2012/2013 Winter Sports Thread

[Smallville22]

Figure Skating - Skate America

Japan's Takahiko Kozuka won the men's skating gold at Skate America in Kent, Washington.
His superb score of 166.12 in the free skate gave him a total of 251.44 and saw him win ahead of compatriot Yuzuru Hanyu, who had broken the world record in the short programme on Friday with a score of 95.07 but saw his 10 point lead turned into an eight point defeat.
Another Japanese skater, Tatsuki Machida, took the bronze despite falling on his quad.

World silver medalists Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov earned the gold medal in the pairs competition with 195.07 points overall to beat China's Olympic silver medallists Qing Pang and Jian Tong by 10 points.
American champions Caydee Denney and John Coughlin came third.

Meryl Davis and Charlie White are refusing to get carried away despite winning their third straight Skate America title and extending their unbeaten Grand Prix run to 10.
The Olympic ice dance silver medallists were in red-hot form in Kent, Washington and were not going to allow their figure skating Grand Prix dominance to be stopped.
After scoring 71.39 in the short dance to lead Canadian's Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje by nearly six points, Davis and White produced the best free dance to comfortably take the title.
The Americans were awarded 104.89 to finish with an overall total of 176.28 more than 16 points ahead of Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev who shot up to second.
The Russian duo were awarded 97.04 for their free dance and with Weaver and Poje scoring 91.53 they moved into second with 159.95 points overall, the Canadians finishing on 157.32.

Meanwhile compatriot Ashley Wagner successfully battled a case of the jitters to win the ladies' title on her first ever appearance at Skate America.
The 21-year-old was in first place after the short program, her score of 60.61 giving her a slender lead over Russia's Adelina Sotnikova, who recorded 58.93.
And, while she was adamant she could perform well enough in the free skate to win, Wagner had her doubts although she hardly needed to worry.
The American wowed her home crowd to produce the best score and take the ladies' title, her free skate effort of 127.76 giving her 188.37 overall.
Team-mate Christina Gao jumped from third to second overall after recording 117.62 in the free skate for a total of 174.25 as a fall during a triple flip cost Sotnikova dear.
She dropped to third with an overall total of 168.96 as Four Continents champion Wagner breathed a sigh of relief at starting her international season with a win.

 

[Smallville22]

Short Track World Cup in Calgary

Maltais breaks record in Calgary heats
Elsie Christie led the British charge on the first day of the opening short track speed skating World Cup of the season in Calgary, but she was overshadowed by Canadian Valerie Maltais.
Christie, who won double European silver in 2010, qualified out of both her 1000m preliminary races and heats over the distance in Calgary, claiming victory in the latter two.
But it was world champion Maltais who hogged the headlines on her own patch as she set a world record in her first heat of two, clocking one minute 27.653 seconds.
And Maltais, who like Christie will skate in both semi-finals of the 1000m, admitted she always felt capable of breaking the world record in Calgary.
"I knew I was able to get the world record because I did it in the Canadian Fall World Cup selections," said Maltais.
"Before I started my race I just told my coach I was going to go fast during the race. I did not tell him I was going for the world record but in my mind I knew I wanted it."
Two other world records were broken on the opening day in Calgary with Vladimir Grigorev setting a new mark of 40.344 in the 500m preliminaries.
And the Canadian quartet of Michael Gilday, Charles and Francois Hamelin and Jean Oliver set a new world record of 6:30.958 in heats of the men's 5000m relay.

Christie starts season with silver in Calgary
Lee So Youn of Korea denied British short track speed skater Elise Christie gold in her first race of the new World Cup season in the ladies 1000m finals in Calgary.
Christie had won her quarter-final and semi-final in the Olympic Oval but was narrowly edged out in the final by just over two hundredths of a second.
Christie, from Livingston, clocked 1 minute 30.462 seconds with Lee just ahead in 1:30.440, promising a productive year for the 22-year-old.
Valerie Maltais, who set a new world record of 1:27.653 in the heats, was penalised in the final as China's Liu Qiuhong took third.
Christie finished third in the overall World Cup standings for the 1000m last season, two second place finishes and a win helping her.
Lee was not the only South Korean to shine in Canada with the nation's skaters finishing first in three of the four finals on day two, Shim Suk Hee and Noh Jinkyu winning the women's and men's 1500m respectively.
The other gold was won in the men's 1000m by Russia's Vladimir Grigorev, who also set a new world record in the 500m preliminaries.

Christie misses podium in Calgary
Elise Christie failed to claim her second top-three finish at the opening short track speed skating World Cup of the season as three world records were broken on the final day in Calgary.
Christie, far and away the best British skater in Canada, placed second in the first ladies' 1000m event on day two and looked set to repeat the trick after again winning her quarter-final and semi-final.
However the 22-year-old finished an agonising fourth in the second final as Shim Suk Hee, who set a world record of 1:26.661 in the semi-finals, took the victory.
The Korean was not quite on the same pace clocking 1:29.247 but she did enough to hold off Canadian Marie-Eve Drolet, who finished second, and teammate Kim Min-Jung, who was third.
Meanwhile JR Celski became the first man to duck under 40 seconds in the men's 500m as he recorded a world record time of 39.937 for victory in the final ahead of Charles Hamelin and John-Henry Krueger.
"I was not really expecting to go that fast because it's been a long weekend of racing," said Celski. "Ice kind of tends to break down over time, but it held its ground and I'm really excited to come out with that world record."
Korea's Kwak Yoon-Gy set the third world record in the semi-finals of the second men's 1000m event, the time 1:23.007, however he was only third in the final as Victor An finished first and Michael Gilday second.
Elsewhere China's Wang Meng won the ladies 500m while Korea were victorious in both the ladies' 3000m relay, involving Shim, and the men's 5000m relay, involving Kwak.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Maze holds on to win Soelden giant slalom
Tina Maze won the opening race of the women's World Cup, the giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier in Soelden.
The Slovenian finished 0.42 seconds ahead of Kathrin Zettel at the Tyrolean resort with fellow Austrian Stefanie Koehle in third.
It was a 12th World Cup win for the 29-year-old who held a .74 second lead over France's Tessa Worley following the first run before holding on to an advantage in the second run which was delayed due to fog.
Both Worley and defending World Cup discipline champion Viktoria Rebensburg, third after the opening stanza, skied out in poor visibility but the world GS gold medallist produced a composed run to hold off Zettel.
"I set myself high goals this winter and aim to fight for the overall title," Maze, who won in a combined time of two minutes 31.41 seconds to become the first woman skier to achieve three wins on the Soelden glacier after victories there in 2002 and 2005, said.

 

[Slaughtersun]

Yes... three podium finishes already, 2012/2013 is looking good... as always.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Ligety victorious in Soelden giant slalom
Ted Ligety won the opening giant slalom of the alpine skiing season in Soelden on Sunday by the widest margin in 30 years, using skis he had harshly criticised only a few months ago.
When the International Ski Federation announced last season it would impose new longer, stiffer giant slalom skis to enhance safety, the American world champion was among the strongest campaigners against the move.
Ligety crushed the opposition in the first World Cup race held with the new equipment, beating nearest rival Manfred Moelgg of Italy by 2.75 seconds on the Austrian glacier swept by falling snow.
"After being so critical, I knew I had to do well today not to lose face, so to speak," Ligety said.

The margin of victory was the widest in any men's World Cup event since the 1981-1982 season.
In a sense, the new skis are closer to the ones used in the 1970s by skiers like Sweden's Ingemar Stenmark, who holds the record for the biggest winning margin of 4.06 seconds in a giant slalom in Jasna, Slovakia, in 1979.
"My skis were running really well today, we have been working hard on this and this is good for the confidence of course. Now we have to check how the new skis will behave in other conditions," Ligety said.
"My goal this winter is to be as consistent as possible in each race and to improve my level in slalom too," added Ligety, who has made the defence of his world crown in Schladming in February a priority.

Austrian Marcel Hirscher, who took third place, said Ligety had taken an impressive lead by testing the new gear as early as late last winter.
"Today was a tough fight. There are those new skis and I have been working so hard on it. And I have to admit this is not an easy job.
"But I know that we're all on the same boat, except Ted Ligety of course. He was incredible, I've never seen such a margin and two runs like he skied. We have to say thanks because Ted brought skiing to another level today."
While not looking for excuses, Hirscher explained the Austrians had struggle to keep totally focused on the race after the fatal car crash of young team mate Bjorn Sieber last week.
"For the Austrian team, it wasn't a day like the others. We raced for our friend. I think he would be proud of the whole team,” he said.
“Usually, a third place is pretty cool, but five or maybe ten minutes before the run, I was crying for my friend.”

 

[Smallville22]

Figure Skating - Skate Canada

Olympic and world ice dance champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir captured gold at Skate Canada, the second of the seven stages of the Grand Prix of Figure Skating.
In a provocative and steamy routine, Virtue and Moir – who became a hugely popular pairing from their performances at the Vancouver Olympics – excelled with their "Carmen" routine on home ice.
The 23-year-old Virtue and 25-year-old Moir scored 104.32 points for their free dance, bringing the crowd at the WFCU Centre to its feet.
The pair finished with 169.41 overall.
Italian pairing Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte won the silver with 160.06, while Russian duo Ekaterina Riazanova and Ilia Tkachenko won bronze with 143.39.

Javier Fernandez stunned Patrick Chan in the men's event in Windsor, Ontario.
Fernandez, who became the first Spanish skater to win a Grand Prix medal when he won silver at the 2011 Skate Canada, finished 10.5 points ahead of the two-time defending world champion.
Chan struggled with his jumps and received 160.91 points for his La Boheme-themed long programme. His combined total was 243.43 was well behind Fernandez who extended the lead he established in the short programme.
Nobunari Oda of Japan earned the bronze.

The home fans did have something to cheer as 16-year-old Kaetlyn Osmond overcame Georgia's Elene Gedevanishvili to win the women's event.
Osmond scored 115.89 points for her Carmen rendition and 176.45 overall to take victory on her Grand Prix debut.
Reigning world bronze medallist Akiko Suzuki was second with 175.16 while Japanese team-mate Kanako Murakami was third with 168.04 with Gedevanishvili, double bronze medallist at the European Championships, dropping to fifth after an error-strewn routine.

Germans Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy, the quadruple world champions, completed a comfortable victory in the pairs.
Canadians Meagan Duhamel/Eric Radford took the silver and the bronze went to Stefania Berton/Ondrej Hotarek of Italy.

 

[Smallville22]

Short Track World Cup in Montreal

Chinese open Montreal meet with double win
China enjoyed a double victory at the World Cup short-track speedskating in Montreal, Canada.
Wang Meng won the women’s 500m final and then Liang Wenhao repeated the trick by securing gold in the men's race.
In the women's race, China also won a bronze with Liu Quihong coming just behind Canada's Jessica Gregg.
The Canadians also gave a good account of themselves in the men's race with Charles Hamelin taking silver and Olivier Jean the bronze.
South Korea dominated the 1500m event, grabbing victory in both gender categories.
Shim Suk Hee and Cho Ha-Ri took gold and silver respectively in the women's, while Noh Jinkyu won the men's, beating out John Robert Celski of the US and Russia's Semen Elistratov, who settled for silver and bronze.
Li Jianrou took bronze in the women's event, denying fourth-placed Kim Min-Jung a third podium spot for South Korea.

Canada taste gold in huge medal haul
Canada won a hat-trick of gold medals and dominated the podium on the final day of the World Cup short-track speedskating in Montreal, Canada.
Both the men and women claimed all the podium places in the second 500m event of the meet, while Valerie Maltais took gold in the women's 1000m.
After being beaten by China’s Wang Meng in the first 500m on Saturday, Jessica Gregg showed she was not going to settle for silver again, flying around the track with team-mates Marianne St-Gelais and Caroline Truchon to take gold, silver and bronze respectively.
The women were on their own for the entire race with only each other for competition after Tatiana Borudulina of Russia – the only other entrant – stumbled off the start.
The Canadian men also owned the men’s event, as Guillaume Bastille convincingly won gold.
Michael Gilday was awarded silver and compatriot Liam McFarlane bronze after second-placed finisher Kim Byeong-Jun was penalised for pushing off Gilday during the last lap.
Valerie Maltais secured Canada’s third gold medal in the women’s 1000m, edging out Britain’s Elise Christie and Cho Ha-Ri or South Korea, who also won silver in the 1500m on Saturday.
South Korea also impressed in the men’s 1000m, as Kwak Yoon-Gy took the gold and his team-mate Noh Jinkyu the bronze. Canadian Charles Hamelin was just off Kwak’s pace in silver.
In the women's 3000m relay, China came out on top with Canada and Japan clinching silver and bronze. South Korea won the men's 5000m relay, followed by China and the US.
Montreal is the second leg of the season which will see the skaters compete at six different venues.

 

[Smallville22]

Figure Skating - Cup of China

Asada wins at Cup of China, Takahashi beaten
Two-time world champion Mao Asada overtook world junior champion Julia Lipnitskaia to win the Cup of China in Shanghai, the third of six events in the Grand Prix series.
The Japanese was second after the short programme but her total of 181.76 was 3.84 points better than Lipnitskaia as she claimed the seventh Grand Prix title of her career.
The Russian dominated the junior scene last year and won on her senior international debut in Finland but she was unable repeat the trick on her Grand Prix bow in Shanghai after an error-strewn performance.
She failed to complete her opening two combinations and had to settle for silver ahead of European silver medallist Kiira Korpi (169.86).

2010 world champion Daisuke Takahashi was beaten on his season debut in the men's event.
Takahashi lost his short programme advantage to fellow Japanese Tatsuki Machida whose final total of 236.92 was 5.17 points better.
Skate America bronze medallist Machida took advantage of free programme mistakes from Takahashi to take the victory.
Sergei Voronov of Russia collected the bronze medal.

European champions Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat completed a comfortable victory in the ice dance.
The French couple finished 5.44 points ahead of Russians Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev who were also second at Skate America last month and the bronze went to Kaitlyn Weaver/ Andrew Poje of Canada.

And in the pairs short program Qing Pang and Jian Tong gave the home crowd plenty to shout about as they completed victory.
The Olympic silver medallists scored 120.25 with Russians Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov being bumped down into second on 119.83.
Russians Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov took bronze.

 

[Slaughtersun]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/fis-rejects-vonns-request-race-200158470--ski.html

Thank goodness the FIS finally put and end to this.

I like Vonn, quite a bit actually, because she's very Austrian friendly (she lives there during the season) and speaks German rather well and with a mesmerizingly cute American accent, but I most certainly don't approve of that publicity stunt, which is really unsports(wo)manlike towards her female competitors.

And Lake Louise, really? I'm an avid, long time skier, and I would do a downhilll race on that course. Of course I'd be worlds and worlds behind, but I'll do it. On the other hand, I would shit my pants if I had to race the Streif or Wengen or Beaver Creek for that matter, so she should do that in order to match herself against the men.

It's a little bit fishy that she chose to race Lake Louise, because she's got a downhill event of her own on that day/weekend. As far as I know, Kitzbühel does not collide with any other women's race, so that's where she should have focused on in the first place. And by the way, Lindsey, racing the Streif after you have retired does not count. I went down there on skis, admittedly a little slower than the professional skiers.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Hoefl-Riesch overcomes hip injury to win Levi slalom
Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch battled through the pain barrier to secure her 24th World Cup victory in the Levi slalom.
The Olympic slalom champion had been warned by German team doctors not to compete at the Finnish resort because of a hip problem, but she ignored the advice to triumph in a combined time of one minute, 55.58 seconds.
"The injury improved in the last few days and I hardly felt anything," Hoefl-Riesch said.
"It's a bit surprising because I didn't do so well on the flat section and I really had to push it in the finish wall. I'm glad I managed to push my limits."
Saturday's result would have brought back joyous memories for the 27-year-old from Garmisch, as she won her first slalom in Levi eight years ago and also triumphed on the same course in 2010.
She eclipsed first-leg pace setter and local favourite Tanja Poutiainen by 0.55 seconds. American Mikaela Shiffrin, 17, was third, 0.74 adrift.
"It's a piste I like a lot and I think I've been on the podium each time I raced here except in 2006," Hoefl-Riesch said.
She had considered retiring during the summer break but decided against it so she can compete at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.


Myhrer wins Levi slalom
Slalom world number one Andre Myhrer started the new season the way he finished the last when he won the opening World Cup race in Levi, Finland.
The Swede snatched the slalom globe by winning the last two races of the season last winter to narrowly beat Austria's Marcel Hirscher, the overall World Cup champion.
Myhrer again beat Hirscher by a 0.06 of a second margin to triumph in a combined time of one minute 49.55 seconds.
World silver medallist Jens Byggmark completed a fine day for the Swedes by taking third place, 0.61 behind his team mate in difficult conditions with rain and fog forcing the skiers to take risks.
Myhrer's fifth World Cup victory was an important one as the 29-year-old Swede, also known for his guitar skills,needed to prove his victory in the 2012 World Cup owed nothing to chance.
"I spent the holidays doing nothing. I just rested as my back was hurting. But now I feel well and I trained well," he said.
"To see Jens and Marcel go down and take so many risks was an inspiration to try as hard."

 

[Smallville22]

Winter Olympics to add 12 new events for Sochi 2014

Russia's 2014 Olympics will be the biggest Winter Games in history with 12 new events including a figure skating team championship.

Sports director Irina Gladkikh outlined the new sports, ranging from women's ski jumping to a figure skating team championship at a media briefing.

Only two new events were added to the last Winter Olympics programme in Vancouver 2010 which staged 86 events.

Sochi will boast a total of 98 medal events in 15 sports - 69 in the mountains and 29 at the coastal cluster.

The Games are scheduled to run from February 7-23.

New events:

Biathlon: Mixed relay

Figure Skating: Team

Freestyle Skiing: Men & Women's Slopestyle, Men & Women's Half pipe

Luge: Team relay

Ski Jumping: Women

Snowboarding: Men & Women's Slopestyle, Men & Women's Parallel slalom

 

[Smallville22]

Figure Skating - Cup of Russia aka the Rostelecom Cup in Moscow

In the ice dance event the Canadians as Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir took the victory, their score of 103.34 some way ahead of nearest challengers Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov from Russia, while Germans Neilli Zhiganshina and Alexander Gazsi finished third.

In the women's event Kiira Korpi of Finland pulled out all the stops with a superb free skate to pip Gracie Gold to the victory.
American prodigy Gold held the lead at the halfway stage, the 17-year-old surprising most with her routine in the short program considering she headed to Russia as the lowest ranked skater.
But the teenager watched as Korpi went second to last, and just before her, and amassed a total score of 115.64.
And despite Gold's best efforts she had to settle for second, finishing with a score of 112.87, while Japan's Kanako Murakami finished third.

There was no such problem for reigning European champions Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov in the pairs though, the Russians following up their great short programme with a solid free skate too take the win.
There was more for the home crowd to cheer as Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larianoc held on to second, Americans Caydee Denney and John Coghlin finishing third.

And Patrick Chan was equally as untouchable in the men's event as he held on to his lead in the free skate to take victory.
The Canadian's lead was never in doubt and he comfortably finished top of the pile, more than 20 points ahead of Japan's Nobunari Oda in second, with Takahiko Kozuka finishing third.

 

[Smallville22]

Figure Skating - Cup of France aka Trophee Eric Bompard

Wagner doubles up with Trophee Eric Bompard win
US champion Ashley Wagner secured her second Grand Prix title of the season as she put on a clinic in the free skate to claim victory at Trophee Eric Bompard in Paris.
Wagner was sitting second behind 14-year-old Russian Julia Lipnitskaia, but she pulled away on day two and took the win with a final score of 190.63.
This was 11.01 points ahead of nearest challenger, Russia's Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, who leapfrogged compatriot Lipnitskaia who had to settle for third.

In the men's competition Japan's Takahito Mura took his first figure skating Grand Prix title as he leapfrogged American Jeremy Abbot in the free skate.
The Japanese skater's score of 227.63 saw him edge out Abbott by 3.05 points, with former European champion Florent Amodio of France third in front of his home crowd with a score of 214.25.
Mura, who had never finished on the podium at a Grand Prix, denied former Grand Prix Finals winner Abbott his first win on the circuit since last year's Cup of China.
Home favourite and ex-world champion Brian Joubert had been third after Friday's short program, but a free skate score of 134.70 left him in fifth overall.
Amodio had been seventh overnight but surged back into contention by scoring 154.12 in the free skate, the day's best.

Russians Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnov claimed victory in the pairs despite finishing the free skate in second.
The 2010 European champions held the lead after the short programme and although Canadians Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford put on the best show in the free skate it was not enough to overahaul Kavaguti and Smirnov.
The Russian duo took the win with 187.99 points, 1.18 ahead of Duhamel and Radford while Italians Stefania Berton and Ondrej Hotarek finished third.

And in the ice dance, European champions Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat from France held on to their lead to claim the win.
They finished with a total score of 168.90, more than 15 points ahead of second-placed Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte from Italy, with Russians Ekaterina Riazanova and Ilia Tkachenko finishing third.

 

[Smallville22]

Bobsleigh - Champion Hefti to miss bobsleigh World Cup openers

Defending two-man bobsleigh champion Beat Hefti will miss the opening three rounds of the new World Cup season.
The Swiss slider is without his push team-mates Thomas Lamparter and Alex Baumann, who are both injured and expected to remain out for several weeks.
Hefti will be absent from next month's World Cup meetings in Lake Placid, Park City and Whistler.
Instead of the races in America and Canada, Hefti will enter the Europa Cup races, assisted by Juerg Egger, Clemens Bracher and a further brakeman who Swiss Sliding will announce after the events in in Igls and Winterberg.

 

[Smallville22]

Bobsleigh World Cup

Humphries denies Jones at Lake Placid
Lolo Jones was denied the perfect start to her new bobsleigh career as reigning Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries pipped her to victory in the opening two-woman World Cup of the season in Lake Placid.
Jones, a two-time Olympic 100m hurdler switched to bobsleigh after London 2012 and earned a spot on the American team for the opener in Lake Placid.
And the 30-year-old showed she means business as she and Jazmine Fenlator were leading with just one more duo to go.
However, that pair just happened to be Canadian Humphries, who won the world title on the same course earlier this year, and new brakewoman Chelsea Valois and they ended up stealing victory from the Americans as they finished with a total time of 1:54.86 minutes, 0.47 seconds faster than Jones who a little over a month ago finished fourth in the 100m hurdles final at London 2012.
But despite missing out on a debut victory, Jones was delighted with her first World Cup run out.
"I loved it," she said. “I had to rely a lot on Jazmine I am not going to lie but it was fun.
"She was walking me through it as I am so new to it and she kept having to explain everything to me.
"But I think it was a good start and hopefully there is more to come."
Completing the top three in Lake Placid were Americans Elana Meyers and Tianna Madison with a total time of 1:55.34 minutes.

In the absence of defending two-man bobsleigh champion Beat Hefti, American Steve Holcomb, joined by Steven Langton, picked up from where he left off at the end of last season, leading from the front to triumph in the curtain raiser.
World champions at the same venue back in February, Holcomb and Langton beat their team-mates Cory Butner and Chuck Berkeley by a large victory margin of 0.60 seconds.
Holcomb said: "This is my home track and I had two great starts with Steve and if we start out fast it makes it easier for me.
"We have always been in the mix with two-man but it is the event I struggle in so I am trying to make up for that and get another world champ title or possible another gold medal at the game in two years."

Zubkov begins World Cup defence in style
Last year’s four-man bobsleigh World Cup champion Alexandr Zubkov kicked off the new season in style as he topped the podium in Lake Placid.
Zubkov and his teammates Dmitry Trunenkov, Alexey Negodaylo and Maxim Mokrousov were fastest in their first run with an effort of 54.80 seconds.
And the Russian quartet followed that up with the second-fastest run in the final round to top the podium overall with a combined time of 1:50.15 minutes.
Second on the day was the reigning Olympic champion in the four-man discipline, USA’s Steve Holcomb who along with his team-mates Justin Olsen, Steven Langton and Cutis Tomasevic ended up only 0.19seconds back with a combined time of 1:50.34 minutes.
Third was the second American quartet of Nick Cunningham, Adam Clark, Andreas Drbal and Christopher Fogt another 0.13seconds back.

 

[Smallville22]

Bobsleigh World Cup

Moustachioed Canadian women win gold
A moustachioed Canadian women's team won gold at the World Cup bobsleigh event in Park City.
Sporting painted-on upper-lip hair in support of cancer awareness, Kaillie Humphries and Chelsea Valios raced down the Utah Olympic Park course to claim their second straight victory in the series.
The Canadians finished two runs in a combined time of 1 minute, 39.49 seconds to snatch gold from Germany's two entrants.
“You've got to have fun out there,” said Humphries, who teamed up with new brakeman Valios for the win.
“Chelsea has tons of potential,” Humphries said. “It's real exciting as we get closer and closer to Sochi. But I'm fairly new. I still make mistakes, so I'm trying to get as consistent as possible.”
Sandra Kiriasis and Franziska Bertels took silver ahead of fellow Germans Cathleen Martini and Stephanie Schneider.

Americans win in Park City
American Steven Holcomb finishing top of the pile again.
There was no doubting who the star of the show was again as Holcomb, this time alongside Curtis Tomasevicz and not Steven Langton, recorded back-to-back World Cup victories.
The duo's time of 1:37.40 minutes was just enough to take the victory, 0.03 seconds ahead of compatriots Cory Butner and Charles Berkeley.
And German pair Francesco Friedrich and Gino Gerhardi crashed the American party as they finished third.

Russia take win
Alexandr Zubkov claiming his second straight four-man win.
Olympic and multiple world champion Steven Holcomb, who himself has won both the two-man World Cup races this season, finished behind Zubkov for the second consecutive time in the four-man, this margin this time 0.12.
Manuel Machata of Germany, the four-man world champion from 2011, made up for his fourth-place finish in Lake Placid by finishing third in Park City just two hundredths of a second behind Holcomb.

 

[Smallville22]

Speed Skating World Cup

Lee opens World Cup campaign with win
South Korean speed skater Lee Sang-Hwa continues to prove unbeatable over 500m in Heerenveen after making a winning start to the new World Cup season on the same ice where she won the world title.
The 23-year-old, who took Olympic gold over 500m in Vancouver in 2010, claimed the World Championship title over the distance in the Thialf back in March.
And she was on form again as the curtain came up on the new speed skating World Cup, taking another victory in the Netherlands by a tenth of a second over American Heather Richardson.
Lee clocked 37.85seconds while Japan's Nao Kodaira edged out Asian rival Hong Zhang of China by two hundredths of a second to finish third in a time of 38.26.

Meanwhile Stephanie Beckert finally tasted victory in Heerenveen, comfortably winning the ladies' 3000m by more than two seconds ahead of double Olympic champion Martina Sablikova.
Beckert had to settle for silver in both the 3000m and 5000m behind Sablikova at the World Championships in March however she won the former after clocking a time of 4:04.39minutes.
After missing out on a top-three finish in the ladies' 500m, the Netherlands had something to shout about in the 3000m as Jorien ter Mors came home in third behind Sablikova in 4:06.90.

And in the men's 5000m Ivan Skobrev, another silver medallist at the Heerenveen World Championships, this time over 1500m, came out on top by over five seconds.
The Russian clocked an unbeatable time of 6:21.53 with Sverre Lunde Pedersen of Norway finishing second and Belgium's Bart Swings third a further three seconds back.


Lee wins again in Heerenveen
Olympic champion Sang-Hwa Lee did the double at the opening speed skating World Cup of the season, winning the second of two 500m races on day two in Heerenveen.
The 23-year-old, who added the world 500m title to her Olympic gold medal over the same distance in Heerenveen last year, stormed to victory in the first 500m race on day one.
And she was not to be denied on day two either even extending her winning margin over American Heather Richardson to more than two tenths of a second having beaten her by a tenth in race one.
Lee clocked 37.92seconds, seven tenths slower than on day one, for victory while Richardson held off Olympic silver medallist Jenny Wolf by one hundredth of a second for a second runners-up spot.

Meanwhile Canada's Christine Nesbitt, the reigning Olympic champion over 1000m, upset the home crowd by edging out two Dutch skaters to win the first ladies' 1500m race of the season.
The 27-year-old recorded a winning time of 1:56.35minutes with Marrit Leenstra second in 1:56.42 and teammate Lotte van Beek a further second back in third.

In the first of two men's 500m races in Heerenveen, Pekka Koskela beat Poland's Artur Was by two hundredths of a second with a time of 34.96 with another Dutch skater, Jan Smeekens, third.

Smeekens' teammate Kjeld Nuis finished in the same position in the men's 1000m race as Koskela this time had to settle for second just behind Canadian Denny Morrison.

There was something for the home crowd to cheer about in the men's team pursuit as the Dutch trio of Jan Blokhuijsen, Sven Kramer and Koen Verweij took victory.
They finished over three seconds ahead of the Russian trio of Yevgeny Lalenkov, Ivan Skobrev and Dennis Yuskov in 3:39.76 with Korea not far behind in third.

And there was another Dutch winner in the ladies' mass start as Mariska Huisman edged out compatriot Jorien ter Mors by one hundredth of a second to win in 8:22.96.


Richardson finally wins in Heerenveen
Heather Richardson finally claimed a victory on the final day of the opening speed skating World Cup meeting of the season after twice being forced to settle for second in Heerenveen.
The 23-year-old, who claimed 1000m bronze at the World Championships in 2011, finished behind Korean Olympic champion Sang-Hwa Lee in both the 500m races in the Netherlands.
However there was to be no denying the American as she took to the ice for the third time of asking in the 1000m, Richardson clocking a time of 1:15.27 for victory.
That was 0.14s ahead of Hong Zhang of China, who was fourth in the first 500m race, while Dutch skater Lotte van Beek, third in the 1500m the day before, was a further 0.42 back in third.

Meanwhile Japan’s Joji Kato took victory in the second of the men’s 500m races in Heerenveen and, with the winner of race one Pekka Koskela disqualified, the overall World Cup lead with it.
Kato edged out Jan Smeekens, who improved to second after a third in the first race, by 0.06 while Korea’s Tae-Bum Mo clocked the same time as Canada’s Gilmore Junio, 35.15, but was awarded third.
Smeekens sits tied on 150 points with Kato in the overall standings but the Japanese skater tops the pile courtesy of his win.

In the men’s 1500m Maurice Vriend kept two Norwegian skaters at bay to win.
The Dutchman clocked a time of 1:46.13 for victory with Havard Bokko, who won Olympic bronze over the distance in Vancouver in 2010, second and Sverre Lunde Pedersen third.

The Dutch ladies team pursuit trio of Marije Joling, Marrit Leenstra and Diane Valkenburg couldn’t follow up on Vriend’s win as Germany skated away with victory.
Stephanie Beckert, Isabell Ost and Claudia Pechstein recorded a winning time of 3:01.14, over a second ahead of the Dutch trio.

But their compatriot Christijn Groeneveld made up for it in the last event of the World Cup.
He beat Dutch teammate Arjan Stroetinga by 0.06 in the men’s mass start after clocking 10:14.55 with Frenchman Alexis Contin another 0.06 back in third.

 

[Smallville22]

Skeleton World Cup

Bromley makes solid start at Lake Placid
Great Britain's Kristan Bromley opened up his skeleton World Cup account with a solid sixth-place finish at Lake Placid.
The former world champion and two-time overall World Cup winner sat fifth as he headed into Friday’s medal runs, with the top 10 competing for a place on the podium.
And despite dropping down a spot to finish six, the 40-year-old can still be proud of his efforts as his preparation for the trip across the pond was marred with hamstring issues.
Latvian Martins Dukurs has claimed the World Cup title in each of the last three years and showed no signs of relinquishing his grip on the competition as he opened up this season with victory in Lake Placid.
The 28-year-old silver medallist from the 2010 Olympic Games held a slim lead after three heats and sat 0.01 seconds faster than Russian Alexander Tretiakov and brother Tomass.
But he was searching for his maiden victory at Lake Placid and did not disappoint, heading out last and doing what he had to for the win.
And there was more joy for Latvia as Tomass leapfrogged Tretiakov into second with his final run, the Russian having to settle for third.

Reid takes maiden win at Lake Placid
Sarah Reid held her nerve to win the first round of the Skeleton World Cup in Lake Placid to give Canada a one-two and deny Great Britain's Donna Creighton a first podium appearance.
The 26-year-old Creighton had to settle for fourth in the competition in the United States as Reid edged out compatriot Mellisa Hollingsworth, with quadruple world champion Marion Thees finishing in third.
It was Reid's first World Cup podium, as she beat out Hollingsworth by just 0.03 seconds. Creighton ended up in fourth 0.33 behind Thees, but well clear of her teammate Shelley Rudman, who ended up coming home in seventh.
The one-two was more proof of the strength of the Canadian skeleton team and Reid admitted the quality of the team was pushing the team forward.
Reid said: "Our Canadian programme is really strong and to slide next to athletes like Mel, everyone is pushing everyone to be better every day.
"I had two really good runs yesterday and I knew if I could do what I know how to do, I could do it."

 

[Smallville22]

Skeleton World Cup

Dukurs' winning run continues
Martins Dukurs made it two World Cup wins from two this season in Park City and 13 from the past 14 as Britain failed to get one of their three skeleton sliders into the top three in America.
Dukurs, who has won the past three overall World Cup titles, lead from start to finish during the second meeting of the season in America adding to his victory last time out at Lake Placid.
After winning silver at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, Dukurs has been unstoppable with the past three European titles and past two world crowns to his name as well as his World Cup successes.
And this season appears to be no different with the 28-year-old producing the fastest time of the first run, 49.75seconds, and even allowing himself to go slower second time out but still winning.
Dukurs clocked 49.96 from run two for an overall time of 1:39.71minutes with the top three from the first run one remaining the same after the second, Alexander Kroeckel second
and Alexander Tretyakov third.
Dukurs' older brother Tomass pulled off the quickest time second time out, 49.91, however it was not enough to overhaul Tretyakov who finished 0.14 clear in third.
Martins Dukurs won by 0.05 ahead of Kroeckel who was 0.06 better than Tretyakov with Kristan Bromley the best of the three Brits in attendance finishing 11th.

Yarnold narrowly loses in Park City
Lizzy Yarnold suffered heartache at the second skeleton World Cup of the season in Park City as world champion Katie Uhlaender knocked the Brit off top spot to win by one hundredth of a second.
After a red-hot end to last season, Yarnold, who won two World Cup races, the world junior title and world senior bronze, could only finish ninth in the first race of the 2012-13 campaign in Lake Placid.
She was seemingly back to her best as the circuit moved to Park City though, producing a storming first run of 50.36seconds to lead the field with her advantage over Uhlaender in second 0.12.
However American Uhlaender had other ideas recording a time of 50.45 during her second run for 1:40.93minutes overall to overhaul Yarnold and claim victory by the slimmest of margins.
Uhlaender, who won the world title in Lake Placid at the end of last season, can not take all the credit though with Yarnold's second run of 50.58 way down on her first.
The pair were well clear of the rest of the field though with Germany's Olympic bronze medallist Anja Huber finishing third in 1:41.21, 0.06 ahead of Cassie Hawrysh of Canada.

 

[Smallville22]

Cross-Country Skiing - Biathlon champion Fourcade set for cross country bow

French biathlon star Martin Fourcade will try his hand at cross country skiing, although does not expect to emulate the great Ole Einar Bjoerndalen.
World number one and multiple World Champion Fourcade, 24, is the dominant athlete in the sport currently and is widely expected to star at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
He has some way to go to emulate the antics of all-time great Bjoerndalen, but he is starting by following the Norwegian in occasional forays into cross country, with the World Cup opener in the Swedish Gallivare his target for November.
“I just want to try new things,” Fourcade – who is also a soldier – told La Voix du Nord.
“The objective is first to take part, to enjoy myself, but I’m sure that will change when I’m preparing to start the race.
“I’m not going to aim to be another Bjoerndalen, but will just try to have a good time.”
In 2006 Bjoerndalen famously became the first biathlete to win a World Cup cross country race.
It remained the Norwegian’s only cross country victory, although he did make three other podiums.


Biathlon - Simon Fourcade requires surgery

French star Simon Fourcade requires surgery and will miss a large chunk of the World Cup season.
The 28-year-old, who was fifth in the World Cup last season, is suffering from a vascular problem in the legs.
A statement on the French Ski Federation website said: "The syndrome is caused by trauma, fracture or excessive compression of the lower limbs that prevents the expansion of muscles. It causes severe pain and should be treated urgently, surgically."
FFS indicated that this kind of disease often affects "high level skiers practising intensely by roller skiing".
Fourcade could return in time for the World Championships in Nove Mesto in February.
He won two silvers at this year's World Championships in Ruhpolding, a year that saw his younger brother Martin win three golds plus the Crystal Globe as overall World Cup champion.


Alpine Skiing - Missillier returns to boost French

Frenchman Steve Missillier will return to World Cup action in Beaver Creek next week.
The 27-year-old from Annecy injured his left thigh during a workout in Albertville in late September and missed the season openers in Soelden and Levi.
But after a successful MRI, he will fly to the United States on Tuesday ahead of the giant slalom in Colorado on December 1.
Missillier had eight top 10 finishes in the World Cup last season and finished 27th in the overall rankings.
Compatriot and slalom world champion Jean-Baptiste Grange is still sidelined after knee surgery in late March.


Alpine Skiing - Innerhofer returns at Lake Louise

World Super-G champion Christof Innerhofer will return to action in the World Cup races at Lake Louise this weekend.
The Italian suffered a road accident in July and back problems prevented him joining his team-mates for summer training in Argentina.
But his fitness was confirmed last week at Copper Mountain.
He was ranked in the top five in each of the three FIS races in which he participated in the Colorado resort where many teams trained ahead of the first speed events of the season in Canada.
"It was a disastrous summer but I'm stubborn and I was never miserable because I knew I had to be patient and slowly, slowly I'd be back to my usual level," said the 28-year-old who is nicknamed "Winnerhoffer" after his three medals at the World Championships in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
In contrast, American Bode Miller is not yet ready after a knee operation and is also likely to sit out next week's events at Beaver Creek.