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Show 06 TheSalt Lake Tribune 250704 2 SNOWBOARDING — WOMEN’S PARALLEL GS oni YOM:Pa 8 ay Ww i A MES SNOWBOARDING — MEN’S PARALLEL GS Bronze Sta Twoyears after receivingliver, Klug wins medal BY DAVID L. JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE TRIBUNE — Hecarried iWoTedd Center flag. Hecarried organ-donor awareness into the Olympics. Now he has carried the United States to its snowboard racing Chris Klug of Aspen, Colo., is an amazing story. And it keeps getting better. She is dedicating her win to French skier Regine Cavagnoud. “It’s a roller coaster,” said U.S. head snowboarding coach Peter Foley. Friday was full of firsts for Klug when he earned the bronze medal in the men’s Blanc on snowboard parallel giant slalom at Park City Mountain Resort. Ailing with a rare liver dis- Her Game For Gold ease, Klug received a liver transplant in 2000, posted an amazing comeback inithe 20002001 season and has accepted his role as a spokesman for‘or- gan donations. “I knew that if I thought about the media and the publicity, Td havea heart attack. . and I don’t need that,” Klug said. “But if it wasn’t for the BYSKIP KNOWLES THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE PARK CITY first medal. Rick Egan/The Salt Lake Tribune Gold medaiist Isabelle Blanc wrapsherself in the Frenchflag. Fueled by her crash in Nagano, FrenchriderIsabelle Blanc seized the snowboard donor’s family, I would not be here right now.I thoughtI was going to die there for sure. I gold in the parallel slalom Friday anddedicated it to French ski racer Regin vagnoud, who died two day about an Olympic medal.” er skiing into a German Under the pressure, he becamethefirst organ transplant recipient to medal —and he did coach while trainingfor a downhill in Austria on Oct.29. Blancandteammate Karine Ru- it on National Organ Donor by, the Nagano gold medalist, locked in the gold and silver and then dueled for the top of the podiuminthe breakneck parallel slalom. Blanc packs her guitar andsings SALT LAKE 2002 GOLD Isabelle Blanc France ae Karine Ruby France BRONZE oe an Reesutts, 0-15 Awareness Day. His medal also pushed the total U.S. countto 14, the most in the Winter Olympics for the United States, which finished with 13 med: als in 1998 in Naand in 1994 in to athletes in the coffee shop in the Olympic Village. Hewas the only U.S. man to qualify for the final field of 16 riders. “In Nagano, we had such chances go’ jing in and it all Tonight, she will host a special performance. “T will sing today a song: for her,” Blanc said. “She is now skiing the clouds and we are not in sameplace, butsherides with us "The new gate- wentsouth on us,” Foley said. “And this time, we didn’t have as good chances, even though the kids were riding at a good level. We just haven't been ex- | | ecuting, and wejust got the job . done.” But it almost wasn’t. Klug struggled in spots throughout — bashing side-by-side format may be un- the dayin a discipline that re- loved by U.S. board- quires consistency eight runs. ers, but the fans were wild for the much,” Blane said. “I had some- eight. Going up the lift [after thing more than the others, myfall in Nagano. I can’t even dream somethinglike this, I feel so much love around me.” The French might have swept had rider Julie Pomagalski not had to meet Blanc early in the eliminations, said Ruby. Blancripped a long white rooster tail to bury a flu-stricken Ruby in Rick Egan/The Salt LakeTribune U.S. snowboarderChris Klug is mobbed byfans after winning the bronze medal in the men’sparallel giant slalom at Park City Mountain ‘Resort. Klug, who received a newliverin 2000, won his medal on National Organ Donor Awareness Day. BYDAVID L. JOHNSON captured the bronze medal. Schoch knocked SPECIALTO THETRIBUNE off four higher seeds on his way to the gold Friday. “My strongest aspect was that I had very strong nerves,” Schoch said through an in- PARKCITY — It just goes to show seedings quarterfinals,four rounds outfrom medal heats. But a bad back and a mean nothing. After qualifying for Friday's parallel giant slalom with a one-run giant broken boot plagued Kosglow, who slalom on Thursday,thefinals bracket was was pulling away from Ruby when she washed out on an icy course that madeholding an edge tough. “I feel bad for Lisa,” said U.S. coach Peter Foley. “She was clearly riding better than Ruby. It was just bad luck.” Tonight, Blanchas a new song to shakenupby “upset: s the15th, fourth and llth seeds won gold, silver and bronze, respectively. “Qualifications is sometimes the hardest part,” said Swedish rider Richard Richardsson, whoearned silver. “It doesn't matterif you are first or 16th you start from zero. Every oneofthe 16 finalists were capable of sing for Cavagnoud. The title, translated to English: “She is winning.” Sliding.” gold, with a final win over Richardsson. Schoch’s previous best PGS performance was a seventh placeat the Ischgl, Austria, World Cup last season. Chris Klug of Aspe ‘olo., “T love to snowboard behind her . and nobody is going to beat her now,” Blancsaid. the second round]I definitely had a tear in my eye because I knew I'd have a shot, at a medal. Forget Seedings, Switzerland’s Schoch Wins Gold the final race of an exhaustive eight-heat elimination format. Rubyrallied after an inauspicious start and finish. Boise's Lisa Kosglow nearly eliminated Ruby in the through “I haven't had a lot of success in the parallel format,” he said. ae been having trouble through the round of first Olympic appearance of the parallel. “Parallel is my game, I loveit so Switzerland's Philipp Schoch earned a terpreter. “The other competitors didn’t have the nerves, and that was the key to my success.” Slovenia’s Dejan Kosir and France's Mathieu Bozzetto, two of the favorites,fell behind duringthefirst heat of the quarterfinals. They both tried to make up time and crashed intheir second heats. Top seeds Gilles Jaquet, Alexander Maier and Daniel Bivesonalllost their head-to-head racesin thefirst round. “Atfirst, I didn’t think about whowas out, I was just hoping I would advance, and my riding started to feel good,” Richardssonsaid. That goodriding carried him past France's Nicolas Huet to the finals, where he fell behindin thefirst heat. Richardsson said he tried to make up time on Schoch during the . Secondrun with an aggressive line. The result was a shaky tophalfofthe course and a crash near the end. “Atthat point, I had nothing to lose, =; gave it everything,” Richardsson said. “ was all or nothing in the final race.” Klug lost to Schoch in the semifinals, but he nearly made up timetwice after falling behindin both heats. é In the bronze race, Klug used his in the flatsectionofthe course to hold offHuet and earn the United States’ first snowboard- SALT LAKE 2002 racing medal. “Chris was amazing ontheflats, especially in the middle section,” said U.S. head snowboarding coach Peter Foley. “He can make up an amazing amount oftime when he makes mistakes. He ran that section better than anybody, for sure.” SPEEDSKATING — MEN'S 1,000 METERS: Today, | p.m., Utah Olympic Oval Canada’s ‘Spoon’ Expects to Sprint to Podium, Grab the Gold BYJANET RAE BROOKS Monday's 500 ‘THE SALT LAKETRIBUNE fastest time in gives U.S. blades goes by “Sheik” and Jan Bos is “Catman.” We the 1,000-meter world record at 1 ‘minute, 7.72 seconds. to record the ™ Space-age tool performance. Kip Carpenter, OW2 took a fall to keep race favorite event. bronze medalist in the 500 on Tuesday, clocked 1:07.96 two weeks ago ina practice race at the Jeremy Wotherspoonoff the podium in the men's 500 meters, Barring anotherfreakyaccident, Wotherspoon should get his gold today in the men's 1,000. Noone carries more impressive credentials into the race: world-record holder, world sprint The Canadian took the 1,000-meter world roommate Joey Cheek won the U.S. Olympictrials last month in Can disaster strike twice? It champion, World Cup leader at the distance. And Wotherspoon demonstrated his champion grit by returninga dayafterhisfall in the two-race an edge Oval. Carpenter's Park City record into unexplored territory at a World Cupat the Utah Olympic Oval in December with the 1:07.98. first sub-1 minute,8 second clocking for the distance. Since then, Alberta, a week after Wother- four other men including two Americans havejoined him. Dutchman Erben Wennemars skated 1:07.88 at the Oval a dayafter Wotherspoon's world-record 4 Canadian MikeIreland skated 1:07.99 at a World Cup in Calgary, spoon’s record. Carpenter and Cheek aren't the only American threats at the distance. Casey FitzRandolph, who took gold in the 500 on Tuesday, owns the sixth fastest time. ( His 1:08.06 stood briefly as the world record before Wotherspoon, competing in the same event in a later pair, posted his 1:07.72. Nick Pearson, whoalso rooms with Carpenter and Cheek, has the 10th fastest time. Dutch skater Jan Bos, reigning Olympic silver medalist in the 1,000, and Japan's Toyoki Takeda couldalso figure in the medals. Norway's Adne Sondral, silver pionships at the Oval in March, will decide this morning whether b to skate after suffering injuries to botheee in the lead-up to |
