MEN'S DOWNHILL: KINGS OF THE HILL IN DOWNHILL, EVERYONE LOOKS UP AT AUSTRIA.Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer SNOWBASIN, Utah - Like Britain ruled the waves, Austria has laid claim to the slopes. It's their own little empire, as Austria showed in the men's downhill Sunday, winning two of the three medals and three of the first six spots. There was no surprise in their domination, just in who led it. Fritz Strobl Fritz Strobl (born August 24, 1972 in Lienz) is a former alpine skier from Austria. He won the gold medal in the downhill competition at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City, United States. , ranked ninth in the world, starred for Austria, capturing the gold, and current world champion Stephan Eberharter Stephan ("Steff") Eberharter (born March 24, 1969) is an Austrian skier, born in Brixlegg, who won the World Cup (overall) title in 2002 and 2003. He was arguably the closest rival of compatriot Hermann Maier in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He has now retired from the sport. took the bronze. Norway's Lasse Kjus Lasse Kjus (born January 14, 1971) is a Norwegian Alpine skier who has won the overall World Cup twice, an Olympic gold medal, and several World Championships. His combined career total of 16 Olympic and World Championship medals ranks 2nd all-time behind fellow Norwegian Kjetil crashed the Austrian party by taking the silver. ``I think it was needed that there was one more country on the podium podium In architecture, a pedestal on a large scale. It may be any of various elements that form the base of a structure, such as the platform forming the floor and substructure of a Classical temple, a low wall supporting columns, or the structurally or decoratively , and I had to do something about it,'' Kjus said. It had to be a disappointing afternoon for Eberharter, who has been dominating recent races. Nine of his 15 career World Cup victories have come this season. ``It would have been great to win the gold medal gold medal traditional first prize. [Western Cult: Misc.] See : Prize , but this is a great start for me,'' Eberharter said. ``But I have two more chances to win a gold medal.'' Strobl, a part-time policeman, skated down the demanding ``Grizzly'' course in 1 minute, 39.13 seconds - just .22 seconds ahead of Kjus and .28 seconds ahead of Eberharter. ``I didn't come here to beat anybody,'' Strobl said. ``I'm just here to ski well.'' No one was better on a bright and clear Sunday morning Sunday Morning may refer to:
America's top medal hopeful in the downhill, Daron Rahlves Daron Louis Rahlves (born June 12, 1973 in Walnut Creek, California) is an American skier widely regarded as the most successful American speed racer of all time. He was educated at the Green Mountain Valley School in Vermont and currently resides in Truckee, California. , got too much lift off the first jump, losing time in the air, to finish a disappointing 16th. ``I'm going to lay down and bleed a little, and then move on,'' Rahlves said. Rahlves, who has two more events scheduled, wasn't even the top finishing American. Squaw Valley's Marco Sullivan, a star American on the junior circuit, finished a surprising ninth, 1.24 back of Eberharter. Sullivan, 21, had separated his shoulder in a practice run just two weeks ago. ``I'm happy,'' Sullivan said. ``That was my goal, a top 10. I'm pretty stoked stoked adj. Slang 1. Exhilarated or excited. 2. Being or feeling high or intoxicated, especially from a drug. . No one really expected me to be a contender. ``Hopefully, we can expect better things. I'm young, I've got more Olympics to come. I hope I'll be doing this for a while and bring home some medals in the future.'' The U.S. had two other skiers, Jakub Fiala (27th) and Scott Macarthy (tied for 29th). A crowd of almost 20,000, many of whom were stuck in a massive traffic jam and missed much of the downhill, did not witness a single fall, although France's Pierre-Emmanuel Dalcin Pierre-Emmanuel Dalcin (born 15 February, 1977) is a French Alpine skier. Dalcin was French Champion in Downhill 2000. At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Dalcin was leading the Super-G competition before it was stopped. In the 2nd run, he was disqualified. lost a ski near the end of his run, when skiers are approaching 90 mph. He finished the last 200 yards on one ski and still ended up 11th. The downhill covers a little less than two miles, the skiers making a 2,897-foot drop in elevation, the final line leading to the finish is at a 74-degree angle. But Strobl cut a clean and smooth run down the hill and over the jumps for his first Olympic medal. Eberharter already had finished his run and was in the lead when Strobl cut the winning line. ``I had a good run,'' Eberharter said. ``A bronze-medal run.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Austria's Fritz Strobl flies through the air on his gold-medal run. Austria also won the bronze. Robert Deutsch/Associated Press |
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