2012/2013 Winter Sports Thread

[Smallville22]

Bobsleigh - Tasker can't see any change to Britain's No.1 four-man sled

Bruce Tasker is adamant the British four-man bobsleigh team that finished just shy of a medal at the World Championships will remain unchanged for next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Tasker joined ****** with Joel Fearon and Stuart Benson to push pilot John Jackson at the World Championships in St Moritz back in February as they finished 0.07sconds off third in fifth.
That marked an improvement of five places from the quartet's first World Championships last year while as a four they claimed four top-six finishes on the World Cup during the season.
Andrew Matthews, Ben Simons, Jim Galvin and Henry Nwume, who earned selection for Vancouver 2010, all also featured in Jackson's British No.1 four-man sled during the World Cup season.
Tasker welcomes the competition, which continues to grow with sprinter Craig Pickering partnering Jackson in the two-man last season, but believes the four from the worlds won't be changed.
"I don't think the GB squad has ever been as strong. There is so much depth in it at the moment and I think we are really solid as a crew and we work really well together," said Tasker.
"I don't see the team changing much at the moment but we always welcome healthy competition, we relish it and I think we are the kind of guys who would take any competition as it spurs us on.
"I think we are in a really strong position, we have a good plan about how we are going to ****** the Games but it's an exciting time to already be looking forward to the Olympics.
"I think we have a great team behind us working on all aspects and it's great to see all avenues being explored and I can't wait to see it all unfold.
"Personally, I can only commit entirely and wholly. I'm in a really good position where I don't have to work for a living so this will be my first year of professional sport so I can really concentrate on it.
"And I'm looking forward to absolutely throwing myself into this and utilising all the facilities we have at our disposal and making sure that come the Olympics I am the best guy for the job."

 

[Smallville22]

Bobsleigh - Walker hoping to shake off effects of crash

British bobsledder Paula Walker has a chip on shoulder following a crash last season, but is hoping to shake it off in style.
Since finishing 11th in the two-woman event at the 2010 Vancouver Games alongside Kelly Thomas, Walker has gone from strength to strength, becoming world junior champion in 2011 with Rebekah Wilson.
And even though she switched partners again a year later – this time to Gillian Cooke – Walker has continued to shine, the duo finishing seventh at the 2012 World Championships.
In fact the pair had improved so much that in January this year they were on course for their first World Cup podium finish as they sat third after the first run, only for a crash in the second run to ruin all that.
To make matters worse both Walker and Cooke picked up injuries as a result of their sled turning upside down and limped to the end of the campaign, finishing 14th at the World Championships a month later.
But the 26-year-old insists she is ready to put all that behind her as she prepares to prove her worth to her partner Cooke and the rest of the world this year.
"The highlight and the low point was the crash in Altenburg as we came last but when we crashed we were in bronze position so we must take that as a positive as well," said Walker.
"My injury got me down, I'll be honest, and the results started to deteriorate and obviously our start went downhill and that took a huge toll on myself and Gill because I felt responsible.
"I have completely put the World Championships in the bin and I've taken every positive that I can but its not the result we deserved or wanted so now I’m looking forward to the next season.
"My self-belief and Gill's is the same, we think we have the ability to be there and that's not necessarily saying we will be there but the good thing is that I think we’ve been written off by a lot of the other nations and now we can use the summer to readjust and get ourselves as physically fit as we can be and then world domination here we come.
"I need to make sure that I'm concerned with what only concerns me, I get myself in a mess sometimes because I get involved in things which do not matter, I just need to control the controllable which is me, getting up to do my training to make sure I am physically the best in the World."
British Bobsleigh has never looked healthier on both the men's and women's side, with youngsters Mica McNeill and Jazmin Sawyers following in Walker's footsteps by winning silver at the 2012 Winter Youth Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria.
But with the 2014 Winter Olympics on the horizon, Walker is not about to surrender to the young upstarts.
"It's brilliant because there are people who are going to be nipping at my ankles very soon and it's a great place to be knowing that I can’t just rest because I'm Paula Walker because whose Paula Walker really," she added.
"So the young ones are always going to be there and once I've gone I can watch TV and I can think about the successful programme I've left behind because there is such strength and depth there."

 

[Smallville22]

Men's Curling World Championships

Brewster: Scotland back on track at World Championships

Tom Brewster hailed skip David Murdoch's steely nerve as he pulled off a precision shot to put Scotland back on track at the World Championships.
Brewster knew his rink needed a response, following their defeat to defending champions Canada, if they are to have a chance of upgrading the silvers they won in 2011 and 2012 this year.
And wins over the Czech Republic and Switzerland kept them in a tie for second in the overall standings, after five of their 11 round robin matches.
Murdoch brushed aside the Czech Republic 7-3 but was made to fight all the way against Sven Michel's Switzerland.
In the ninth end, Murdoch played a bold double take-out to score three points for an 8-5 lead and the Scots went on to win by 8-6.
"That was a big shot but it was worth going for," said third Brewster.
"If we miss, we give up one and are coming home trying to get a two with the hammer. We felt pretty comfortable being in that position so it was worth going for and we got it right. It was a whole team effort."
Scotland now face matches against winless Russia and the USA, who have won just one in five, on Tuesday.
"I'm pleased, especially how we played against the Czechs," said Murdoch.
"We came on with a lot of energy and were really firing from the start. We just really bossed the game from start to finish. That was really great to see from the guys."

Draw #8

Denmark - Norway 7 - 5

Canada - USA 7 - 2

Switzerland - Scotland 6 - 8

Japan - Finland 5 - 6

Draw #7

China - Russia 6 - 3

Finland - Norway * 4 - 7

Sweden - Czech Republic 7 - 4

Canada - Switzerland 7 - 2

Standings

1 Canada 5-0

2 China 4-1

2 Scotland 4-1

2 Sweden 4-1

5 Denmark 3-2

5 Norway 3-2

7 Czech Republic 2-3

7 Switzerland 2-3

9 Finland 1-4

9 Japan 1-4

9 USA 1-4

12 Russia 0-5

 

[Smallville22]

Men's Curling World Championships

Canada lose for first time, Scotland still looking good

Hosts Canada lost their unbeaten record at the World Men's Curling Championship in Victoria when they dropped to a 6-4 defeat to the Czech Republic.
Czech skip Jiri Snitil played a triple take-out on two Canadian stones in the 10th end to seal a famous victory for his country.
"That feels very, very good," Snitil said. "In the first half we had a couple of lucky breaks and made some saving shots, otherwise we would have probably given up a big number and it would have been a totally different story.
"Beating one of the best teams in the world...it's superb."
The Czechs could not keep their momentum going in the afternoon session though, losing to Denmark 6-5.
Despite defeat, defending champions Canada still top the standings with a 5-1 record.
They are joined at the summit by Scotland, who beat Russia 6-4 after Andrey Drozdov's team had registered their first ever victory at the worlds with a 7-6 win over Finland in the morning session.
Scottish skip David Murdoch proved too good in the 10th end against the Russians as he claimed a fifth win of the week to match Canada's efforts so far.
"We're doing a lot of things right now," Murdoch said. "It was a big turning point in the fifth end, we took a three and we never looked back from there."

Draw #9

Czech Republic 6-4 Canada

Sweden 9-8 Switzerland

Finland 6-7 Russia 7

China 4-5 Norway 5

Draw #10

Japan 10-8 Sweden 8 (extra end)

Russia 4-6 Scotland 6

China 8-10 USA

Czech Republic 5-6 Denmark

Standings

1. Canada 5-1

2. Scotland 5-1

3. Sweden 5-2

4. Norway 4-2

5. Denmark 4-2

6. China 4-3

7. Czech Republic 3-4

8. Switzerland 2-4

9. Japan 2-4

10. USA 2-4

11. Finland 1-5

12. Russia 1-6

 

[Smallville22]

Men's Curling World Championships

Murdoch frustrated after World Curling defeat

Scottish skip David Murdoch was left frustrated after he slumped to a surprise defeat at the World Championships.
The two-time world champion had been taken to the final end before beating winless Russia 6-4 and looked on course for a similar victory over the USA.
With the score tied at 6-6 against American skip Brady Clark, Murdoch had last stone advantage in the tenth end but his final shot sailed wide of the target, gifting the USA a two-point steal and an 8-6 win.
"We bossed the game and didn't get anything from it," said Murdoch.
"It's a bad loss, there's nothing else to say and I hope we don't end up paying the price for it."
Clark, who had lost four of his previous six games, also admitted he got lucky.
"We stole that really, Scotland played really well but they just missed one when it mattered," he said.
The defeat cost Scotland the chance to move level with Canada at the top of the group standings, after the defending champions suffered a surprise first loss in the tournament to the Czech Republic.
Scotland are currently tied for second, with five wins from seven, alongside Sweden and Denmark.
However, they have some of their toughest encounters in their four remaining group matches, with Norway and Sweden their rivals on Wednesday.

Draw # 11

Finland 5, Switzerland 7

Japan 4, Denmark 7

Norway 7, Canada 10

USA 8, Scotland 6

Standings

1. Canada 6-1

2. Sweden 5-2

3. Scotland 5-2

4. Denmark 5-2

5. China 4-3

6. Norway 4-3

7. Czech Republic 3-4

8. Switzerland 3-4

9. USA 3-4

10. Japan 2-5

11. Finland 1-6

12. Russia 1-6

 

[Smallville22]

Curling - Norberg retires, will not defend curling title at Sochi

Sweden's Winter Olympic gold medalist Anette Norberg will not defend her title at Sochi next year, the Swedish Curling Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
Norberg has decided to retire from curling, citing a lack of time and motivation to continue a career that saw her win 23 championship medals over almost 20 years.
Described by the Association as "one of the most successful curling players of all time," Norberg won three world championships and seven European titles in addition to Olympic gold medals in 2006 and 2010.
"Curling has been my life for so many years, so obviously I'm going to miss it a lot," Norberg said in the statement.
"But life as a curling player at elite level is very demanding, and I feel that I lack the time and the dedication necessary."
Despite cementing her place in Swedish sporting history when her team beat Canada in the 2010 final to defend their Olympic title, Norberg was by no means certain of a chance to represent Sweden at the Sochi games next year.
Sweden's curling association has recently preferred to send a team led by Norberg's rival Margaretha Sigfridsson to international competitions.
"Obviously it's sad for the curling world that a profile like Anette has decided to stop playing, but luckily we have other teams that can shoulder her responsibilities," curling association general secretary Stefan Lund said in the statement.
"Anette will not disappear from the curling arena. In some way she will be still here and a part of the exciting journey towards the future that Swedish curling is on."

 

[Smallville22]

Men's Curling World Championships

Scotland beat Norway to move joint top

Scotland’s David Murdoch beat Norway’s Thomas Ulsrud 8-4 to move into joint first place at the World Curling Championships in Victoria, British Columbia.
Scotland had lost to the USA on Tuesday night, with Murdoch delighted at his rink's response.
"We were very disappointed with the loss last night, considering that we dominated the game," said Murdoch.
"For us, it was just a case of taking some of that anger out this morning.
"We were pretty frustrated after that game and we thought we’d really need to get up for this game.
"To put Norway down to four losses was our intention, and to really come out firing - showing that real will to win and showing the form we’re playing, because we’ve been playing really well."
Murdoch moves level with hosts Canada, for whom Brad Jacobs suffered a surprise second defeat of the Championships by going down 10-8 in the extra end to Japan’s Yusuke Morozumi.
Japan had never beaten Canada in five attempts, but scored a pair of three-enders before Jacobs ****** the extra end. Canada now slip to 6-2.
"I personally curled terrible, horrible, handed them two threes all by myself,” Jacobs said.
"When your skip’s curling like that, you’re not going to win many games. I can’t even believe it went to an extra end. Ah, well, that’s curling sometimes."
Other clashes saw Switzerland beat Denmark 7-4 and the USA beat Finland 7-6.
Canada have an opportunity to go it alone at the top with a later encounter with Russia. Switzerland also face China, while the Czechs face Finland and Norway have a Scandinavian derby with Sweden.

 

[Smallville22]

Men's Curling World Championships

Murdoch on track for medal at World Curling

David Murdoch is within touching distance of a guaranteed medal match at the men's curling World Championships in Victoria.
The Scottish skip now sits joint top of the group standings, alongside defending champions Canada, with seven wins from nine matches. Norway were brushed aside 8-4 while Sweden took the two-time world champion the distance, before going down 8-7.
And wins over China and Finland in his rinks' final round robin matches would guarantee a place in the page one v two play-off, which would also secure two bites at making the gold medal match. "We're very happy," said Murdoch. "We have the one-two game in our own hands, and that's great. That's what we really tried to achieve all week. "We have a couple tough games (on Thursday) and we need to win both of those to make the one-two, but if we do that, we'll meet our goal for the round robin and then we're into the hard part of the weekend."

Draw #12:

Norway 4- 8Scotland

USA 7-6 Finland

Denmark 4-7 Switzerland

Japan 10- 8Canada (extra end)

Draw #13:

Canada 8-5 Russia

Switzerland 4 -5 China (extra end)

Czech Republic 9-6 Finland

Norway 6-5 Sweden (extra end).

Draw #14:

USA 8 - 9 Czech Republic

Scotland 8 -7 Sweden

Russia 6 -5 Japan

Denmark 7 -6 China (extra end)

Standings after 14 sessions:

1. Canada 7- 2

= Scotland 7-2

3. Denmark 6-3

4. China 5-4

5. Sweden 5-4

6. Czech Republic 5-4

7. Norway 5-4

8. Switzerland 4-5

9. USA 4-5

10. Japan 3-6

11. Russia 2-7

12. Finland 1-8

 

[Smallville22]

Men's Curling World Championships

Scotland seal play-off place at worlds in Canada

Scotland secured their berth in the page 1-2 play-offs with a 7-4 victory over China on the final day of round-robin play at the World Men's Curling Championship in Canada.
David Murdoch's team went on to wrap up their pool campaign with a 10-9 defeat to Finland, but the Scots had already done enough to ensure their progress in British Columbia.
"That was a solid game, nice and steady," Murdoch said after the early win over China. "We played with a nice calmness today, we didn't need to get over-excited about anything - just play our game and make our shots.
"That's us definitely 1-2 so that feels great. What we need to do now is take that form into the page weekend."
Sweden also gave their prospects a boost with a 7-6 win over Denmark - their sixth victory of the week - while the Czech Republic beat Japan 10-5 to join the Swedes on six wins.
Czech skip Jiri Snitil said: "We’re happy that we’re still in it. We had a couple ends this morning when we were facing four or three and made the shots to get out of it."
But there was disappointment for the US, whose play-off hopes were ended by a 7-5 defeat to Russia. The US went on to beat Norway 9-7 to effectively end their Scandinavians' own medal prospects.

Draw # 15

Sweden 7-6 Denmark

Czech Republic 10-5 Japan

Scotland 7-4 China

Russia 7-5 USA

Draw #16

Switzerland 8-5 Japan

Denmark 5-3 Canada

USA 9-7 Norway

Finland 10-9 Scotland

Standings after 16 sessions:

1. Scotland 8-3

2. Canada 7-3

3. Denmark 7-4

4. Sweden 6-4

4. Czech Republic 6-4

6. Norway 5-5

6. China 5-5

6. Switzerland 5-5

9. USA 5-6

10. Russia 3-7

11. Japan 3-8

12. Finland 2-8

 

[Smallville22]

Men's Curling World Championships

Murdoch needs second chance to make worlds final

Scottish skip David Murdoch suffered a narrow defeat to Sweden in their first attempt to make the final at the men's curling World Championship.
The European champions, skipped by Niklas Edin, edged a 6-5 victory in the final end to win the page one v two play-off and book their place in the gold medal match.
Scotland, who topped the round robin stages, will get another chance to join them when they take on either Denmark or Canada in Saturday's semi-final.
Lose again and the 2011 and 2012 silver medallists will play-off for bronze.
"That was obviously disappointing, not to get through to the final at the first opportunity. I thought we were playing pretty well," said Murdoch.
"There were a couple of key shots we just didn't quite make and we didn't put more pressure on to make big shots and score. We're just going to have to bin that and come out in the semi and bring our 'A' game.
"That wasn't quite our 'A' game and if you don't do that, you're not going to beat the top teams that are left here.
"We never really got that real good set-up where we were on the front foot and then they chased us. We've got lots to play for, it's all or nothing now, so we're just going to have to wait to see who we'll play."

 

[Smallville22]

Men's Curling World Championships

Scotland lose to Canada in worlds semis

Scottish skip David Murdoch's hopes of claiming his first World Curling Championship title for four years are over in Victoria after a 6-3 loss to Canada in the semi-finals.
Scotland finished top of the standings following the conclusion of the round-robin stage with eight wins and three losses but things have not gone their way in the play-offs.
After losing 6-5 to Sweden in the page one-two play-off they fell to Canada to end their hopes of following Scottish women's skip Eve Muirhead in claiming world gold this year.
Scotland took a 1-0 lead in the first end before Canadian skip Brad Jacobs hit and stayed with his second stone to score two points in the fourth for an advantage that he would not relinquish.
Murdoch levelled an end later but in the sixth Canada hit for three to make it 5-2 then added another point in the eighth before Scotland replied in the ninth but later conceded.
Canada now go on to face Swedish skip Niklas Edin in the gold medal game while Scotland face Rasmus Stjerne's Danish rink, who lost 8-6 to Jacobs in the page three-four play-off, in the contest for bronze.
Murdoch, who last won the world title in 2009 before Warwick Smith claimed bronze in 2010 and Tom Brewster silver in 2011 and 2012, said he is now determined to win bronze.
"Those guys played extremely well I have to say. They had a great game. They've got a bit of momentum and they've got the crowd behind them. They put on a good show," said Murdoch.
"We had a couple of chances, but it's just disappointing because we've had a great week. All the guys are playing well and I've been throwing the rock as good as I have done for a long time.
"We'll just have to come out [against Denmark], I don't want to leave here without a medal this week. I think we've been one of the best teams here and we're going to come out hard."
Jacobs, whose Canadian rink were one of three teams to finish on seven wins and four losses in the round-robin stage, said he feels invincible.
"We're in the world final. I think we lost four of our last six games in the round robin, but we've managed to scrape our way into the final and I think it says a lot about our character," said Jacobs.
"The way that this team has been able to park those losses and come out knowing what we're capable of doing, and then going out and doing it. It's just phenomenal.
"It's pretty crazy. But this is our team. We're grinders, and we don't like to do things the easy way, apparently. But we were taught at an early age to never give up and just play as hard as we can.
"That's what we did. I'm really proud of the guys for coming out and playing so great in front of me. It was a perfect day. I'm really looking forward to playing Sweden in the final.
"They're friends of ours off the ice and rivals on the ice. Hopefully it will be everything that everyone expects, a back-and-forth battle and a shootout. Hopefully both teams can provide that."

 

[Smallville22]

Men's Curling World Championships

Scotland settle for world curling bronze

Scotland settled for bronze at the World Curling Championships in Victoria and, while disappointed it wasn't at least silver, skip David Murdoch is encouraged by the performance less than a year out from Sochi 2014.
Murdoch blew two chances to battle for a first world title for four years, after finishing top of the round-robin stage with eight wins and three defeats, losing to Sweden and then Canada in the play-offs.
That left Scotland in the bronze-medal match with Denmark and Rasmus Stjerne in Canada who they managed to edge out 7-6 as a fight back from the Danish rink came just too late.
Scottish skip Murdoch opened with a score of two in the first end before Stjerne levelled with a double in the fifth however Scotland's margin was restored in the sixth.
Denmark pulled it back to 4-4 in the seventh and then Murdoch made it 7-4 in the eighth although Stjerne played an outrageous multiple clear out to score two in the ninth.
Murdoch held on in the tenth as the five-man Scottish squad of himself, Tom Brewster, Scott Andrews, Michael Goodfellow and Greg Drummond were awarded bronze after a 7-6 win.
That keeps Scotland's run of medalling at every men's World Championships since 2008 going while for British winter sport in general it caps a remarkable season.
Five World Championship medals have now been won across the Winter Olympic disciplines with Eve Muirhead winning the women's curling title in Riga last month.
Olympic silver medallist Shelley Rudman claimed the women's skeleton title, James Woods won freestyle ski slopestyle silver and Elise Christie took short track speed skating 1000m bronze.
And Murdoch admitted his disappointment at failing to reach the final in Victoria was tempered by, not only bouncing back to deliver bronze, but also by doing so less than a year until the Olympics.
"It's kind of disappointing not getting to the final. We had that chance but we didn't grasp it. But we were really fired to come out and win that medal," Murdoch said.
"We wanted to make sure we went home with a medal and it is just rewards for such a good week.
"This is the World Championships before the Olympics and you tend to find that the best teams are here and they're starting to get to the top of their game.
"The fact that we can top the round robin and shoot some really good numbers shows that we're doing a lot of things right.
"For us we're going to take a lot of encouragement that we're doing the right things and we know that when we bring our 'A' game we can beat anyone.
"We just need to be a bit more consistent."

 

[Smallville22]

Men's Curling World Championships

Sweden beat hosts Canada to become world champions

Sweden triumphed 8-6 over hosts Canada in the final of the World Curling Championship in Victoria.
Swedish skip Niklas Edin added the world crown to the European one he won on home ice in Karlstad in December - the first time a nation has held both titles in the same season.
"It feels amazing to be European and world champions at the same time," said Edin. "We set that up as a target three years ago, and to have done it feels amazing going into the Olympic season.
"I think the key moment was the second deuce we got in the third end with the small tap. If they steal one there and get back to 2-2, it's a totally different game. Once we got to 4-1, we felt comfortable.
"I think I felt the pressure. They made some really good shots, but we always came back on them."
Edin was pleased with his team of Sebastian Kraupp, Fredrik Lindberg, Viktor Kjaell and Oskar Eriksson.
"I'm really proud of my team for sticking in there," he added.
Sweden went two up in the first end before Canada's Brad Jacobs reduced the deficit to 2-1 after the second.
Edin played a perfect tap-up for 4-1 in the third before Jacobs again replied to make it 4-3 after tapping out his rival's stone.
Sweden moved two ahead and then in the sixth end Jacobs tried and failed to remove two Swedish stones and conceded another point for 6-3 when, had he been successful, he could have levelled the match.
The match looked over after the eighth end when Edin put Sweden 8-4 up and although Canada pulled two points back in the ninth, they ran out of stones in the final end.
Jacobs was happy with his fledgling team.
"We were just on the wrong side of the inch today and in curling that happens," he said. "We fought as hard as we could.
"We're going to hold our heads high. Silver-medallists at the worlds? We're pretty young and this is a first-year team. Who knows? Cross our fingers, maybe one day we'll get a second chance at this.
"Full credit to Sweden, they were bang-on today."

List of nations to qualify for the Olympic Games in Sochi 2014

Based on 2012 and 2013 World Men's Curling Championships - 8 of 10 decided
Russia (as hosts)

Canada

Sweden

Scotland (points allocated to Great Britain)

Norway

Denmark

China

Switzerland

World Curling Championship final standings

1. Sweden (Gold)

2. Canada (Silver)

3. Scotland (Bronze)

4. Denmark

5. Norway

6. China

7. Switzerland

8. Czech Republic

9. USA

10. Russia

11. Japan

12. Finland

 

[Smallville22]

Snowboard - Bode Miller's sadness at snowboarder *******'s death

Olympic champion skier Bode Miller has spoken of his sadness after ******* Chelone, a promising snowboarder, was found dead near a ski resort in California on Sunday.
'Chilly' Miller, 29, was found dead in a van outside a friend's home in Mammoth Lakes in California. He had been living in the van.
"He loved life so much; it made him easy to love and easy to be around," Bode told The Ski Channel.
"I’m going to miss him a lot."
Chelone had apparently suffered a seizure. He had a history of such problems ever since a 2005 motorcycle crash in his home state of New Hampshire which put him in a **** for 11 days and caused him to lose his memory for a month afterwards. On one occasion, he had a seizure while on a chairlift and fell 25 feet.
Foul play is not suspected.
He won the Rahlves Banzai Tour overall title after winning at Sugar Bowl in Californi last month and was eyeing a spot in the USA's snowboardcross team for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
US Ski and Snowboard Association president Bill Marolt said: "Chelone Miller was an aspiring elite athlete who had made great progress as a snowboardcross rider this past season.
"We are all deeply saddened at the news of his death and extend our condolences to the entire Miller ******."

 

[Smallville22]

Cross-Country Skiing - Musgrave hails Norwegian title as greatest-ever achievement

British cross-country skier Andrew Musgrave has finally got his hands on a title at the Norwegian Championships, labelling the achievement among the greatest of his career to date.
Musgrave hit the headlines in Scandinavia last year when he finished second in the 15km time trial at the Norwegian Championships, however he wasn't awarded the silver medal.
At the Norwegian Championships foreigners are not eligible to win a national title however Musgrave wasn't to be denied this year as he teamed up with home skier Martin Johnsrud Sundby.
In team events, in which a Norwegian club is represented, a foreigner is allowed to be included with Musgrave and Sundby going on to dominate the team sprint.
They were the winners of the fastest semi-final heat to head into the final as favourites where they lived up to their billing by taking gold by 14 seconds.
The 23-year-old represented Team GB at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and impressed in the Tour de Ski this season, finishing 11th in the sprint stage on New Year’s Day.
And Musgrave told a Norwegian television station, fluently in the national language, how the victory was up there with his best ever performances.
"It was fun. It was fun to go with great atmosphere and a lot of audience. It was great to win the championship gold, I can safely say," said Musgrave.
"Yes [I have dreamed about this for a long time]. I have done since I came to Norway four years ago. It is the goal for all who come and go race in Norway. It’s the biggest one can be.
"He's [Martin] a real good guy, and it was just fun to go with him."

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing - Hirscher to have dedicated coach

Michael Pircher has given up his role as slalom coach of the Austrian team to work exclusively with Marcel Hirscher.
The 24-year-old Hirscher was the 2012 and 2013 overall World Cup champion, and will now have Pircher, 37, as his personal coach.
Pircher's current job has been taken on by compatriot Marko Pfeifer, who has signed a two-year contract, the National Ski Federation of Austria confirmed.
"A very important Olympic season is ahead of us," Pfeifer said, "We need to build a young slalom team around Marcel Hirscher."

 

[Smallville22]

Curling - Muirhead ends season in style

Eve Muirhead heads into Olympic year with her medal credentials firmly established after ending the season with a ground-breaking victory.
Scottish curling skip Muirhead defeated Sweden's Margaretha Sigfridsson in the final of the prestigious Players' Championship in Toronto.
Sigfridsson was looking to avenge defeat in the World Championship final last month but Muirhead's rink again got their tactics spot on, emerging 8-5 winners to also claim the Grand Slam title, an elite series of men's and women's curling events which are part of the World Curling Tour.
And the victory also secured a number of firsts and another big morale boost as attention turns to next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi.
"It feels great to be the first European team to win a Grand Slam as well as the first team to win a Players' Championship after winning the World Championship, capping off an unreal season for Team Muirhead," said Muirhead, whose rink banked $35,500 for their efforts.
"We've trained so hard and worked so hard, and to know it all paid off is a relief."

 

[Smallville22]

Short Track - Ohno rules out Sochi, says career is over

American Apolo Anton Ohno has confirmed he will not compete at next year's Sochi Winter Olympics and has effectively retired from short-track speed skating.
Although Ohno, the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian, had been reluctant to speculate on his future, he told Reuters on Wednesday his days of competing were all but over and that he intended to pursue a broadcasting career.
"I'll be in Sochi but I definitely won't be trying out. I'll be with NBC," he said.
"There's been no official retirement party, I've not had a press conference to say I'm retired but it's pretty safe to say."
Ohno has not competed since the 2010 Vancouver Olympics but has continued training to give himself the option of trying to make the United States team for Russia.
He still has time with the U.S. team for Sochi yet to be picked but, after weighing his options, said he had finally made up his mind to go as a broadcaster instead.
"In the back of my head I had reservations about saying yes or no because I am a competitor, I am an athlete," he said.
"I love to compete and I love to train and I love the lifestyle of an Olympic athlete and I love what it means to call yourself an Olympic athlete.
"But there comes a time in every single man and woman's life where you are able to be happy about your existing career. And I've accomplished all my goals."
An icon of his sport with his trademark bandana and goatee, the 30-year-old Ohno retires with eight Olympic medals, one more than retired speed skater Bonnie Blair.
Ohno won gold in the 1,500 metre final at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games as well as silver in the 1,000m when he was involved in a mass pileup.
He won three medals, including gold in the 500, at the 2006 Turin Olympics then another three medals, a silver and two bronze, at Vancouver, just north of Seattle, where he grew up.
He has forged a career in television, as a winning competitor on "Dancing with the Stars," and now as host of his own game show, but has recently taken on a new role, as the public face for a major campaign on a health condition he had long kept secret.
Throughout most of his career, Ohno battled exercise-induced bronchospasm or EIB, a condition that makes it hard to breathe, but he kept his illness to himself.
He was obliged, under the Olympics tough doping regulations, to disclose medications he was using and that he was suffering from EIB but he never spoke about his condition, until now, when he agreed to join ****** with Teva Respiratory on a national awareness campaign.
"I didn't speak about it all," he told Reuters. "First of all, I didn't know many people had exercise-induced bronchospasm. And secondly, I wasn't comfortable at the time talking about it.
"As an athlete you're taught to show no weaknesses ... like there's an invisible shield around you."
With his career now over, Ohno said he was comfortable opening up about the condition, which he said had no impact on his performance once he was diagnosed and he began treatment.
"I had one of the most severe cases of EIB but immediately after I began treatment, I noticed a huge difference in my performance and I felt like I was competing on a level playing field."

 

[Smallville22]

Putin: Russia will not turn back the clock for Sochi

Russia will not revert to winter time ahead of the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, President Vladimir Putin has said.
Fans have complained of the difficulty of following sporting events, such as the Champions League, taking place in Western Europe after Russia moved to a four-hour time difference with Greenwich Mean Time in 2011.
International Olympic Committee chiefs had also hoped that Russia would turn the clock back an hour for next year's Sochi Games because that time would better suit the rest of Europe and the Americas.
However, Putin dismissed those concerns in his nationwide televised address.
"Yes, there is a problem with the time. Fans are complaining and there might be more complaints because of the coming Sochi Olympics. But we going to solve this problem," he said, adding that the IOC would have little say in the process.
"The IOC will just follow what we decide here," Putin said.

 

[Smallville22]

Fry calls on IOC to strip Russia of 2014 Games over gay rights

Actor and author Stephen Fry has written an impassioned open letter to the International Olympic Committee and Prime Minister David Cameron pleading for the 2014 Winter Olympics to be stripped from Russia due to the country’s record on LGBT rights.
Russia has been heavily criticised for its policies on homosexuality and the Duma parliament passed a law in June imposing fines, or even imprisonment, on people found to have promoted “non-traditional relationships” to minors.
Russian sports minister Vitaly Mutko has confirmed this law will extend to any athletes attending the 2014 Games in Sochi.
The law has been interpreted as part of a wider repression of gay people in Russia, with several violent homophobic killings taking place in the country this year.
In Fry’s open letter, the much-loved ********* was warned the IOC that if the 2014 Winter Olympics are allowed to be held in Sochi in February then history will come to view the Games in the same way they do the 1936 Berlin Olympics, which were designed to provide a propaganda boost for Adolf Hitler’s **** party.
Fry directly compares Hitler’s persecution of Jews with Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s attitude towards homosexuals in a fierce critique that is certain to reignite the debate over whether Sochi should be permitted to hold the Games.
In his open letter, published on his official website, Fry states: “I write in the earnest hope that all those with a love of sport and the Olympic spirit will consider the stain on the Five Rings that occurred when the 1936 Berlin Olympics proceeded under the exultant aegis of a tyrant who had passed into law, two years earlier, an act which singled out for special persecution a minority whose only crime was the accident of their birth.
“The Olympic movement at that time paid precisely no attention to this evil and proceeded with the notorious Berlin Olympiad, which provided a stage for a gleeful Fuhrer and only increased his status at home and abroad. It gave him confidence. All historians are agreed on that. What he did with that confidence we all know.
“Putin is eerily repeating this insane crime, only this time against LGBT Russians. Beatings, ******* and humiliations are ignored by the police. Any defence or sane discussion of homosexuality is against the law. Any statement, for example, that Tchaikovsky was gay and that his art and life reflects this sexuality and are an inspiration to other gay artists would be punishable by imprisonment.
“It is simply not enough to say that gay Olympians may or may not be safe in their village. The IOC absolutely must take a firm stance on behalf of the shared humanity it is supposed to represent against the barbaric, fascist law that Putin has pushed through the Duma. Let us not forget that Olympic events used not only to be athletic, they used to include cultural competitions. Let us realise that in fact, sport is cultural. It does not exist in a bubble outside society or politics. The idea that sport and politics don’t connect is worse than disingenuous, worse than stupid. It is wickedly, wilfully wrong.
“An absolute ban on the Russian Winter Olympics of 2014 on Sochi is simply essential. Stage them elsewhere in Utah, Lillyhammer, anywhere you like. At all costs Putin cannot be seen to have the approval of the civilised world.”
Fry also called on Cameron to intervene, while reminding the IOC of the promise it makes in its own protocols to fight discrimination.
“'All that is needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing,' so wrote Edmund Burke. Are you, the men and women of the IOC going to be those ‘good’ who allow evil to triumph?
“The Summer Olympics of 2012 were one of the most glorious moments of my life and the life of my country. For there to be a Russian Winter Olympics would stain the movement forever and wipe away any of that glory. The Five Rings would finally be forever smeared, besmirched and ruined in the eyes of the civilised world.
“I am begging you to resist the pressures of pragmatism, of money, of the oily cowardice of diplomats and to stand up resolutely and proudly for humanity the world over, as your movement is pledged to do. Wave your Olympic flag with pride as we gay men and women wave our Rainbow flag with pride. Be brave enough to live up to the oaths and protocols of your movement.”
Meanwhile, Nick Symmonds has become the first competitor at the World Athletics Championships to criticise Russia's anti-gay propaganda law but maintains he will say no more out of respect for the host nation.
Symmonds, fifth in last year's Olympic 800m final and a medal prospect in Moscow next week, wrote in his blog for Runner's World magazine that he "disagreed" with the controversial new legislation, which outlaws the promotion of homosexuality.
U.S. President Barack Obama weighed into the controversy late on Tuesday, saying he had "no patience" for Russia on the issue, while other senior sporting figures have also spoken out against the development.
In an interview on NBC's Tonight Show, Obama said: "Every judgement should be made on the track, or in the swimming pool, or on the balance beam, and people's sexual orientation shouldn't have anything to do with it."