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Golden harvest for Americans
Source: Agencies |
February 19, 2010, Friday
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SHAUN White, Lindsey Vonn and Shani Davis all struck gold on Wednesday as the United States transformed a bleak Vancouver Olympics into its own winter wonderland with a dazzling show of gravity-defying stunts, brute strength and old-fashioned courage.
White showed why he is one of the most recognizable and highest paid athletes in winter sports as he wowed Olympic fans at Cypress Mountain with a breathtaking display of somersaults, twists and aerial tricks.
The flame-haired 23-year-old from California was so dominant that he had the gold wrapped up after his first run so used his second to unveil a special double backward flip he had never performed in competition before.
"I just felt like I didn't come all the way to Vancouver not to pull out the big guns," said White, whose cult-status among snowboarders and skateboarders has earned him the nicknames "The Flying Tomato" and the "Animal".
A fearless Vonn overcome a painful injury that almost ruined her Olympic dream before it began as she hurtled down a treacherous Whistler Mountain course to become the first American to win the women's downhill.
Not to be outdone, Davis powered home over the final lap at the Richmond Oval to become the first man to win the 1,000 meters speedskating title at successive Olympics as the US soared to the peak of the medal standings.
The three victories gave the powerful team a total of five gold medals after the fifth full day of competition, ahead of Germany, South Korea and Switzerland, which each had three golds on a day when the heavy snow falls and thick fog that forced the postponement of some earlier events finally gave way to clear blue skies.
Traditional powerhouses Russia, Norway and Austria all opened their gold medal accounts on Wednesday while Slovenia's Petra Majdic won admiration her brave third-place finish in the women's cross country sprint classic.
Majdic was urged by doctors to pull out of her event after she tripped and fell in a deep hole during a morning training run, badly bruising the muscles around her ribs.
She could hardly breathe but ignored the medical advice and got back on her skis and made it through to the final, which she finished in so much pain that she collapsed on to the snow and needed help just to get on the podium.
Norway won gold in the event with Marit Bjoergen surging to victory.
Nikita Kriukov won the men's cross country sprint classic after lunging across the line to beat his Russian teammate Alexander Panzhinskiy in a photo-finish.
Austrian brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger slid to victory in the luge doubles, to repeat as champions.
White showed why he is one of the most recognizable and highest paid athletes in winter sports as he wowed Olympic fans at Cypress Mountain with a breathtaking display of somersaults, twists and aerial tricks.
The flame-haired 23-year-old from California was so dominant that he had the gold wrapped up after his first run so used his second to unveil a special double backward flip he had never performed in competition before.
"I just felt like I didn't come all the way to Vancouver not to pull out the big guns," said White, whose cult-status among snowboarders and skateboarders has earned him the nicknames "The Flying Tomato" and the "Animal".
A fearless Vonn overcome a painful injury that almost ruined her Olympic dream before it began as she hurtled down a treacherous Whistler Mountain course to become the first American to win the women's downhill.
Not to be outdone, Davis powered home over the final lap at the Richmond Oval to become the first man to win the 1,000 meters speedskating title at successive Olympics as the US soared to the peak of the medal standings.
The three victories gave the powerful team a total of five gold medals after the fifth full day of competition, ahead of Germany, South Korea and Switzerland, which each had three golds on a day when the heavy snow falls and thick fog that forced the postponement of some earlier events finally gave way to clear blue skies.
Traditional powerhouses Russia, Norway and Austria all opened their gold medal accounts on Wednesday while Slovenia's Petra Majdic won admiration her brave third-place finish in the women's cross country sprint classic.
Majdic was urged by doctors to pull out of her event after she tripped and fell in a deep hole during a morning training run, badly bruising the muscles around her ribs.
She could hardly breathe but ignored the medical advice and got back on her skis and made it through to the final, which she finished in so much pain that she collapsed on to the snow and needed help just to get on the podium.
Norway won gold in the event with Marit Bjoergen surging to victory.
Nikita Kriukov won the men's cross country sprint classic after lunging across the line to beat his Russian teammate Alexander Panzhinskiy in a photo-finish.
Austrian brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger slid to victory in the luge doubles, to repeat as champions.
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