I was a little tired at the beginning, but then I found some energy on the last hills. I was confident I could hold Martin off."
Fourcade led Moravec by over seven seconds heading into the final shoot but, having gone clear up until that point, he missed two targets in the range to surrender the lead.
He is still very much the World Cup champion elect with a lead of 261 points at the top and five races left this season with Fourcade gracious in defeat in Oslo.
"He was really strong on the last loop. I really felt good on my skis, except in the last loop. My mind wanted it but my legs did not want it; it was hard to bring them together," he said.
"I take a lot of pleasure on my skis in training and the races. It is never hard for me to go out there. I am a happy man."

 

[Smallville22]

Swiss exit good for possible Munich 2022 Games

Munich's chances of landing the 2022 winter Olympics should the Bavarian capital bid again have improved by the rejection of a Swiss bid, the German's Olympic Committee said on Monday.
Munich was squarely beaten by South Korea's Pyeongchang for the 2018 Winter Olympics and has yet to decide whether to run again.
But with Russia's Sochi hosting the 2014 Winter Games, Munich could have a good shot at bringing the Games back to central Europe.
A planned Swiss candidacy of Davos and St Moritz was rejected by local citizens in a referendum on Sunday. There has been no official bid from any country. Poland and Ukraine are eyeing a joint bid.
"The competition for the Winter Games 2022 has eased considerably (with the Swiss exit)," said DOSB General Director Michael Vesper in reaction to the referendum in the canton of Graubuenden.
"This will be positively considered by the DOSB when taking a decision. This decision shows how important the involvement of citizens is."
Munich's bid for 2018 was hampered by local opposition in Garmisch-Partenkirchen where the skiing events would be held. The Green party also officially opposed Munich's 2018 bid over environmental concerns, dealing it a major political blow.
"That is why the DOSB has made this (citizens' involvement) a condition for any potential new bid."
Vesper said a final decision would be taken after general elections in Germany in September and an International Olympic Committee vote for the 2020 summer Games host city in the same month.
"If there is a decision after that for Munich to bid again then there will be a referendum on November 10," he said.

 

[Smallville22]

Freestyle World Ski Championships

Wise wins gold in Oslo

David Wise finally claimed Freestyle World Ski Championship gold at the third attempt in the halfpipe as Virginie Faivre won back her title in Oslo.

Wise, who finished fourth in 2011 and 2009, did enough with his first run to top the podium at long last, his effort of 96.2 proving unbeatable in Norway.
Torin Yater-Wallace came close with an effort of 95.6, also on his first run, but his second outing was worth just 31.6 as he settled for silver.
Wise could only manage 86.8 on his second outing however no one bettered his first run score as he took the first of two gold medals on offer in Oslo.
It continues and fine season for the 22-year-old who successfully defended the superpipe title he won for the first time at Winter X Games last year in January.
And it also completed an American one-two in the men's halfpipe with Thomas Krief also breaking into the 90s and ending with a best of 94.2 for bronze.
Krief was the only skier to score 90-plus on both his runs, producing an effort of 93.6 first time out however he couldn't improve on it enough on run two.
Britain's two representatives Murray Buchan and Peter Speight didn't make it beyond qualifying with the former placing 18th overall and the latter 23rd.

Meanwhile Faivre won the other gold medal on offer as she came from behind to retain the women's halfpipe title she won for the first time in Inawashiro in 2009.
She placed third behind Anais Caradeux and Ayana Onozuka after the first run with an effort of 79.4 to their 80.6 and 80.4 respectively.
Faivre responded by posting 83.8 second time out with Caradeux nor Onozuka managing to better their own first-run efforts let alone the Swiss skiers second.
Caradeux posted 76.8 but her first effort saw her claim silver while Onozuka scored 78.8 but likewise her opening run was better as she took bronze.
Again Britain didn't have anyone in the final but Emma Lonsdale was the highest of those that competed after ranking 15th while teammate Rowan Cheshire was 17th.

 

[Smallville22]

Speed Skating - Horsepool excited at World Short Track Speed Skating Championships British contingent

Performance director Stuart Horsepool wants one last push from Britain's seven-strong squad at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, which begin in Hungary on Friday.
World Cup 1000m champion and two-time European gold medallist Elise Christie heads up the British team in Debrecen and is one of four set to compete individually.
She will join Charlotte Gilmartin, who won 1500m bronze at the Europeans in January, Jon Eley and Paul Stanley in doing so with their World Cup performances this season making them eligible.
Eley and Stanley will also take to the ice in the men's 5000m relay with Jack Whelbourne and Richard Shoebridge, while Joshua Cheetham will act as the reserve.
The men's relay team reached three finals during the World Cup season while two-time Olympian Eley was a best of fifth, Gilmartin a best of sixth and Stanley a best of seventh.
And, with less than a year until the Sochi 2014 Olympics, British short track speed skating performance director Horsepool, is excited by what he sees in the squad.
"The team has had a good season so far this year and I was especially pleased with the team's performance at the World Cup in Sochi at the Olympic test event," said Horsepool.
"We have had 22 top-eight finishes from a number of different skaters at World Cups this season, which just shows the depth of talent we have going into World's and beyond in Sochi 2014.
"This year we have seen several of our skaters really coming into their own and thriving in competition against some of the best athletes in the world, which is very exciting.
"Short track will always be unpredictable sport though, so this year we have been strongly focused on performance and developing race skills over medals targets, because the more experience they can take into Sochi, the better."

 

[Smallville22]

Freestyle Skiing - Canadian ****** threatens lawsuit over ski cross racer's death

The ****** of Canadian ski cross racer Nik Zoricic has threatened to sue the International Ski Federation and Alpine Canada if they refuse to launch an independent investigation into his death by mid-June.
Zoricic died last March after suffering fatal head injuries when he crashed near the finish area during a World Cup race in Grindelwald, Switzerland, and the lawyer representing his ****** dismissed an inquiry by Swiss authorities as "incompetent."
Tim Danson said FIS and Alpine Canada have until June 15 to undertake an investigation or face legal action the next day.
"FIS and Alpine Canada can either choose to be part of the process - part of the solution - or they can continue to bury their heads in the snow," Danson said during a news conference on Wednesday alongside Zoricic's ******, ****** and ******.
"We are bending over backwards to avoid such an outcome, but the resolve of the Zoricic ****** to honour and protect their son's memory should not be underestimated."
The FIS has no immediate plans to launch an investigation.
"The police report is the basis for the state prosecutor to decide whether any persons shall be charged and brought to court because of negligent homicide," FIS said in a statement.
"The report says that the accident was not caused by a fault of any person. However the state prosecutor has not issued his decision yet and until this time we have no further comment to the investigation carried out by the state here in Switzerland."
Alpine Canada said it is too soon to discuss whether they will launch an investigation given a need for more information than the interim report released by Swiss police last December.
"Alpine Canada is disappointed that a final report, which it would like to have the opportunity to thoroughly review, has still not been published," Alpine Canada President Max Gartner said in a statement.
"With respect to calls for a separate, independent investigation, we continue to await the publication of the final Swiss police report and look forward to reviewing the investigation's findings."
The investigation by Swiss police called the death a freak accident.
But Danson said the police report was intended to protect powerful interests in Switzerland and one that distorts the truth by placing the blame on Zoricic.
Zoricic, who raced on the World Cup circuit for over three years and finished eighth in the 2011 world championships, died after landing wide right off the final jump on the course.
Danson called upon Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper to help get an investigation started and described the final jump as a "death trap" that ****** skiers out of bounds. He said the course was poorly ******* and used the wrong safety fences.
During the news conference Zoricic's ****** flipped through a series of photos showing his son and two other skiers leaving the final jump on target but landing near the boundary line.
The Zoricic ****** has maintained an earlier promise to remove all legal options from the table in exchange for an independent and transparent investigation.

 

[Smallville22]

Freestyle World Ski Championships

Kearney back on top after eight year absence

Hannah Kearney became just the second woman in history to claim two world mogul titles as the American re-visited the top step of the Freestyle World Ski Championships podium after an eight-year absence.

The Olympic moguls champion headed to Voss-Myrkdalen, Norway, in fine form – sitting atop the World Cup rankings.
And having been ****** to settle for silver in 2011 in Deer Valley behind Canadian Jennifer Hall, Kearney looked hellbent on re-claiming the world title she last held back in 2005.
And the 27-year-old did exactly that, holding off the challenge of Japan's Miki Ito and Canadian Justine Dufour-Lapointe who finished second and third respectively, to claim her second world title, a feat only matched by Norway's Kari Traa when she won back to back gold medals in 2001 and 2003.
Meanwhile, Great Britain's Ellie Koyander finished 37th in the women's event.

In the men's event the World Cup leader was also victorious as Mikael Kingsbury of Canada upgraded his bronze from 2011 to gold this time around.
The 20-year-old has a commanding lead over compatriot Alex Bilodeau in the World Cup and it was a similar story in Norway as Kingsbury won gold and Bilodeau was ****** to settle for silver – the same colour he ended up with in Deer Valley.
Meanwhile, American Patrick Deneen, who won the title in 2009, won bronze this time around.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Cup

Domracheva wins in Sochi, Berger takes Crystal Globe

Darya Domracheva produced one of the best performances of the biathlon World Cup season in the opening event on the Olympic course in Sochi as Tora Berger claimed her second Crystal Globe.
Belarusian Domracheva, the 81st competitor to start the 15km individual, raced into the lead at 1.2km mark before building a cushion of almost nine seconds after her first clear shoot. Her advantage then became over 48 seconds as she shot clear again second time in the range while by the third, which again was perfect, the 26-year-old led by almost a minute-and-a-half. She relinquished the lead after missing two targets on her fourth and final shoot however her ski speed was such that she made up the near 17-second deficit on Olga Zaitseva to win by almost 35. Domracheva clocked 45:45.2minutes with Zaitseva, who shoot completely clear, tiring over the final kilometres and coming home in second, 34.6seconds behind in total. Berger, the 15th starter, set the early pace and was leading for a period of time after posting a time 46.8 seconds slower than that of flying Belarusian Domracheva but had to settle for third. Still third place was enough for Berger, who claimed the overall World Cup title last weekend, to take the individual Crystal Globe with two wins prior to her third at the Olympic test event in Sochi.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Cup

Fourcade claims Crystal Globes in Sochi

Martin Fourcade staged a remarkable comeback to ensure he claimed the overall biathlon World Cup and individual Crystal Globes in style at the Olympic test event in Sochi.
Fourcade was the champion elect in both heading to Russia and the Olympic host city however it looked like he wouldn't be claiming them from the top step of the podium. For a missed target in his very first shoot in the 20km individual put him on the back foot in 40th and almost a minute behind then leader and French team-mate Jean-Guillaume Beatrix. Fourcade was up to eighth, 40 seconds behind new leader Andreas Birnbacher, after shooting clear second time in the range while a perfect third put him 30 seconds behind the German. The 24-year-old was measured in his last shoot, going clear to reduce the deficit to 16 seconds before overthrowing Birnbacher to win by 6.9 seconds in 49:40.6minutes. With Emil Hegle Svendsen still struggling with illness and not competing, Fourcade can now no longer be caught in the overall World Cup standings with 1072 points in total. Fourcade won the overall World Cup title for the first time last season while it was also his third victory from three in the individual this season officially giving him Crystal Globe. Birnbacher, who was to shoot 20 out of 20, came to the fore after the second shoot only being edged out by Fourcade's comeback to finish second 6.9seconds behind the Frenchman. Serhiy Semenov was also perfect trailing Birnbacher until just after the third shoot before he was overtaken by Fourcade, the Ukrainian holding onto third 31.9 seconds behind overall.

 

[Smallville22]

Freestyle Skiing - Woods well placed for slopestyle medal

James Woods is well placed to continue his fine season with a maiden medal in the men's slopestyle competition at the Freestyle Ski World Championships in Norway.
Woods is the champion elect in the World Cup series having won two of the three events to have taken place so far this season for a lead of 86 points with one round left. The 21-year-old also took Winter X Games bronze in Aspen in January and produced the second best score in qualification at the World Championships in Voss-Myrkdalen. Woods scored 92.0 on his second run, after posting 85.6 first time out, to place first in heat one ahead of Sweden's Oscar Wester, who produced a best effort of 87.6. However Woods' mark was bettered by Winter X Games champion Nick Goepper with the American scoring 94.2 on his first run to rank first in heat two. Briton Woods and American Goepper were the only two to break the 90-point barrier with Gus Kenworthy placing second in heat two with a score of 86.4. Woods finished eighth in the slopestyle at the World Championships back in 2011 as well as 19th in the halfpipe with the final set for Saturday in Voss-Myrkdalen.

 

[Smallville22]

World Short Track Speed Skating Championships

Park wins back 1500m title at worlds

Elise Christie had to make do with sixth in her first final at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships in Hungary as Korean Park Seung-Hi retained the 1500m title she first won back in 2010.
Christie, who claimed the World Cup title in the 1000m this season, won both her heat and semi-final in the 1500m in Debrecen to reach the final, where she was the only European entrant. However the 22-year-old, who won gold over the distance at the European Championships in January as well as in the 1000m for second overall, couldn't work her way onto the podium. She finished in sixth place in a time of 2:59.703minutes as Park, who won the 1500m, 3000m and overall world title in 2010, took gold ahead of compatriot Shim Suk Hee with Canada’s Marianne St-Gelais claiming bronze. Christie was the only British finalist on the opening day with Charlotte Gilmartin, who won bronze in the 1500m at the European Championships, being penalised in her semi-final. Two-time Olympian Jon Eley didn't make it out of the heats of men's 1500m but Paul Stanley put up a fight to just get edged out at the semi-final stage as Sin Da Woon completed a Korean double. It was also a Korean one-two in both races as Kim Yun-Jae collected silver behind Sin, who clocked a winning time of 2:27.062, with another Canadian in the shape of Charles Hamelin in third. And to complete a fine first day for Korea, their ladies' 3000m relay team was the fastest of the qualifiers out of the semi-finals clocking 4:15.233 with China, Japan Canada and joining them in the medal race.

 

[Smallville22]

Speed Skating World Cup

Lee all-but ladies' 500m World Cup champion

Lee Sang-Hwa lost her unbeaten speed skating World Cup record over 500m this season at the Final in Heerenveen but she's still done enough to all but claim the overall title.
Lee, who opted out of the last round in Erfurt at which China's Beixing Wang did the ladies' 500m double, had to make do with third on her return in the Netherlands. Jenny Wolf did her best to keep the pressure on the Korean skater in the overall standings after clocking 37.77seconds for the win with Wang 0.04 behind in second. Lee was just another 0.01 adrift for third though and, with the final 500m race of the World Cup season coming on Sunday, her lead at the top of the overall standings is likely to be too great. She leads German Wolf by 144 points while the same cannot be said for Jan Smeekens in the men's 500m as he wrapped up that World Cup title with a fifth straight win. He clocked 34.84 for victory on home ice in Heerenveen with Jamie Gregg of Canada second, 0.12 behind, and Dutch teammate Ronald Mulder another 0.08 further adrift in third. Joji Kato's finish of fourth, 0.02 shy of Mulder, benefitted Smeekens with his lead over the Japanese skater now 2004 points and unassailable with just one more World Cup race left on Sunday. Meanwhile the Netherlands were comfortable winners in the ladies' as well as the men's team pursuits to finish top of the overall World Cup standings in both.

 

[Smallville22]

Figure Skating - Davis and White put tantrums on ice

No one would have blamed American ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White if they had thrown a hissy fit and yelled at the top of their lungs that they had been robbed of the 2012 world title.
After all it was a tactic that worked well for Yevgeny Plushenko. Having picked up silver following a wobbly free skate at the 2010 Vancouver Games, the raging Russian went about declaring he was "the true Olympic champion" and promptly received a telegram from then Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declaring "your silver is worth gold."
Yet petulant tantrams are not what Davis and White want to be known for, even if they have every right to feel aggrieved because instead of chasing a hat-trick of world titles in London, Ontario next week, they will be aiming for a second.
"I don't know we could have pulled off Plushenko's attitude," Davis said before dissolving into laughter. "It seems to work for him."
White added: "(Making a fuss) goes against what Meryl and I are as people. We are very competitive people but at the end of the day if we can sit down and look each other in the eye and say we did everything that we could, we're going to be happy and we're not going to feel the need to belittle anyone or disagree publicly with anyone."
Every man, woman and squealing ***** sitting inside Nice's Acropolis Arena last March had thought the Americans eclipsed their friends, rivals, training partners and Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir to win their second successive world title after the Canadians produced a routine which even they described as being littered with "bobbles" and "stumbles."
In comparison Davis and White flew around the ice at a frantic pace for four minutes, seamlessly weaving in dazzling lifts into their dramatic performance to Strauss's Die Fledermaus ('The Bat').
If they needed any confirmation on just how well they did, the prolonged standing ovation from the hollering crowd provided the answer.
Unluckily for Davis and White, and luckily for the Canadians, the judges present in the arena seemed to have temporarily gone deaf and blind.
"In our minds we were champions because of the way we skated," said White, who stands out thanks to his shaggy mop of blond curls.
"You really feel you put your heart out there and you really want people to love your performance so it's hard when you're second best. But you can use that to your advantage, turn it around and come back the next year and that's what we're looking to do.
His 26-year-old partner added: "A great number of people came up to us and complimented us on our skate at the worlds and told us they thought that we deserved to win.
"At the end of the day, all we can control is what we're putting on to the ice ourselves. It's definitely frustrating to come away with anything other than what you were aiming for.
"But after 16 years together as an ice dance team, we learnt there is only so much we can control. Worrying about things that are outside your control, they don't really hurt anyone but yourself. So we focus on what we can control."
'Control' has been their mantra all season as they have not put a skate wrong, winning all four international competitions they have entered with their mesmerising Notre-Dame de Paris free programme.
With less than 12 months to go to the Sochi Winter Games, where Davis and White will be aiming to become the first Americans to win an ice dance Olympic gold, their rivalry with Virtue and Moir has captured the public's imagination.
Performing routines that feature crowd-pleasing lifts, imaginative story-telling and rousing finales, the two North American couples have won every major title between them since Virtue and Moir struck gold on home ice at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
Even the sudden overhaul of their coaching set-up - the couples had been trained by Russians Marina Zueva and Igor Shpilband for years before Shpilband was abruptly fired from their Michigan training base last June - has not thrown Davis and White off course.
Even the prospect of competing in the backyard of their greatest rivals does not pose a threat.
"It's no secret that this year's worlds is being held in Tessa and Scott's backyard which doesn't necessarily go in our favour as they are our closest competitors," said Davis.
"But it is the luck of the draw. While it's not the most favourable location for us, it's not going to hold us back from going for that gold again."
Davis, 25, was quick to point out that they trumped Virtue and Moir the last time they locked horns in Canada, at the Grand Prix final in Quebec City in 2011.
"It's nice sometimes to have a home crowd support you but sometimes it can feel like too much pressure," he said.
"Losing certainly ignites our fire and after what happened last year, it will be helpful to be able to say we are the reigning world champions heading into the Olympic year, especially since Scott and Tessa are the reigning Olympic champions.
"It doesn't hurt to have two world titles instead of one going into the Olympics."

 

[Smallville22]

Freestyle World Ski Championships

Bilodeau takes third straight dual moguls title

Olympic champion Alexandre Bilodeau won a third a successive Freestyle World Ski Championship title in the dual moguls to complete a Canadian double after Chloe Dufour-Lapointe's victory in the ladies' final.

Bilodeau, who won gold in the moguls at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics and took his second successive world title in the non-Olympic dual moguls event in Deer Valley in 2011, exacted revenge on Mikael Kingsbury. Just two days before the dual moguls final in Voss-Myrkdalen, Kingsbury got the better of fellow Canadian Bilodeau in the moguls medal showdown taking gold to his silver with Patrick Deneen winning bronze. The tides were turned in the dual moguls however with American Deneen again settling for bronze after a small final with Per Spett of Sweden although Bilodeau admitted it could have gone either way. "I really was not sure of winning. It was very tight. He was as close as two hundredths of a second on the clock, and it could have played into his favour," said Bilodeau. "You never know with the judges with what happened on Wednesday. I think it would have been able to go to one side or the other, and nobody would have had anything to say. "I did not make little mistakes and I am convinced that this is the same for him. It was not easy for the judges. Wednesday turned to his advantage but now it's my turn. I am happy."

Meanwhile there was much for Canada to celebrate before then as Dufour-Lapointe won the women's dual moguls world title two days after one of her sisters Justine won bronze in the moguls. Chloe beat Miki Ito in the big final while Hannah Kearney, winner of the moguls event on Wednesday, won an all-American small final with Heather McPhie to claim bronze. Britain only had one representative in the dual moguls competitions with Ellie Koyander not making it beyond qualification but placing 23rd after ranking 37th in the moguls.

 

[Smallville22]

Nordic Combined World Cup

Frenzel all but claims World Cup in Lahti

Eric Frenzel claimed his fifth victory of the Nordic combined World Cup season eight days after claiming his second career world title to all but end Jason Lamy Chappuis' vice like iron grip on the overall Crystal Globe.
The 24-year-old German claimed the large hill title at the Nordic World Ski Championships on the last day of February, two years after winning his first global gold in the normal hill in Oslo. And, on his return to the World Cup circuit in Lahti, Frenzel came from fourth to first to effectively seal the Crystal Globe and end Frenchman Lamy Chappuis' run of three successive overall victories. Frenzel clocked an overall winning time of 24:48.2minutes, 10.1seconds ahead of Akito Watabe with his Japanese teammate Taihei Kato another 2.8 further adrift in third and Lamy Chappuis 16th. The German now leads Lamy Chappuis by 186 points with only 200 more on offer from the final two events of the season in Oslo, the first in a week's time and the second following a day later. Frenzel placed fourth after the ski jumping phase after scoring 129.1 points for a nine-second deficit from Haavard Klemetsen, who took the lead with an effort of 131.3. Kato ranked second two seconds behind while another Japanese competitor, Yoshito Watabe, was third another five back with Lamy Chappuis 17th overall with a score of 110.3. Frenzel comfortably made up the margin to win by 10.1 seconds ahead of Akito Watabe who jumped up from eighth and a deficit of 38 seconds after the jumping to second with Kato third. Yoshito Watabe dropped to fourth and Klemetsen to sixth with Lamy Chappuis unable to prevent Frenzel from running away with the overall lead as he improve just one place to 16th.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Ligety seals World Cup title with giant slalom win

American Ted Ligety won the Kranjska Gora giant slalom for a fifth time on Saturday to secure the World Cup in the discipline.
It was the triple world champion's fifth giant slalom crystal globe and the victory on the Podkoren slope, one of his favourites on the circuit, was his fifth of the season.
With a combined time of two minutes and 35.43 seconds, Ligety was 0.45 ahead of Austrian Marcel Hirscher while up-and-coming Frenchman Alexis Pinturault was third, 0.77 off the pace.
"I had an awesome season but to win here is a real cool feeling," said Ligety, who handled the conditions perfectly as it rained heavily for most of the second leg.
Only fourth after the first run, Hirscher raised his game in the afternoon to widen the gap on his nearest rival, Aksel Lund Svindal, in the overall Word Cup standings.
The Norwegian fared finished sixth, 1.30 seconds behind Ligety, but now lies 69 points behind Hirscher overall.
With a slalom scheduled on Sunday, Hirscher has the opportunity to increase his lead further before the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide next week.

 

[Smallville22]

Cross-Country Skiing World Cup

Randall and Joensson win sprint World Cup titles in Lahti

Kikkan Randall defended her cross-country skiing World Cup sprint title as Emil Joensson won the third of his career with two races remaining after victories in Lahti.
Randall won a photo finish with Marit Bjoergen to secure her second successive title in the ladies' race while Joensson broke clear of the field on the home straight to win the men's.
With two sprint races left this season, neither can now be caught with Swede Joensson 230 points ahead of American Andrew Newell, who didn't make it out of the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile Randall is 208 points ahead of Justyna Kowalczyk, who failed to advance beyond the semi-finals, and her immediate feeling at retaining the World Cup sprint title was one of relief.
"If the finishing line was another five metres away it would have been really close but I am glad I hung in there," said Randall.
"It [winning the sprint World Cup title] is a huge relief and I can go on to the next few races and really enjoy it and have fun. It is a great honour to win it."
Joensson finished eighth in the sprint World Cup standings last season but was overjoyed to have kept the crown in Swedish hands with Teodor Peterson victorious 12 months ago.
"I felt good all day and I had really good skis. It was really tight coming down into the stadium area and high speed and everyone packs together," said Joensson.
"I tried to focus and see where the other guys were and hoped nothing bad happened. In the final I got a bad start and I was behind the leaders. It was tough but I am so happy."
Riikka Sarasoja-Lilja was the early leader in the women's sprint final while Bjoergen came to the fore on the climb however Randall was never far away.
It was clear her and Bjoergen would battle it out at the finish with the American leading the triple Olympic champion into the final straight.
Bjoergen kicked in an attempt to edge out Randall at the line but, despite her efforts, it came to no avail as the American won the lunge after a photo finish.
Randall's time of 2:41.84minutes was just 0.07seconds better than that of Bjoergen while Alena Prochazkova took third place, 1.26 behind in total.
The men's sprint final was far tighter however Ola Vigen Hattestad and Joensson were at the front as the raced entered the final metres in Lahti.
And at the very start of the final straight Joensson skipped around Hattestad and powered his way to victory by 0.72 with Finn Haagen Krogh in third.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Fenninger wins Ofterschwang giant slalom

Austria's Anna Fenninger claimed victory in the women's Alpine ski World Cup giant slalom on Saturday.
The 23-year-old Austrian, winner of a super-G in Garmisch-Partenkirchen a week ago, triumphed again with a combined time of two minutes 29.39 seconds.
Fastest in the morning leg, the former super-combined world champion left World Cup leader Tina Maze 0.44 seconds adrift, but the Slovenian added another record to her haul by earning her eighth podium place in succession in the discipline.
Maze is now on a record 2,154 points in the overall World Cup standings and will be aiming at the formidable 2,500-point barrier in the World Cup finals in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, next week.
German Olympic champion Viktoria Rebensburg was third in Saturday's race, 0.96 behind.
Finn Tanja Poutiainen, a former Olympic silver medallist, pulled out after hurting her knee in the morning run. Doctors suspected torn cruciate ligaments and Poutiainen will miss the Lenzerheide finals.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Cup

Fourcade takes World Cup win in Sochi

Martin Fourcade is laying down a marker ahead of next year's Olympics after taking a second successive World Cup victory and another Crystal Globe at the test event in the host city of Sochi.
The 24-year-old wrapped up two Crystal Globes on the first day of racing in Russia battling back to win the 20km individual for not only that discipline's World Cup title but the overall one as well.
And, with the 10km sprint next up in Sochi, Fourcade once again romped to a dominant victory, his second in the discipline this season, to get his hands on another Crystal Globe.
Fourcade was perfect in his two trips to the range, and after a steady start, he powered his way around the last leg to record a winning time of 25:17.3 minutes.
That meant Fourcade was the first man to win two World Cup sprint races this season and also saw him successfully defend the discipline title he won last term.
Evgeny Ustyugov had given the Russian crowd hope of a victory in Sochi after coming home in first with just one missed target in the range however that was before Fourcade crossed the finish line.
Ustyugov started before Fourcade and took the lead after the first shoot and, despite a drop after a miss on his second trip to the range, the Russian battled back.
However it was not enough for victory as Fourcade bettered him after the first shoot for the lead with Ustyugov's time eventually placing him 42.3 seconds behind in second.
The next four athletes were perfect like Fourcade with Henrik L'Abee-Lund the best of them as he finished in third 51seconds adrift of the French winner in total.

 

[Smallville22]

Bobsleigh - Miracle comeback sees Shone win British bobsleigh bronze

Serita Shone completed her remarkable comeback from a fractured spine to claim a bronze medal in the British Bobsleigh Championships in Igls, Austria.
Shone suffered a double fracture of the spine after crashing in a training run for the British Championships at Winterberg in October 2011.
"I shed a tear before the race. I was so proud to make it to the start line of my first race," she told BBC Sport.
"I've had a whirlwind of a year trying to get back to being competitive at an elite level. I'm really happy."
Shone, 23, finished third with Sian Huxtable in the two-woman event, with Vicky Olaoye/Sarah Adams winning gold and Deni Milner/Jo Nightingale silver.
She was ****** to change roles from brakewoman to pilot as a result of her accident, which was so severe that there were fears she would never walk again.
The damage to the L1 and L2 sections of her spine shifted it 15mm - anything more than 5mm usually results in paralysis.
"Sian has been so supportive coming out here to partner me and she ran really well on the back of the bobsleigh,” added Shone.
"To be on the podium in my first British Championships as a novice driver with only a handful of runs makes me really pleased."
She is unlikely to qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, but harbours hopes of making it to the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Reflecting on the accident to The Guardian last year, she described it thus: "It was like someone had stuck a hot pipe, a massive burning pipe, right through the middle of me.
"I somehow held on to the bob and thank God I did because if I'd let go I would've ended up horribly mangled. I remember screwing my eyes and my face into the tightest ball because, as I clung on for dear life, I didn't know what else to do with the pain.
"I couldn't scream. I was so winded I could hardly breathe. Once the bob came to a standstill I flopped backwards. I thought that was strange. I tried to speak to Fiona [Harrison], who'd been driving, but she was ***********. I couldn't move or talk. I could just let out noises. I can't even describe them. I'll call them wails. Wails of pain.
"The floodlights were right above us. I stared into them and I was aware of turning numb and cold and hot all at the same time. Finally, people stood over us. I couldn't see who they were as it was a mixture of bright lights and dark faces.
"The commotion started and I thought how long it had taken them to reach me. It was probably no more than a minute – but it felt like an hour."