Latest Alpine skiing Stories
SESTRIERE, Italy (Reuters) - Slalom Olympic champion Jean-Pierre Vidal said on Friday a repeat of France's one-two at the Salt Lake City Games was not impossible in the final Alpine skiing event in Sestriere on Saturday. "This team is very strong, very close. If there was a team event in Alpine skiing, I'm sure we'd win it," Vidal, who also celebrates his birthday on Friday, told reporters. In 2002, Vidal was an unexpected gold medallist in front of compatriot Sebastien Amiez and this...
By Clare Fallon SESTRIERE, Italy (Reuters) - Julia Mancuso set out to make amends for a disappointing showing by the American Alpine ski team at the Turin Olympics with the fastest time in the first leg of the women's giant slalom on Friday. Lurking just 0.18 seconds behind her, however, was world champion Anja Paerson of Sweden who is chasing her second gold medal after victory in Wednesday's slalom. The American women have yet to win an Alpine medal at the Games. Their men's team's...
By Clare Fallon SESTRIERE, Italy (Reuters) - Julia Mancuso set out to make amends for a disappointing showing by the American Alpine ski team at the Turin Olympics with the fastest time in the first leg of the women's giant slalom on Friday. Lurking just 0.18 seconds behind her, however, was world champion Anja Paerson of Sweden who is chasing her second gold medal after victory in Wednesday's slalom. The Americans have yet to win an Alpine medal at the Games. Their biggest women's...
By Alan Baldwin SESTRIERE, Italy (Reuters) - Giorgio Rocca can redeem a dismal Olympics for Italian Alpine skiers in Saturday's closing men's slalom. The 30-year-old is the clear favorite, leading the World Cup slalom standings after five successive wins in the run-up to the Turin Games, but he also carries a huge burden of expectation. No Italian male skier has won an Olympic Alpine medal since Alberto Tomba took silver in slalom in Lillehammer in 1994 and the women have also drawn a...
By Steve Ginsburg TURIN (Reuters) - Janica Kostelic's vacillating health and a tricky weather pattern over the Italian Alps were lingering questions heading into Friday's giant slalom, the final women's Alpine ski race of the Olympics. Kostelic has been the victim of a high pulse rate and was waiting until Friday morning before deciding if she will defend the title she won at the Salt Lake City Games in 2002. The Croatian had said at various times over the past two days her failing...
By Alan Baldwin SESTRIERE, Italy (Reuters) - Croatian Janica Kostelic, the most successful woman Alpine skier in Olympic history, may have made her final appearance of the Turin Games on Wednesday. The 24-year-old, looking pale and tired after finishing fourth in a foggy slalom under the Sestriere floodlights, told reporters that she was 90 percent certain not to defend her giant slalom title on Friday. "For this Games, I'm done," she said. "I really can't (race the giant slalom). It's...
By Elizabeth Piper TURIN (Reuters) - Croatian Janica Kostelic, who sealed her title as the most successful woman Olympic Alpine skier in history in Turin, bids on Wednesday for her third medal at a Games marred by a doping scandal engulfing the Austrians. Olympic officials said 10 Austrian biathlon and cross-country skiing athletes would have to wait longer for the results of doping tests, taken during a night raid on Saturday, rowing back on earlier suggestions of a 72-hour wait....
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Wearing a helmet while skiing, as many competitive alpine skiers and snowboarders are required to do, could reduce injuries among recreational skiers, Norwegian researchers said on Tuesday.Head injuries are the most common cause of death among skiers and snowboarders, yet most ski resorts do not require helmets, according to a study from the Norwegian School of Sport Sciences in Oslo.About one-third of U.S. skiers and snowboarders wear helmets on the slopes, according to...
By Simon Evans SESTRIERE, Italy (Reuters) - Bode Miller, the most high-profile skier in the world, has been more successful at scurrying away from journalists than completing his races at the Winter Olympics. His reluctance to speak in public is symbolic of the humbling of the U.S. team at this Games. Miller, who enjoys playing the contrarian, will have his own explanation for his evasiveness but coach Phil McNichol knows what line of questioning to expect in the coming weeks after a...
By Bill Barclay SESTRIERE, Italy (Reuters) - Bode Miller let his mediocre skiing do the talking once more on Monday when the U.S. men's team failed to win a medal in the giant slalom. Miller moved up from 12th after the first leg to finish joint sixth but is now without a medal in four events at the Games. His team mates Daron Rahlves and Ted Ligety, the surprise combined event gold medallist, fared even worse. Both skied out in the first leg. Miller did not stop to speak to reporters...
