2012/2013 Winter Sports Thread

[Smallville22]

Cross-Country Skiing World Cup

Northug and Bjoergen wrap up wins in Finland

Norway's cross-country skier Petter Northug got back to winning ways in fine style at the World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland, sealing victory in the 15km pursuit to take the overall win.
Northug produced a fine fightback to finish second in Saturday's race and stay in pole position in the three-stage World Cup, having also come home second in the sprint on Friday.
And by taking victory in Sunday's race in 41.38.3 minutes, coming home ahead of nearest rival Maxim Vylegzhanin of Russia – Northug wrapped up the win in a combined time of
1:05.27.3 hours.
Vylegzhanin's second place on Sunday saw him jump up from 15th place after the first two races to second, 1.4 seconds behind Northug, while Kazakhstan's Alexey Poltoranin dropped down to third.


In the women's race, Marit Bjoergen continued her dominance, putting the finishing touches to a victory that rarely looked in any doubt.
The three-time Olympic champion was in a commanding position, having won both races on Friday and Saturday and on Sunday she didn't let up, coming home in a combined time of 45:35.1 minutes.
Second was Justina Kowalczyk of Poland, who was 1:21.4 minutes behind while Heidi Weng of Norway completed the top three.

 

[Smallville22]

Nordic Combined World Cup

Gruber and Stecher hand Austria team victory
Austrian duo Bernhard Gruber and Mario Stecher joined forces to devastating effect to seal team victory at the Nordic combined World Cup in Kuusamo, Finland.
Gruber and Stecher took what proved to be an unassailable lead in the ski jumping section of the competition and could not be over hauled in the cross-country skiing race.
Second place went to Norwegian pair Haavard Klemetsen and Mikko Kokslien while French duo Sebastien Lacroix and Jason Lamy Chappuis ended up in third spot.
Stecher was the stand-out performer in the ski jumping, racking up 132.8 points, and that, combined with Gruber's 113.2, gave the Austrians a 28-second lead over their nearest rivals Norway going into the cross-country.
Gruber and Stecher were tenth fastest in the cross-country in 34.54.3 minutes and while Klemetsen and Kokslien were seventh quickest, they had left themselves too much to do as Austria sealed the win by 5.4 seconds.
The French pair, fourth after the ski jumping, were also fourth in the cross-country and that was good enough to complete the top three while Germany's Bjoern Kircheisen and Eric Frenzel were quickest in the cross-country 7.5km sprint in 33.25.8, but they paid the price for a poor ski jumping performance, ranking 13th.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Cup

Fourcade wins again in Oestersund
Martin Fourcade further demonstrated he has picked up from where he left off last season by claiming his second victory at the curtain-raising biathlon World Cup in Oestersund, Sweden.
The Frenchman won eight races en route to the World Cup title last season, and after winning the very first on Wednesday, he has already claimed win number two.
In the 12.5km pursuit, he picked up just one penalty on the shooting range to post a time of 33:03.5 minutes – good enough for victory over Germany's Andres Birnbacher by just 0.7 seconds.
Russia's Anton Shipulin was third but already Fourcade has opened up an impressive lead at the top of the overall standings.


In the women's event, Tora Berger went one better than Fourcade and completed a stunning clean sweep in Sweden, making it three wins from three.
The three-time 2012 world champion, having already won the 15km individual and the 7.5km sprint in Oestersund, stormed home in Sunday's 10km pursuit to complete the hat-trick.
Berger crossed the finishing line in 31.01.9 minutes, having suffered just one penalty on the range, a full 29.8 seconds ahead of second placed Darya Domracheva of Bulgaria while Germany's Andrea Henkel completed the top three.

 

[Smallville22]

Short Track World Cup in Nagoya

Christie earns first win of season in Japan
British short track speed skater Elise Christie proved that she won’t let her World Cup lead in the 1000m go without a fight after taking her first victory of the season in Japan.
Christie has enjoyed a fine start to the new World Cup season with two seconds from the opening three 1000m races to lead the overall standings by 600 points ahead for Valerie Maltais.
And the 22-year-old ensured that margin was made even bigger at the third World Cup in Nagoya as she powered to her second career win in a time of 1:30.489.
Christie dominance was clear for all to see as she finished almost a second ahead of Korea duo Kim Min-Jung in second and Lee So Youn in third while Maltais didn’t even make the A final.
It also meant that Christie remained unbeaten throughout the 1000m in Nagoya having won her heat, quarter-final and semi-final while extending her overall lead over Maltais in second to 1272 points.

World Cup leader in the women’s 1500m Shim Suk See led home a Korean one-two-three, clocking 2:47.066 in the final to edge out team-mates Park Seung-Hi and Cho Ha-Ri for her third straight win.

Kim Byeong-Jun kept the Korean winning run going by claiming victory in the men’s 1500m, again by the narrowest of margins over his team-mate Sin Da Woon.
Kim clocked 2:27.237, just over a tenth of a second ahead of Sin, who was himself just over a tenth of a second ahead of Canadian skater Charles Hamelin to claim second.

World Cup leader in the 1500m, Noh Jin-Kyu only entered the second of two races in Nagoya and finished third in the 1000m as Russian Victor Ahn claimed his second win ahead of JR Celski.

Meanwhile Christie’s fellow Brits endured a mixed day in Japan with Charlotte Gilmartin reaching her second successive World Cup B final, finishing third in the 1500m for ninth overall.
Yet the men continue to struggle with Jack Whelbourne progressing no further than the repechage semi-finals of the 1000m while Ian Upcott and Murray Cochrane were one round back.
Two-time Olympian Jon Eley, Richard Shoebridge and Paul Stanley all also made the repechage semi-finals of the 1500m however that was as far as they got too as Christie once again shone.


Christie continues good form in Japan
Great Britain's short track speed skater Elise Christie continued her impressive form at the World Cup in Nagoya, Japan – adding a second place on Sunday, 24 hours after her first win of the season.
Christie claimed her maiden win in the 1000m event on Saturday and it's over that distance that she tops the world rankings at present, but she returned to the rink on Sunday and came home second over 1500m.
Victory went to Soyoun Lee of South Korea while Xue Kong of China was third.
Christie, 22, now has three second-place finishes and one win to her name this season and currently sits second in the overall world rankings behind Qiuhong Liu of China.

In the men's 1500m, Jinkyu Noh led a Korean 1-2 home, edging out compatriot Da Woon Sin and the Netherlands' Sjinkie Knegt completed the top three.
It was Noh's third 1500m win of the season and keeps him top of the overall world rankings.

Meanwhile, Robert Seifert of Germany defeated Canada's Olympic gold medallist Charles Hamelin over 500m while Liu had to settle for second place in the women's race, crossing the line behind fellow Chinese skater Meng Wang.


The races concluded on Sunday with the Ladies and Men’s relay events. In the Ladies 3000m relay, China finished ahead of Korea, while Japan finished in third place. In the Men’s 5000m relay event, Korea maintained its perfect record by winning the third relay final of the season. The Netherlands had a strong showing, finishing in second, ahead of China. After three events, the World Cup leaders remain unchanged, with China (Ladies) and Korea (Men) continuing to be the leaders.

 

[Smallville22]

Speed Skating World Cup

Sablikova takes first World Cup win of season in Astana
Double Olympic champion Martina Sablikova finally claimed her first speed skating World Cup victory this season in Astana to take the overall lead in the combined 3000m and 5000m rankings.
The 25-year-old, who won Olympic gold over 3000m and 5000m in Vancouver in 2010, had to make do with two seconds over the former distance in Heerenveen and Kolomna last month.
However, as the World Cup circuit travelled to Kazakhstan for round three and the first women's 5000m race was scheduled, Sablikova finally tasted victory with a time of 7:00.75.
Sablikova, who has won the overall 3000m-5000m World Cup title for the past six seasons, edged out Claudia Pechstein by 0.3 seconds while Olga Graf was a further 0.33 back in third.
Victory sees Sablikova become the outright World Cup leader, having previously been level with Stephanie Beckert on 160 points, with 260 with the German, who was fourth, second on 220.

Meanwhile in the men's 1500m American Shani Davis claimed his first win over the distance this season while second for Havard Bokko saw him take the overall World Cup lead.
Two-time Olympic champion over 1000m, Davis posted a winning time of 1:46.01 with Bokko 0.33 behind for second while Zbigniew Brodka was 0.08 further adrift in third.
With Maurice Vriend only managing eighth almost a second shy of Davis, Bokko's second place saw him demote the Dutchman at the top of the overall rankings with his lead at the top 29 points.

Meanwhile the Dutch men's team pursuit trio followed up on their win in Heerenveen to take victory again in Astana after clocking a time of 3:41.27.
Jorrit Bergsma, Koen Verweij and Jan Blokhuijsen combined to edge out Korea by 0.22 while the trio from Norway took third almost another two seconds back.


Bergsma tops standings with win in Astana
The Netherlands' speed skater Jorrit Bergsma moved to the top of the overall World Cup rankings with victory over 10,000m in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Bergsma, 26, posted a time of 12:50.40 minutes to take the win ahead of compatriot Bob de Jong, who was 0.82 seconds off the pace while Seung-Hoon Lee of South Korea was third.
Bergsma had already picked up finishes of second and third this season and he now leads the 5000m standings ahead of compatriot Sven Kramer, who was absent from the competition.
In the overall standings, it's Havard Bokko of Norway who is Bergsma's closest challenger, having come home fourth in Astana, 17.14 seconds behind Bergsma.

In the women's event, Canada's Christine Nesbitt collected her second win of the campaign over 1500m, defeating a Dutch trio who were separated by just 0.02 seconds.
Nesbitt's time of 1:57.18 minutes was good enough for victory while Marrit Leenstra was 0.11 behind with Linda de Vries and Diane Valkenburg close behind.
That victory moves Nesbitt, the 1000m Olympic champion, into first in the season's 1500m rankings while she is up to fourth in the overall standings with Czech Republic's Martina Sablikova and Claudia Pechstein still in joint first place.

Finally, in the ladies’ Team Pursuit the Canadian Ladies, third in Heerenveen, won here with a strong 2:58.40. They now lead the World Cup ranking with 170 points. The Korean Ladies were second in 3:00.55 and the Dutch, who had been faster than Korea until a lap before the end, lost too much in their final lap and finished third in 3:00.71.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing - Grange delays comeback, will miss Val d'Isere

Jean-Baptiste Grange will not ski his home slalom in Val d'Isere after deciding to delay his return to World Cup action from injury.
The French slalom specialist is recovering from surgery on his right knee at the end of March, two years after having first gone under the knife.
The 28-year-old had targeted Val d'Isere as the venue to make his long-awaited return to the slopes, but the demanding nature of the course prompted him to change his plans.
"I do not feel 100 per cent ready yet even if the development is going in the right direction but unfortunately it would be a bit too premature for Val d’Isère," Grange said.
"The face on Bellevarde is a challenge both physically and technically. I do not have enough training days under my belt to be competitive. That's why I prefer to continue to train and prepare myself properly before returning to completion.
The 2005 slalom title winner will now concentrate on preparing himself for the World Cup events at either Madonna di Campiglia in Italy on Decembert 18 or more probably on January 6 in Zagreb.


Biathlon - Claude to replace sidelined Fourcade in Austria

Florent Claude will replace the injured Simon Fourcade in the French team for the biathlon World Cup event in Hochfilzen.
Claude got the nod to travel to Austria for the second World Cup event of the fledgling season and will team up with Fourcade's younger brother Martin, who won twice at the curtain-raiser in Oestersund last weekend.
The older Fourcade is suffering from a vascular problem in the legs which the French Ski Federation said would require surgery. He is not expected back on the snow until February.
Claude and Martin Fourcade will be joined by Vincent Jay, Jean-Guillaume Béatrix, Alexis Boeuf and Simon Desthieux in the French line-up in Austria.


Salt Lake City consider 2026 Olympic bid

Salt Lake City wants to bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Salt Lake City previously hosted the Winter Olympics in 2002 but the Games were marred by allegations of bribery between the successful bidders and members of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
"Salt Lake City and the great state of Utah are ready, willing and able to host a future Olympic Games," Herbert told reporters during a news conference.
"Utah has become the winter sports capital of the USA. By hosting another Winter Games, our commitment to support ongoing Olympic movement initiatives will only be strengthened."
Several other American cities have also expressed interest in hosting the Games but it is up to the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) to decide whether to proceed with a bid.
"At this point we are focused on moving forward with our bid working group that is due to make its first report to the USOC board of directors on December 20th," a USOC spokesman said.
"We are obviously appreciative that the Olympic movement is strong enough in the U.S. to have cities interested in potentially bidding, however the USOC is focused on determining when it would be the right time to potentially bid for an Olympic Games."
The IOC is not due to choose the host site for 2026 until 2019 after already awarding 2014 to Sochi, Russia, and 2018 to Pyeonchang, South Korea.
The 2022 host will be decided in 2015. The US has already ruled out making a bid for 2022.

 

[Smallville22]

Ski Jumping World Cup

Wellinger inspires Germany to Kuusamo win
Andreas Wellinger defied his tender years to record the best personal total during the first men's World Cup ski jumping team competition of the season in Kuusamo as Germany held off Austria for victory.
At just 17, Wellinger is competing on the World Cup circuit for the first time ever this season and finished 17th and fifth at the opening two events in Lillehammer last weekend.
And, despite his age, there can be no denying Wellinger's talent as he was the best performer in Finland which in turn gave Germany victory in the first of six team events this season.
He recorded a score of 146.4 with the Germans very first jump of the competition and then backed it up by producing 148.6 in the second round for an overall personal total of 295.
Wellinger's first leap was enough to keep Germany in the lead for the first three jumps of round one before Slovenia's Peter Prevc recorded 150 to give Slovenia the lead at the halfway stage.
However Germany fought back in the second round thanks to Wellinger and, despite the efforts of Austria, it was enough for them to retake the lead which this time they maintained throughout.
Michael Neumayer and Richard Freitag kept their cool in the second and third jumps as did Severin Freund on the final leap of the competition as Germany finished with an overall score of 1104.1.
Austria were resurgent but the fightback from Gregor Schlierenzauer and Thomas Morgenstern in the last two jumps in particular was in vain as they finished with 1098.8.
Meanwhile Slovenia were to finish third with 1064.4 with Jaka Hvala and Prevc producing the second and third best personal scores to beat off competition from Norway who were fourth.

 

[Smallville22]

Freestyle Skiing World Cup

Strong start for US as freestyle season gets under way
The US kicked off the new FIS freestyle skiing season in style with victories in both the men's and ladies' World Cup halfpipe event at Cardrona, New Zealand.
Torin Yater-Wallace took the honours in the men's event, edging out France's Thomas Krief by just 3.00 points to claim the season opener.
A second Frenchman Benoit Valentin came third in the afternoon final at the Olympic-grade halfpipe at the Cardrona Alpine Resort.

In the women's event, Devin Logan saw off strong competition from Japan's Manami Mitsuboshi to claim victory by 3.2 points.
Mitsuboshi's compatriot Ayana Onozuka grabbed third place, ahead of home hope Janina Kuzma and Switzerland's Mirjam Jaeger.


Woods kicks off season in style
Britain's James Woods scored a memorable FIS World Cup victory in the first men's slopestyle event of the season in Ushuaia in Argentina.
The 20-year-old from Sheffield saw off competition from Sweden's Henrik Harlaut and Jonas Hunziker of Switzerland in the first official slopestyle qualifier for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Victory for Woods, who won bronze at the 2011 Euro Winter X Games, sees him claim a gold bib, signifying his lead of the FIS World Cup points standings.
"This is such an important milestone for the sport and its athletes," said US freeskiing slopestyle coach Skogen Sprang. "The next 17 months will surely provide a great show."

In the women's event, American Keri Herman registered the first major win of her career, edging out Switzerland's Eveline Bhend and Canada's Dara Howell.
"This really boosts my confidence and it feels so good to be here," said Herman. "[It] just inspires me to train harder and stay on the right path towards the Olympics."

 

[Smallville22]

Snowboarding World Cup

Aono wins World Cup opener
Ryo Aono won the opening snowboard halfpipe event of the season at Cardrona in New Zealand.
Japanese hot favourite Aono had been in a different league all week and nailed his final ride once again, scoring 95.25 points to earn his ninth World Cup win.
Japan's Shuhei Sato (88.50) and China's Yiwei Zhang (84) finished second and third respectively
"That's cool and a perfect start into the season," he said.

America's Kelly Clark won the women's event in a more closely-fought event, scoring 83 to edge out France's Sophie Rodriguez (81.75). Spain's Queralt Castellet (71.75) came third.
"I'm really happy with my result here today. We are here to earn spots for our country in the Olympic qualifier period. The good finishes of Hannah (Teter, fourth) and me gave us a good start to the season," said Clark.
"I'm glad that the weather held off and stayed on my feet."
Rodriguez might have won had it not been for a fall while trying to land a frontside 900.
"It's a pity that I didn't land it as it might have been good for first place," she said.


Morgan impresses at Belgium World Cup
Britain's Billy Morgan finished seventh in the second round of the Snowboard World Cup in Belgium, less than two weeks after securing the London Freeze Big Air competition.
The Southampton-born boarder became the first home winner of the freestyle event and followed it up in Antwerp with a steady display.
He finished with a total of 173.25 points, feeling at home on the 38.5m ramp - the biggest in World Cup history.
But it was home boarder Seppe Smits who made history in Belgium's first-ever hosting of a World Cup event.
He finished with 183.25, 1.75 ahead of Austria's Clemens Schattschneider and 3.25 in front of Patrick Burgener.
Smits, the 2011 world champion, claimed the maximum 1,000 ranking points to take him level with Japan's Ryo Aono at the summit.

 

[Smallville22]

Bobsleigh - Former track champion Pittman in Sochi bobsleigh bid

Former hurdles world champion Jana Pittman plans to swap the track for a half-pipe and break into Australia's bobsleigh team for the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Pittman, who won the world 400 metres hurdles titles in 2003 and 2007 despite being plagued with injuries throughout her career, will bid for the brakeman's role behind two-time Olympian Astrid Radjenovic in the two-woman team for Sochi.
"Astrid is only a tenth, two-tenths of a second off the leaders so she has been looking for someone with a lot of speed and power for a while," the 30-year-old Pittman said.
"If we can train well - I am committed to it 100 per cent - hopefully we can become top six at the Olympics.
"It's a very different sport. I have the physical attributes, it's just now whether I can put it together in the split second we take off."
Pittman will head to Europe at the end of the month to trial with Radjenovic, herself a former sprinter and hurdler, and expects to be competing against three other hopefuls.
Her move follows American hurdler Lolo Jones's successful transition into the sport, having been named in the US women's bobsled team weeks after trying her hand.
Pittman was heartbroken to miss out on Olympic athletics trials for London after suffering a foot injury and has since mulled taking up rowing, but suggested her new bobsleigh mission had put all other plans on the back-burner.
"Astrid thinks once I get down a sled I'll never want to go back - it'll be this Winter Olympics followed by the next one so we'll just have to wait and see," she said.


Alpine Skiing - US skiing coach bailed over money laundering - report

A US Ski Team coach has been bailed by police after being held over a case of money laundering, according to a report.
Austrian Andreas Evers was apprehended after landing at Munich airport on Tuesday and quizzed by police and a judge, newspaper Die Presse reported.
The US men's speed coach is accused of stealing 1.4 million euros from his ex-girlfriend during the period of 2001 to 2005.
The paper said the unnamed woman had herself been jailed after being found guilty of embezzlement to the tune of 7.6 million euros. She served 30 months of a four-year sentence before being released.
The report claims she then filed a complaint against Evers, who is now accused of receiving ill-gotten money.
The 44-year-old has been bailed, as long as he does not impede the ongoing investigations.
Evers moved to the US team in April after quitting his role with the Austrian Ski Association, where he trained, among others, former World Cup champion and Olympic gold medallist Hermann Meier.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon - Olympic hero Greis quits biathlon

Three-times Olympic biathlon champion Michael Greis has retired with immediate effect.
The 36-year-old German said he realised in last week's season-opening race that he was no longer able to compete at the highest level.
Greis finished 67th in the 20km race at Oestersund, Sweden, the second-worst result in his 13-year career, which took in 265 races.
He told Eurosport: "For me, the 20k race in Ostersund was over before it had even begun.
"Already on the first loop I felt 'Hey Michi, there’s something missing here. And that’s something essential.' There was nothing left of fighting spirit and the punch which always characterized me as an athlete and made me successful.
"I felt nothing but an emptiness inside and I realised it was going to be my last race. I knew I had reached the final straight of my career."
Greis dominated the sport in the middle of the last decade, claiming three gold medals in the 20km individual, 15km mass start and 4x7.5km relay at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin.
He won three World Championship titles and the 2006/07 overall World Cup title.

 

[Smallville22]

Cross-Country Skiing World Cup

Kazakh pair claim World Cup team sprint
The Kazakh duo of Denis Volotka and Nikolay Chebotko sprung a surprise as they claimed the first team sprint event of the cross country World Cup season in Quebec.
The pair from Kazakhstan completed the 6 x 1.6km Free Team Sprint in a time of 19 minutes 25.1 seconds.
Second were the Russian pair of Nikita Kriukov and Alexey Petukhov while the Norwegian twosome of Anders Gloeersen and Eirik Brandsdal had to settle for third.
The home pairing of Devon Kershaw and Alex Harvey were not at their best however as they came home in fifth.

In the women’s race the victory went to the American duo of Jessica Diggins and Kikkan Randall in a time of 21:49.5
Second on the day were the German team of Hanna Kolb and Denis Herrmann while the Norwegians Celine Brun-Lie and Maiken Caspersen Falla again took bronze.

 

[Smallville22]

Skeleton World Cup

Rudman wins skeleton gold in Winterberg
Britain's Shelley Rudman set a track record in taking gold in the World Cup skeleton in Winterberg in Germany while Martins Dukurs won the men's race.

Rudman set a combined time of a minute 56.3 seconds to win by almost a second from home athlete Anja Huber and American Noelle Pikus-Pace.
Her first run of 58.06s set the record. The overall champion tweeted afterwards: "Just won the Winterberg World cup and set a new track record by half a second!"
It was the 2006 Olympic silver medallist's first World Cup win of the season.
Lizzy Yarnold was fourth. She tweeted her congratulations to her team-mate: "Shelley was unbeatable today, great performance."
Yarnold has performed the better of the two so far this season, with silver at Park City then bronze in Whistler.

Latvian Dukurs won the men's event in 1:52.71 from Russia's Alexander Tretjyakov and German Christopher Grotheer.
Britons Kristan Bromley and Ed Smith were fourth and 12th respectively.

 

[Smallville22]

Alpine Skiing World Cup

Tina Maze wins St Moritz super combined
Tina Maze showed off her vastly improved all-round skills to win the St Moritz super-combined for her third victory of the Alpine ski World Cup season.
The Slovenian giant slalom world champion was fastest in both legs of the event with a combined time of two minutes 1.76 seconds.
Maze, who leads the overall standings, kissed her skis after the morning super-G leg, the only discipline in which she has yet to win a World Cup race.
If she repeats the feat in Saturday's super-G on the same course, Maze would become only the sixth woman to have won in all five World Cup specialities.
"I came to St Moritz to win all three races and I don't care if the others think I'm arrogant," said Maze, who will also race a giant slalom in the Swiss resort on Sunday.
"It's true that I have not yet won a super-G but I work so hard that I have my chances. To have won both the super-G leg and the slalom today makes it feel like a double victory," added Maze, who won the only downhill of her career in St Moritz.
After also winning the two giant slaloms held so far, Maze leads Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch, who was fourth on Friday, by 128 points in the overall standings.
The big disappointment of the day was Lindsey Vonn, who failed to complete the afternoon's slalom leg and scored no points.
The American, fresh from her Lake Louise treble victory, lies fourth overall, 187 points behind Maze.
Vonn had little slalom preparation in the off-season and it showed on the hill, where she made an early mistake and was eliminated.
Behind Maze, the other podium places went to Austrians Nicole Hosp and Kathrin Zettel, both specialists in super-combined.
Hosp, who trailed Maze by 0.88 seconds, had taken her last podium places in two St Moritz super-combined events last season, while Zettel, 1.08 adrift, was the discipline's world champion in 2009.
It was Zettel's fourth podium of the season and a sign that she could join the overall World Cup battle after years of struggling with hip and back problems.
Much will be at stake in Saturday's super-G and while Vonn will be out for revenge, Maze said she was ready for a fight.
"I can't wait for tomorrow's race. I want to show what I can do in a super-G. I'm going to fight all the way through a long and exhausting weekend", she said.

 

[Smallville22]

Snowboard Cross World Cup

Visintin storms into Montafon lead
Omar Visintin kicked off his snowboard cross World Cup campaign in style, topping the pile for the first time in his career at the opening event in Montafon, Austria.
The Italian 23-year-old scooped 1000 points for the overall standings as he held off the challenge of home favourite Markus Schairer.
Third on the day was Nick Baumgartner of the United States of America with Australia’s Alex Pullin just off the podium places in fourth.
Great Britain's Thomas Bankes finished down in 62nd place and there was also disappointment for Russia's Andrey Boldykov, second overall in last year's World Cup, as he finished down in 49th.
Because of worsening weather conditions, organisers moved the women's cross to Saturday.

 

[Smallville22]

Biathlon World Cup

Birnbacher snatches 10km sprint win
Germany's Andreas Birnbacher raced to the narrowest of victories in the men's 10km sprint at round two of the Biathlon World Cup at Hochfilzen, edging out reigning overall champion Martin Fourcade.
The build up to the Austrian event was overshadowed by the shock retirement of three-time Olympic champion Michael Greis who quit after a poor showing at the season curtain-raiser in Sweden.
However Birnbacher wasn't in the mood to get sentimental about the departure of his countryman Greis and promptly raced to victory in a time of 25.31.01 minutes.
Frenchman Fourcade took the Crystal Globe last year and had hit the ground running with two victories at the season-opening World Cup round in Sweden.
However he was forced to settle for second in Hochfilzen by just 0.4 of a second – some gusting winds in the later stages perhaps to blame for his narrow defeat.
Slovenia's Jakov Fak was third, less than 15 seconds behind the winner in what was a thrilling encounter in Austria ahead of tomorrow's 12.5km pursuit.


Domracheva wins 7.5km sprint in Hochfilzen
Belarus' Darya Domracheva produced a scintillating final lap in Hochfilzen to rack up her first biathlon World Cup win of the campaign in Austria in the 7.5km sprint.
In doing so, she denied Norway's Tora Berger for the first time this season the discipline.
Olympic 15km champion Berger was looking to continue her dominance in women's biathlon so far this campaign after a blistering start to the season in Oestersund where she was victorious in all three disciplines.
However she appeared to fade in the final lap in Hochfilzen, in stark contrast to Domracheva, last year’s overall runner-up and a bronze medallist in Vancouver two years ago.
Domracheva eventually claimed the win in 22:24.7, nearly five seconds clear of Finland’s Kaisa Makarainen who grabbed her first podium place of the season.
World Cup leader Berger, who appeared set to miss out on the podium altogether, showed a great deal of spirit to deny her compatriot Synnove Solemdal in fourth as she came home in 22:37.2.
That effort from the Norwegian was enough to limit the damage of missing out on the win and she maintained her lead at the top of the standings with 228 points, still 24 points clear of Domracheva in second.

 

[Smallville22]

Freestyle Skiing - Park City Grand Prix postponed until January

The US Ski and Snowboard Association have announced its Sprint US Grand Prix, scheduled to take place December 19-22 in Park City, has been postponed.
The event, which includes FIS World Cups for both halfpipe skiing and snowboarding, has been rescheduled due to unseasonable weather conditions and will now take place January 28 to February 2.
"As an FIS World Cup, the Sprint U.S. Grand Prix is an integral part of the Olympic qualifying process," said USSA VP of Events Calum Clark.
"It was important to both USSA and FIS to have the best quality halfpipe possible and moving to February will help us ensure the best athletic event."
The new schedule coincides with the Visa Freestyle International in Deer Valley. 


Revised Schedule


January 28: Training

January 29: Training

January 30: Halfpipe snowboarding qualifying; Paul Mitchell Progression Session

January 31: Halfpipe skiing qualifying

February 1: Halfpipe snowboarding finals

February 2: Halfpipe skiing finals

 

[Smallville22]

Figure Skating - Grand Prix Final in Sochi

Takahashi takes lead in Sochi
Daisuke Takahashi leads last year's champion Patrick Chan after the short program of the men's competition at the Grand Prix Final of Figure Skating in Sochi.
The Japanese skater, who finished runner-up to his Canadian rival in last year's Final, produced an impressive display to top the pile while his compatriot Yuzuru Hanyu sits third.

It is good news for Japan in the ladies' competition as well as Mao Asada leads the standings after the short program with American Ashley Wagner, who qualified in first place for the Grand Final, just behind.

In the Ice Dance hot favourites Meryl Davis and Charlie White from the USA are sitting pretty after a dominant display in the short dance.
The American duo, who won this event last year, lead Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir with Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat of France in bronze-medal position.

And finally in the pairs competition Russia's Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov look well placed to improve on their silver at last year’s Grand Prix Final.
The Russia duo lead compatriots Vera Bazarova and Yuri Larionov with China's Qing Pang and Jian Tong in third after the short program.

 

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Biathlon World Cup

Fak earns first-ever World Cup win
Slovenian Jakov Fak claimed his first-ever biathlon World Cup victory after finishing top of the pile in the men's 12.5km pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria.
Finishing with two penalties Fak crossed the finish line in 34:14.8 minutes to claim a maiden World Cup win, 0.9 seconds ahead of Russian Dmitry Malyshko with Frenchman Martin Fourcade in third.
Despite finishing third reigning World Cup champion Fourcade still sits pretty atop the current standings for this season on 253 points, with German Andreas Birnbacher now 49 points behind in second after only managing fifth in Hochfilzen.
Despite finishing fifth Birnbacher started well and was soon in front alongside Fourcade – the duo having a big gap over Fak after all three shot clean in the first prone.
However in the second prone both Fourcade and Birnbacher picked up penalties while Fak sailed through again to take the lead.
Fak did have his lead cut after picking up a penalty in the third shot but sped away from Malyshko with the line in sight to take the win, Fourcade passing Birnbacher on the sprint home to finish on the podium.


Maiden World Cup win for Solemdal in Austria
Norwegian Synnoeve Solemdal upstaged compatriot Tora Berger as she claimed her first biathlon World Cup victory in the 10km pursuit in Hochfilzen, Austria.
Solemdal headed into the event buoyed by a fourth-place finish just 24 hours earlier but blew that out of the water with her maiden win.
And she did it in some style, her time of 31:13.4 minutes more than half a minute ahead of Berger.
Despite finishing second best in Austria Berger continued her record of finishing on the podium in every World Cup race this season.
The 15km individual Olympic champion Berger sits pretty atop the overall World Cup standings on 282 points, stretching her lead to 38 with nearest challenger Darya Domracheva from Belarus only managing fifth in Hochfilzen.
Completing the podium in Austria was Finland's Kaisa Makarainen in 31:46.7 minutes, moving up to fifth overall.

 

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Alpine Skiing World Cup

Home win for Pinturault in Val d'Isere slalom
Frenchman Alexis Pinturault began to fulfil his potential when the exciting young Alpine skiing all-rounder won a men's World Cup slalom in Val d'Isere on Saturday.
The 21-year-old had claimed his first World Cup win in a city event in Moscow last winter but it could not compare with beating the world's best at home on the steep Face de Bellevarde slope used for the 1992 Olympics.
In a combined time of one minute and 36.55 seconds, Pinturault left Germany's Felix Neureuther 0.50 seconds adrift with Austria's overall World Cup champion Marcel Hirscher was third, a further 0.07 behind.
Pinturault is one of the most promising talents produced by French skiing in recent years, having earned podium places in four alpine disciplines since his World cup start two seasons ago.
He made it clear that his long-term ambition was to win the overall World Cup big globe.
"I'm not going to lie about it. The World Cup is my ambition and I want to get there. But I'm taking my time, and going each step at a time," he said.
His show of strength was all the more impressive as the Frenchman injured his ankle playing tennis in the summer and could not train for three months.
"This does not have the same flavour as Moscow. The conditions were difficult for me because of my ankle. I was short on training and I managed to win at home in France.
"It's a special one, obviously," said Pinturault.
The conditions were also special as the second leg was floodlit, organisers having been forced to postpone the race because of heavy snowfalls overnight.
Hirscher collected his fourth podium place in succession in technical events and made it back to third in the overall World Cup standings, 120 points behind Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal.
Asked about Pinturault, the Austrian said: "I'm not surprised by his victory. I've known him since the junior ranks and I know what he's worth. It was bound to happen and it's good for skiing to have such young talent," he said.
However, he should not worry too much about the Frenchman stealing the limelight right now as Pinturault said he would be cautious for the rest of the season to help his ankle heal.
"I'm going to pick my races and do fewer speed events because I didn't have much training in downhill," he added.
Pinturault's victory was the fourth in Val d'Isere by a Frenchman in the World Cup and he will be among the favourites again in Sunday's giant slalom with Hirscher and American Ted Ligety.


Vonn strikes back to win St Moritz Super-G
Lindsey Vonn put the disappointment of her super-combined failure behind her to win Saturday's World Cup Super-G in St Moritz.
The American, who was eliminated from Friday's super-combined in the Swiss resort after skidding out in the slalom leg, won in one minute and 2.71 seconds on a shortened course because of strong winds at the top.
Slovenia's Tina Maze, Vonn's arch-rival for the overall title, was second, missing her first victory in the discipline by 0.37 seconds. Vonn's compatriot Julia Mancuso was third, 1.01 behind.
It was Vonn's 57th World Cup top spot and her fourth victory this season.
"It's crazy how fast the figure is going up. Should my career stop now, I would have achieved all my dreams," Vonn, who is five short of Anne-Marie Moser Proell's record of 62 World Cup victories," told reporters.
"Yesterday, I didn't ski the way I wanted. I didn't do the job. I could have skied more aggressive today, still it's good to be back on top," she added.
"Of course I could have been beaten today. Behind me, Tina Maze is so strong and she pushes harder than ever. It's good to have someone to fight against, it's not always the case and it takes you to your limits.
"I'm trying even harder this season because so many girls can beat me. I'm not as dominant," Vonn said.
Maze leads the overall World Cup standings on 577 points ahead of Germany's Maria Hoefl-Riesch who has 414.
Vonn, who has won all four speed events held this season, is back in third on 410 points.
Maze, who was quickest in the Super-G leg of Friday's super-combined event, is bidding to become only the sixth woman to have won in all five World Cup specialities.
"I'm disappointed because I was a little bit unlucky with the wind," she said.
"I can't complain about finishing second but it's a pity. I love the Super-G and I saw yesterday that I was doing very well.
"I will do my utmost for the next one to be the right one. Maybe it will be possible in Val d'Isere next week. I keep looking ahead," added the Slovenian.