MILAN, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) — Lindsey Vonn’s daring bid for an Olympic downhill medal resulted in heartbreak, whereas Norway’s Sander Eitrem delivered a record-breaking triumph on the velocity skating oval on Sunday, because the Milan-Cortina Winter Games produced drama throughout a number of venues on the second competitors day.
Vonn crashed early within the ladies’s downhill, dropping management on the opening traverse after slicing her line too tight and being spun into the air. The 41-year-old American, competing on a rebuilt proper knee and a badly injured left knee, was heard screaming after the autumn and was later airlifted from the course.
The U.S. Ski Team stated Vonn was in secure situation and receiving care from American and Italian physicians. Her race ended with a damaged leg, one other devastating blow simply 9 days after she tore the ACL in her left knee.
Breezy Johnson capitalized on the chaotic race to win gold for the United States, edging Germany’s Emma Aicher by 0.04 seconds. Italy’s Sofia Goggia took bronze.
Johnson, competing in her second Olympics, turned the second American girl to win an Olympic downhill gold, following Vonn. “Her achievements put her in a different echelon,” Johnson stated. “To have my name next to hers is really something special.”
Johnson added that Vonn’s coach advised her the three-time Olympic medalist was cheering for her from the helicopter. “My heart aches for her,” Johnson stated. “It’s such a brutal sport sometimes.”
In velocity skating, world report holder Eitrem broke the Olympic report to assert gold within the males’s 5,000 meters. The 23-year-old clocked 6:03.95 on the Milano Speed Skating Stadium, surpassing the earlier Olympic mark of 6:08.84 set by Sweden’s Nils van der Poel in Beijing 4 years in the past.
Eitrem, who turned the primary skater to interrupt six minutes on the distance two weeks earlier in Inzell, Germany, stated managing stress was the important thing to his Olympic success. “I skated my best race,” he stated. “The key was to stay relaxed and keep it simple.”
Metodej Jilek of the Czech Republic took silver, ending 2.53 seconds behind Eitrem, whereas Italy’s Riccardo Lorello delighted the house crowd with bronze in 6:09.22.
Germany’s Max Langenhan dominated the boys’s singles luge, profitable gold with a four-run complete of three minutes, 31.191 seconds. Austria’s Jonas Mueller completed second, whereas Italy’s Dominik Fischnaller earned his second consecutive Olympic bronze.
Norway’s Johannes Hoesflot Klaebo surged clear late to win the boys’s 10km+10km skiathlon in 46:11, capturing his sixth Olympic gold medal. France’s Mathis Desloges took silver, with Norway’s Martin Loewstroem Nyenget claiming bronze only a fraction behind.
At the Milano Ice Skating Arena, the United States captured gold within the determine skating workforce occasion with 69 factors, edging Japan by a single level. Italy earned bronze with 60 factors.
It marked the Americans’ second straight Olympic title within the occasion, whereas Japan settled for silver for the second consecutive Games. The bronze was Italy’s first-ever medal within the determine skating workforce competitors.
France opened the biathlon program by profitable gold within the blended 4x6km relay. Anchor Julia Simon shot clear, hitting all 10 targets, as France completed in 1:04:15.5. Italy earned silver on residence snow, with Germany taking bronze.
In snowboarding, Austria’s Benjamin Karl received his second straight Olympic gold within the males’s parallel big slalom, tearing off his shirt to have fun within the end space after edging South Korea’s Kim Sang-kyum by 0.19 seconds. Bulgaria’s Tervel Zamfirov claimed bronze.
The self-discipline, whose Olympic future has sparked debate, once more highlighted its tolerance for longevity. Italy’s Roland Fischnaller, 45, topped qualification in his seventh Olympics, whereas Austria’s Claudia Riegler, 52, was the oldest rivals within the ladies’s discipline.
“You can be in super shape until 40, maybe even 50,” Karl stated. “There is no reason to slow down just because of age.”