Norway’s Kjetil Jansrud won a shock gold in the Olympic super-G Sunday as the big guns of alpine skiing again failed to fire while the Jamaican bobsleigh team open a new chapter in their compelling rags-to-riches story.
Vancouver 2010 champion Aksel Lund Svindal was the favourite going into the demanding super-G, with US pair Bode Miller and Ted Ligety also tipped as potential winners.
But 28-year-old Jansrud mastered the challenging course in a time of 1min 18.14sec to claim gold, with American Andrew Weibrecht taking silver. Miller and Jan Hudec of Canada tied for bronze.
“I am floating and feeling great. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I wasn’t nervous at the start but things got a little too exciting when Andrew Weibrecht was going down,” said Jansrud.
“It means the world to me. It’s the biggest thing you can win. It’s something I have worked for since I was a little kid, so I am just going to enjoy it,” added the Norwegian.
Jansrud — who also won bronze in last week’s downhill — was watched by Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who hailed him as an “idol”.
By winning bronze Miller, the 36-year-old five-time Olympian, became the oldest alpine skier to win a medal — less than a year after his younger brother died.
“Thanks for all the support. Today was one of the most emotional days of my life. I miss my brother,” tweeted Miller.
The top men’s alpine skiers have failed to produce the goods at the Sochi Games, with Austria’s Matthias Mayer taking gold in the downhill and unfancied Sandro Viletta winning the super-combined.
Sunday’s race had been moved forward by one hour to 10:00 am (06:00 GMT) amid continuing warm temperatures at the Sochi Games and many skiers on Sunday complained of slushy conditions on the course.
– Cool Runnings –
Over at the Sanki sliding centre, the Jamaican duo of Winston Watts and brakeman Marvin Dixon go into the first heats of the two-man bobsleigh as underdogs for the gold but favourites with the crowd.
The 46-year-old Watts, who is taking part in a fourth Olympics but first since 2002, admitted that he still even watches “Cool Runnings”, the Hollywood movie that chronicled Jamaica’s famous first appearance at a Winter Olympics, at Calgary in 1988.
“I still watch that movie as if it’s the first time I’m watching it,” Watts said. “It’s very inspiring.”
A total of five golds were up for grabs on Sunday. Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic stormed to victory in the women’s snowboard cross, hailing the moustache she paints on her face as a lucky charm.
“It’s simple, it’s just for luck. It’s a lucky moustache but this one is special. Because of this special day it’s in the national colours,” she said.
Sweden took gold in the men’s 4x10km cross country relay, completing a famous double for the nordic nation after also winning the women’s event.
Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen will again try to win a record 13th Olympic Winter medal when he competes in the men’s 15km mass start although the start of the race was delayed due to fog.
In speedskating, Ireen Wust of the Netherlands, who won gold in the 3,000m and silver in the 1,000m, defends her 1,500m title. Victory would give her the fourth gold of her career and a sixth Olympic medal.
The figure skating ice dance competition starts with the short dance while in the men’s ice hockey competition favourites Canada, Russia and United States are all in action.
Russian media on Sunday said the Olympic host nation was “robbed” of a win in Saturday’s hockey clash with the United States while an outspoken politician described the American triumph as a “stolen victory”.
With the score tied 2-2 in the preliminary round fixture, Fyodor Tyutin found the net for Russia but the goal was disallowed. T.J. Oshie scored four goals in the shootout to lift the Americans to a 3-2 win.
The Indian flag was belatedly raised in the mountains at the Sochi Olympics’ Rosa Khutor venue after the team had been forced to originally compete as independents. Olympic chiefs on Tuesday ended a 14-month ban.