Source : ABC NEWS
Conditions in Livigno are branded an “absolute joke” as a horror bobsleigh crash and wild weather rock day 15.
Here are the quick hits from the Winter Olympics.
1. Conditions in Livigno ‘an absolute joke’
Canadian skier Reece Howden was not impressed by the conditions in Livigno. (Getty Images: Hannah Peters)
Australia’s last medal hope at the Milano Cortina Winter Games, Indra Brown, was forced to wait a little longer for her crack at a maiden Olympic podium finish.
Heavy and consistent snowfall in Livigno meant that the women’s freeski halfpipe was moved from its original time of 5:30am AEDT to 8:40pm Sunday evening, with organisers unable to “prepare the pipe in a safe and fair condition”.
The conditions in Livigno were absolutely harrowing throughout day 15, so the postponement of an already dangerous event was far from a surprise.
Earlier in the day, however, the athletes in the men’s ski cross were forced to brave the elements, with Canadian competitor Reece Howden saying conditions were so horrendous he was relieved to not qualify for the final.
“Honestly, the weather is ridiculous. I don’t know what the times are but it’s gotta be like 10 to 15 seconds slower. It’s a completely different course,” he told Canadian Olympic broadcaster, CBC, not mincing his words.
“It’s snowing so hard and the track is dead slow. At this point, I’m happy I’m not involved in this [final] race because … this is not ski cross. This is terrible.
“[The] Olympics is supposed to be the best of the best. The peak of our sport. I’ll wait four more years because this is an absolute joke.”
2. Klaebo gets six golds from six events
In the unrelenting and gruelling men’s 50km cross-country skiing event, Norway’s Johannes Høsflot Klaebo crossed the line first to claim the gold, his sixth at these Games.
It’s his 11th ever Olympic gold, which makes him far and away the greatest Winter Olympian of all time.
Johannes Høsflot Klæbo of Norway is the greatest Winter Olympian of all time after winning his 11th career gold medal. (Getty: Lars Baron)
He has now won every gold medal on offer in his sport in Milano Cortina and with that, sets a new record — which will be hard to ever beat — of the most golds won by an athlete at a Winter Games.
It was a Norwegian sweep of the podium with Klaebo coming in ahead of countrymen Martin Løwstrøm Nyenget and Emil Iversen.
Only eight other athletes have ever won six Winter Olympics golds, and Klaebo has won six at Milano Cortina alone.
3. Carnage on bobsleigh track
The sliding sports at the Winter Olympics always carry risks.
This proved the case at the Cortina Sliding Centre during the four-man bobsleigh heats, when there were a staggering three crashes in the second round.
Austria crashed during the second heat of the four-man bobsleigh. (AP: Aijaz Rahi)
After a relatively crash-free Olympics in all three sliding sports — skeleton, luge and bobsleigh — the second heat of four-man was delayed for about 20 minutes after Austrian pilot Jakob Mandlbauer lost control of his sled and crashed around the midpoint of the track.
Mandlbauer was taken off the track on a stretcher and brought by ambulance to a nearby hospital for evaluation.
Jakob Mandlbauer is carried away from the track on a stretcher. (AP: Aijaz Rahi)
Austrian officials said he had movement in his extremities.
Also crashing: the French sled — driven by Romain Heinrich — as well as Trinidad and Tobago, which was piloted by Axel Brown.
Because their sleds didn’t cross the finish line, they won’t be racing when the event resumes on Sunday.
4. Pole recovering from nasty cut
Polish short track speed skater Kamila Sellier says she is “doing quite OK” after suffering a bad cut to her face in a crash.
Sellier appeared to be hit by a skate close to her eye in a fall during a quarter-final of the women’s 1,500 metres.
She needed lengthy treatment before she was taken away on a stretcher from the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
A white sheet was held up when she was being treated on the ice to prevent the silent crowd from seeing the extent of her injury.
Kamila Sellier receives treatment after being cut on the face. (AP: Stephanie Scarbrough)
She was later admitted to hospital for further treatment.
“I know that one day I’ll look at this picture and remember that I’m stronger than I ever believed,” the 25-year-old posted on Instagram.
“Thank you for all your words of support, just wanted to let you know that I’m doing quite OK,” she added.
In the picture, she appeared to be wearing a hospital gown and did not display the side of her face where she sustained the injury.
5. ‘Panic moment’ for gatecrashing dog owners
When the Varesco family headed off to watch the biathlon at the Winter Olympics on Wednesday, they left their two-year-old Czechoslovakian wolfdog Nazgul locked in his kennel at home in Tesero.
In their absence, Nazgul became the most unlikely star of the Milano Cortina Games after escaping from the house and wandering onto the nearby Olympic cross-country course before sprinting down the finishing straight alongside the skiers.
Nazgul pictured with one of his owners Alice Varesco. (Reuters: Kai Pfaffenbach)
“We were on the train to Anterselva to watch the biathlon,” Alice Varesco said.
“We were three hours from home when friends started sending us videos. That was the panic moment. We realised we could not do anything.”
Nazgul felt like he was at home on the Olympic course. (AFP: Terje Pedersen/NTB)
Security around Nazgul’s kennel was tightened to prevent any repeat for the 50km races this weekend, which the family will watch from the balcony at home with their wolfdog firmly in sight.
“We did not think this could be possible, but generally the reaction was people loved him,” Alice said.
“And it’s good that nothing happened and it was going in a positive way, so everybody was happy.”
ABC/wires
