MOGULS: U.S. WOMEN'S TEAM IS LEFT OUT IN THE COLD HIGHLY FAVORED SQUAD IS SHUT OUT OF MEDAL CONTENTION.Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer SAUZE'd OULX, Italy - Mediocre jumps, unimpressive landings, middling speed, so-so carving. One massive letdown letdown 1. the sudden flush of milk flow that occurs when the calf begins to suck or when milking commences in a properly prepared cow. Depends for its occurrence on the release of oxytocin from the pituitary gland in response to massage of the teats and udder. . The U.S. women's highly regarded freestyle The code name for the MCE version of Windows. See Media Center Edition. moguls team melted on a frigid frig·id adj. 1. Extremely cold. 2. Persistently averse to sexual intercourse. Saturday night, getting shut out of 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 . It was a stunning outcome for what had been advanced as a deep team, with several medal contenders. Instead, the gold went to Canada's Jennifer Heil Jennifer Heil (born April 11, 1983) is a Canadian freestyle skier. She won the first gold medal for Canada in the 2006 Winter Olympics games in Turin, Italy. Giving Canada its first victory on the first full day of competition, Heil placed her title in the moguls event. , and just to add insult to the U.S. finish, when she was introduced to the crowd during a flower presentation, the announcer at first identified her as being from the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . It was as close as the U.S. would come to the podium. ``It's a big disappointment,'' U.S. coach Jeff Wintersteen said. ``We have no excuses.'' Norway's Kari Traa Kari Traa (born January 28, 1974 in Voss, Norway) is a Norwegian freestyle skier. She won the Olympic title in the moguls event at the 2002 Winter Olympics, finished second at the 2006 games, and finished third at the 1998 games. , who won gold at Salt Lake City, took the silver and France's Sandra Laqura earned a surprising bronze. The best the U.S. could muster was the 10th-place finish of Shannon Bahrke. Jillian Vogtli was 11th and Michelle Roark 18th. Hannah Kearney Hannah Kearney is an American moguls skier who competed in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy. A gold medal favorite entering her first Olympics, Kearney, from Vermont had a poor first run and did not make it out of the qualification round. , considered by many America's best medal hope, couldn't even emerge out of qualifying. ``We didn't fire right out of the gate with Hannah and it just spread throughout the team,'' Wintersteen said. Roark went 17th out of the 20 skiers and was America's last hope for a medal. But neither of her jumps were impressive and she landed awkwardly on her first one. ``I think I went for it a little too much,'' Roark said. ``But I'd rather go for it and be last than ski to be fourth. ``It was all or nothing for me.'' Kearney, 19, was expected to lead the U.S. charge, but she suffered a miserable run in qualifying. Her right ski caught early in her run, she landed clumsily on her first jump and then she almost charged over the moguls for a spell instead of around them. ``I wasn't nervous,'' Kearney said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. . I just messed up. ``I was shaky through the moguls. I just tried to gain my composure com·po·sure n. A calm or tranquil state of mind; self-possession. [From compose.] composure Noun the state of being calm or unworried Noun and finish the run.'' Going 14th, Traa grabbed the lead and held it until Heil took it on the final jump of the night. Traa now has a medal of each color, having taken the bronze in 1998. ``I'm really happy I got a silver today,'' she said. ``But this is my last season. I have other things I want to do with my life.'' Traa's two jumps were more difficult than Heil's, but the Canadian was perfect on both of hers and tied for the fastest run of the night. Speed accounts for 25 percent of the score. Turns on the jump are 50 percent, with height the final 25 percent. Heil stood at the top of the run, knowing exactly what was needed to bring the gold home to Canada. ``I really wasn't nervous,'' she said. ``I was just thinking of my run as a whole and that I've done it a thousand times and to just let it happen.'' Nothing would happen Saturday for the disappointing U.S. team. ``I had a couple of big mistakes, but what are you going to do?'' said Bahrke, who took the silver in Salt Lake City. It was a consistent theme for the freestyle team, which hardly made the U.S. skiing team's ``Best in the World'' look like a wise slogan. ``We really had everything to perform well and we didn't come through,'' Roark said. ``I'm sorry.'' Steve Dilbeck, (818) 713-3607 stephen.dilbeck(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (color) Canada's Jennifer Heil celebrates winning gold in the women's freestyle moguls. Frank Gunn/Associated Press |
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