Norway wins 4th straight Olympic super-G race
SOCHI, Russia (AP) A Norwegian skier earned his country's fourth consecutive Olympic title in men's super-G and a Czech snowboarder won her country's first gold of the Sochi Games on Sunday.
Kjetil Jansrud continued Norway's dominance in the Alpine skiing event, outracing two Americans and a Canadian for the Scandinavian country's fifth super-G gold in the past seven games.
"It's big, insane," Jansrud said.
Eva Samkova won the women's snowboardcross, the first gold of the games for the Czech Republic. Samkova led from start to finish in all three qualifying and elimination races over the slushy course at Rosa Khutor Extreme Park.
Two racers were taken off the slope on stretchers following crashes during qualifying rounds. Jackie Hernandez of the U.S. suffered a concussion when she crashed approaching the finish line; Helene Olafsen of Norway hurt her knee.
On the same slope Saturday, Russian skicross racer Maria Komissarova fractured a vertebra in her back during a training crash. Russian officials said she was in "grave but stable" condition Sunday after surgery and may be airlifted out of Sochi for further treatment.
The International Olympic Committee said it had no concerns about course conditions and maintained there have been no more crashes and injuries than in previous Winter Games.
"Health and safety of the athletes is our No. 1 priority," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.
On the Day 10 of the Sochi Olympics, three other sports also were awarding medals: biathlon, cross-country skiing and speedskating.
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ALPINE SKIING: Andrew Weibrecht of the U.S. earned the silver medal with a time that was less just 0.3 seconds slower than Jansrud's, while American teammate Bode Miller and Jan Hudec of Canada tied for bronze. It was Miller's sixth Olympic medal, moving him two behind all-time Alpine leader Kjetil Andre Aamodt of Norway. At 36, Miller is the oldest Alpine skier to medal.
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SNOWBOARDING: Dominique Maltais of Canada finished behind Samkova to win the silver. Chloe Trespeuch of France earned bronze. Lindsey Jacobellis of the U.S. crashed while leading her semifinal, the third straight disappointing Olympic finish for the eight-time X Games winner. Jacobellis had gold in hand in Turin in 2006 only to fall with a big lead in the final while attempting a fancy grab. She recovered for silver. Four years ago in Vancouver, she washed out early in her semifinal run.
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CROSS-COUNTRY: Sweden earned gold in the men's 4x10-kilometer relay, a day after the Swedish women won gold in the relay. Anchor Marcus Hellner skied alone for the entire fourth leg and grabbed a Swedish flag to wave as he entered the stadium. Russia took silver in front of President Vladimir Putin, and France finished third.
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CURLING: Sweden and Canada became the first men's teams to qualify for the semifinals. Norway, Britain and China are battling for the other two spots.
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ICE HOCKEY: Austria won its first men's Olympic hockey game in a dozen years by defeating Norway 3-1 in the preliminary round. Finland topped Germany 2-1 in the women's preliminaries. Both women's teams already have been eliminated from medal contention.
