Olympic Capsules: U.S. hockey going for gold; Vonn bails on final race

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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — So these won't be remembered as the Vonn-couver Olympics after all. It's looking like they will belong to the entire U.S. delegation instead.

The Americans reached 34 medals with a silver and a bronze in short-track speedskating Friday night, and two more were clinched with the men's hockey team and men's team pursuit in speedskating advancing to a gold-medal match in which they can get no worse than silver.

That makes 36 medals, topping the U.S. record of 34 set at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and matching the record for the most by any country at any Winter Olympics, set by Germany in Salt Lake City.

"It's a great time to be an American," said Katherine Reutter, who got a silver in the 1,000 meters at the short track. "One of the many things I was yelling was 'I love the USA!'"

Unless something wild happens over the final two days, the U.S. will win the overall medals race for only the second time, and the first since 1932 in Lake Placid.

And, look who's leading the gold race: Canada, with 10. Maybe the hosts' "Own the Podium" campaign will pay off after all.

Speaking of the U.S. and Canada, get ready for a raucous rematch on the ice. One week after the Americans ran roughshod over the Canadians in their game, on their ice, the nations will meet again for gold on Sunday.

The U.S. advanced easily, riding six first-period goals to a 6-1 victory over Finland. The Canadians beat Slovakia 3-2, but it was pretty tense at the end. Canada blew a 3-0 lead in the third period and had the entire nation on edge for the final 4:53 after Slovakia got within a goal.

The speedskaters locked up a top prize by knocking off Sven Kramer and the Dutch in a semifinal race.

At the short track, Apolo Anton Ohno — who became the most-decorated Winter Olympian in U.S. history earlier in these games — picked up his eighth career medal by getting bronze in the 5,000-meter relay. He had a chance for another but was disqualified from the 500 meters final.

Vonn was supposed to win all sorts of Alpine medals. Although she is going home with a gold and a bronze, she also had three DNFs for failing to finish her other events, including the slalom on Friday.

Injuries certainly took a toll, from a broken right pinkie to a collection of bruises from chin to shin. But she refused to give up, which may be the bottom line on her performance at these games.

"I'm totally satisfied with everything I have done here," Vonn said. "I went out there fighting — it just wasn't my day. I didn't want to give up, that's my personality."

Vonn's close friend Maria Riesch won the event for her second gold in Vancouver and the ninth for Germany.

Wang Meng of China won the women's 1,000 meters in short-track speedskating for her third gold medal of these games.

Also Friday, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen of Norway added to his tremendous Olympics resume by anchoring Norway's victory in the men's biathlon relay. This was his first gold medal since sweeping all four events in 2002, and the 11th medal of his career. That leaves him one behind Bjorn Daehlie's Winter Games record of 12.

MEN'S HOCKEY: Ryan Malone, Zach Parise, Erik Johnson and Patrick Kane all scored in the first 10:08, sending Finland goalie Miikka Kiprusoff to the bench and pretty much sealing any doubt who'd win this.

Just to make sure, Kane and Paul Stastny greeted his replacement with goals 15 seconds apart just a few minutes later, and the only question left was who the Americans will play.

Patrick Marleau, Brenden Morrow and Ryan Getzlaf put Canada ahead 3-0 after 24 minutes, but Slovakia hung tough. Goals from Lubomir Visnovsky and Michal Handzus less than four minutes apart in the third period gave them hopes of pulling off the upset.

Now comes the intriguing rematch. And it'll be played on the 50th anniversary of the U.S. beating Canada for the gold medal at the 1960 Olympics.

The U.S. hasn't won Olympic gold since the Miracle on Ice in 1980.

Slovakia and Finland will meet for bronze on Saturday.

BOBSLED: Steve Holcomb and his sleek, black four-man bobsled known as the "Night Train" are halfway to gold.

Officially known as USA-1, the sled set track records on both its runs, putting it in first place going into the last two heats Saturday night.

Note: The United States hasn't won this race since 1948.

"What Holcomb did here today was super genius," said Germany's Kevin Kuske, a four-time Olympic champion.

SPEEDSKATING: More agony for Sven Kramer, lots of joy for the United States.

The American men upset Kramer and the powerful Dutch team in one team pursuit semifinal, and the U.S. women knocked off Canada in their quarterfinal.

My first thought when we crossed the line was, 'Oh, my God, we beat the Dutch!'" said Brian Hansen. "And then I thought, 'Oh, my God, we got a medal!'"

The men will face Canada in the gold-medal race Saturday. The women will face defending Olympic champion Germany in a semifinal Saturday.

SHORT-TRACK SPEEDSKATING: Ohno got his third medal of these games (a silver, two bronze) by anchoring the U.S. squad in the relay, finishing just behind South Korea in the 45-lap event.

In the 500, a short race often filled with spills, Ohno knocked Canada's Francois Louis-Tremblay into the boards during the last half-lap, then crossed second behind Charles Hamelin. But Ohno's result was tossed, and he was the only finalist not to get a medal.

Reutter's medal was her second. She also was part of the U.S. relay team that won bronze.

SLALOM: Riesch's victory made the German women 3-of-5 in Alpine events. Vonn was waiting for her at the finish.

"Awesome," she said. "I'm so proud of you."

Riesch is competing at her first Olympics at age 25 after being sidelined by a season-ending injury four years ago.

Sarah Schleper was the top American, finishing 16th — after a team doctor sewed five stitches in her bloodied chin before her second run.

BIATHLON: The 36-year-old Bjoerndalen nailed all 10 of his targets, then skied across the finish waving a flag and flashing a big smile.

"I'm really satisfied with my race," he said. "It was perfect."

The Americans were 13th out of 19 countries.

WOMEN'S HOCKEY FALLOUT: The Canadian Olympic Committee basically said their women's hockey team made only one mistake while swigging champagne and beer, and lighting cigars, on the ice, in celebration of their gold medal.

Getting caught. COC president Michael Chambers said nobody would've known or cared had it been contained in the locker room. But by going out in front of reporters, the party become somewhat controversial, especially with an 18-year-old player being seen drinking in a city where the legal age is 19.

"It was just us savoring the moment," tournament MVP Meghan Agosta said. "We were not thinking about what we were doing, but we are responsible for what we did."

CURLING: Canada was denied another gold medal on home ice, getting taken down by a Swedish team that captured its second consecutive gold medal in women's curling.

In extra ends, no less!

China, competing in its first Olympics, beat Switzerland for the bronze.

SNOWBOARDING: With rain turning the event into hydroplaning, Nicolien Sauerbreij of the Netherlands won the women's parallel giant slalom race.

Rider after top rider kept going out, unable to handle the strange conditions. About the only one who handled them consistently was Sauerbreij, who was her country's flagbearer in 2002, but finished 24th.

U.S. routs Finland 6-1, will play for hockey gold

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Barely two minutes into the game, Finnish goalie Miikka Kiprusoff was staring at the ceiling in disbelief.

It turns out he was just getting started. Ryan Malone raced into Finland’s zone, picked off Kiprusoff’s ill-advised pass and scored into an empty net. The U.S. rout was on.

What happened next in this semifinal jolted Canada Hockey Place: The Americans scored four times on Kiprusoff in a six-goal first period Friday, winning 6-1 and surging into the Olympic gold-medal game. As the clock ran out, U.S. captain Jamie Langenbrunner led the celebration by banging his stick against the boards as his teammates hugged on the bench .

The U.S. will meet Canada on Sunday, 50 years to the day after capturing gold in 1960 at Squaw Valley, Calif. Canada beat Slovakia 3-2 to advance.

"It was a crazy 12 minutes," said forward Patrick Kane, who scored twice. "I’ve never been a part of something like that. It seemed like we were scoring every shift."

It felt even longer to the Finns.

"The game is over after six minutes," 39-year-old Finland forward Teemu Selanne said. "It was a long day and very disappointing."

By the time Kiprusoff left the game 10:08 in, the U.S. had a 4-0 lead on only seven shots. The Calgary Flames goalie had allowed four goals total on 75 shots in three previous games, giving him the top save percentage in the tournament.

"No one is ever as good as they look. And no one is ever as bad as they look, either," Langenbrunner said.

Kiprusoff’s day appeared to be over after Eric Johnson made it 3-0 with a power-play goal at 8:36. That prompted Finnish coach Jukka Jalonen to call timeout. Kiprusoff got a reprieve, but was back at the bench 1:32 later when Kane scored his first.

This time, Kiprusoff kept his mask on and marched straight down the tunnel toward the dressing room. Backup goalie Niklas Backstrom pulled off his baseball cap and took Kiprusoff’s place in the net.

Things didn’t go any better for him. Backstrom got beat twice on the first four shots he faced.

"We didn’t expect that in a million years," U.S. defenseman Jack Johnson said. "I don’t think anyone did, especially when you get down to the final four, but it happened for us and we’re looking forward to Sunday."

It will be the first time since 1972 the U.S. men will play for Olympic gold on foreign soil.

Kiprusoff had only himself to blame for the start of his misery. The U.S. cleared its zone with a nudge of the puck that sent it sliding slowly into the Finnish end. Phil Kessel raced after it and forced Kiprusoff to come way out of his crease. The goalie gently swept the puck away, but right onto the stick of Malone. He quickly fired a shot from the top of the left circle into the vacated net at 2:04 for his third goal.

Zach Parise matched Malone and made it 2-0 when he nestled a shot under the crossbar for a power-play goal. It came off a perfect pass from Paul Stastny at 6:22.

This marks the second time in three Olympics the American men will play for gold. They haven’t claimed the top spot on the podium since the 1980 Miracle on Ice at Lake Placid, N.Y.

"We believed we could win a gold medal. Now we have the opportunity," Langenbrunner said.

Canada edged the U.S. for gold during the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, and a rematch is now on tap. The Americans (5-0) topped the host nation 5-3 to conclude preliminary play Sunday.

"It’s hard to beat a team twice in a tournament like this," U.S. coach Ron Wilson said. "We’ve beaten Canada, and we’ll play better than we did the last time."

So much for the Americans needing to ride the stellar play of Ryan Miller to win. Miller was relieved by Tim Thomas with 11:31 left in the game after stopping all 18 shots he faced. Miller had played every minute of the tournament until then.

Only twice in the past 10 years has an NHL team led by at least six goals after the first period, and no NHL team has scored six in any period this season. The U.S. pulled back after that outburst and had only 12 shots over the final 40 minutes.

"Everything we tried went their way," Backstrom said. "We’ve been dreaming about gold for a long time and now suddenly in 10 minutes it’s gone. It’s tough, but you don’t want to ever give up. You go out and play for your honor and your country."

Thomas allowed Antti Miettinen’s deflected goal with 5:14 left to spoil the U.S. bid for consecutive shutouts after a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Switzerland.

Finland, silver medalists four years ago in the Turin Games, will have to settle for a shot at the bronze. This proud group of aging stars, including Selanne and captain Saku Koivu, won bronze in 1998 when the NHL first started sending players to the Olympics.

The Americans were eliminated by Finland in the 2006 Olympic quarterfinals, but the Finns were the final opponent for the 1980 U.S. team that shocked hockey.

U.S. fans took a page from the host country’s supporters and alternated chants of "We Want Canada" with "U-S-A! U-S-A!" in the final minutes.

"We haven’t won anything yet," Parise said. "We’re getting better and that would be the most important and rewarding thing."

The Finns committed numerous turnovers with sloppy play that led to goals and other scoring chances. They handed the American another power play when Toni Lydman rammed Dustin Brown’s face into the boards with a hit from behind with 7:02 gone. Johnson turned that into another goal.

Timeout Finland; but by then it was already too late.

Kane, who had scored only once in the tournament, struck for back-to-back goals 2:33 apart — one each on Kiprusoff and Backstrom — and Stastny scored 15 seconds after Kane’s second to make it 6-0 with 7:14 left.

Other than cheers from American fans in the crowd, the biggest outburst came when it was announced that only one minute was left in the period in which the U.S. held a 13-4 shots edge.

NOTES: Miller faced only 37 shots in his past two games after seeing 45 during the win over Canada. He has allowed five goals on 108 shots overall in the tournament. ... The U.S. is 7-3-2 against Finland in Olympic play, outscoring the Finns 47-28. ... This was Kiprusoff’s second earliest exit. He was pulled from a Calgary playoff game vs. San Jose on April 13, 2008, after allowing three goals on five shots in 3:33 of play.

-- Ira Podell

Canada earns U.S. rematch, beats Slovakia 3-2

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Now, Sequel Sunday.

Canada opened up a three-goal lead, then held off a late Slovakia comeback to win 3-2 in the Olympic semifinals on Friday night to earn a second chance against the United States in the gold-medal game.

The unbeaten Americans routed Finland 6-1 earlier Friday but must beat favored Canada for a second time in eight days on Sunday — they won 5-3 last weekend — to win their first Olympic gold since the Miracle on Ice in 1980.

"I can’t wait," Canada forward Jarome Iginla said. "We love the chance of playing them again. There’s a lot of rivalries with them — from world juniors through the ladies. They beat us. Now we have the opportunity to play them again. It’s going to be exciting, for the gold medal."

Canada endured a tense closing 10 minutes to win it after opening up a 3-0 lead that wasn’t threatened until Slovakia finally found its offense, if a little too late.

"Our whole group came unraveled at the end," coach Mike Babcock said. "It’s a good lesson because if you stop playing, you’re not going to win. You have to play a full 60 minutes."

Patrick Marleau, Brenden Morrow and Ryan Getzlaf scored in the opening 24 minutes to give Canada a 3-0 lead before Slovakia, an Olympic semifinalist for the first time, got goals from Lubomir Visnovsky and Michal Handzus less than four minutes apart in the third period.

"Yeah, it wasn’t what we expected, for sure," Sidney Crosby said. "They got a couple of breaks and got some life. This was a good test for us."

Still, the Canadians played the game they needed to play to get to the game they simply had to play.

For Canada, the thought of not winning a gold medal in its national sport at home was unthinkable. Not getting a chance to go for that gold because of a possible tournament-derailing loss to the United States was unfathomable.

"I don’t know if you need revenge when you are in the final," Crosby said. "You probably don’t need any more motivation than that. This is going to be our biggest test yet."

The Canadians didn’t come out like "gorillas from a cage," as Russian goalie Ilya Bryzgalov described them after their relentless, aggressive offense produced four goals in the first period of a 7-3 rout of Russia on Wednesday. The no-risk Slovaks wouldn’t let them.

With Canada’s deep pool of offensive talent, and goalie Roberto Luongo standing up to the few rushes the Slovaks managed until the final 10 minutes, it was only a matter of time.

Marleau got the first goal at 13:30 of the first, putting his stick up to redirect defenseman Shea Weber’s shot from the right point as goalie Jaroslav Halak threw his glove up a millisecond too late. Canada waited a few anxious minutes for the replay to confirm that Marleau’s stick wasn’t above the crossbar, which would have negated the goal.

Morrow, a contributor now after being Canada’s extra forward when the tournament began, made it 2-0 only 1:47 later when he deflected defenseman Chris Pronger’s knuckleball-like shot from above the left circle. Pronger also helped set up Canada’s third goal, a Getzlaf rebound on a power play early in the second resulting from Richard Zednik’s holding the stick penalty 20 seconds before.

Luongo, winning his third in a row in his NHL home arena since replacing the benched Martin Brodeur, faced only nine shots in the first two periods and 21 overall but lost his shutout when Visnovsky scored at 11:35 of the third.

"It was the most fun I’ve ever had," Luongo said. "If we had lost I don’t know if I’d be saying that. They were throwing everything at the net: pucks, bodies."

Handzus scored at 15:07, and a safe lead suddenly became a tentative one — especially when Pavol Demitra almost tied it in the final five seconds, only to have his shot sail wide.

"There were so many guys in front, I thought maybe it hit a stick, maybe he made a good save," Demitra said. Luongo said he tipped it with his glove.

Afterward, Luongo and Demitra — Vancouver Canucks teammates — talked briefly and, the goalie said, "He said a few words I can’t repeat."

"We played with heart and desire," said Slovakia coach Jan Filc, whose team played the final period without forward Marian Gaborik due to a lower body injury. "We were not lucky enough at the end, but it was because we lost control in the first part of the game."

That’s when Canada patiently waited for chances and got them, with three goals manufactured by defensemen that resulted from traffic in front of the net, something the Canadians said beforehand was a necessity against Halak, who made 25 saves.

"You got to do what it takes to win and most of the time it’s not going to be pretty — (they were) good tip-in goals and we’ll take those on Sunday, too," forward Dan Boyle said.

Can the U.S. repeat its well-earned initial victory over Canada? Will the Canadians succumb to the pressure of playing a gold-medal game before its more-than-demanding home fans? Can the U.S. win an Olympic hockey gold outside of the United States for the first time, and on the 50th anniversary of its surprise victory in Squaw Valley, Calif., in 1960? Can Crosby, a Stanley Cup champion at age 21, add an Olympic gold at age 22?

Then there’s this: Can the United States beat the favored Canadians not once but twice — and in Canada? If Canada loses this game, in this setting and with all these stars, it fans may never get over it.

"We’re a better team than last time," Boyle said.

-- Alan Robinson

Case closed? Hockey party draws little heat

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Carry on, ladies.

Canada’s top Olympic official sees no reason to put a damper on the women’s hockey team’s beer-swigging, cigar-smoking celebration of its gold-medal victory over the U.S. team.

In Whistler and Vancouver, Olympic sentiment largely supported the players who went back onto the ice for an impromptu party well after the fans had left Canada Hockey Place on Thursday.

While the players spent much of Friday apologizing for their exuberance, several top Olympic officials praised the Canadians’ third straight gold-medal run, even while encouraging them to be a bit more discreet next time.

"As far as we’re concerned, the matter is closed," said Michael Chambers, president of the Canadian Olympic Committee. "It was nothing more than an error of judgment committed at the exciting time of winning a gold medal. It was a spilling out of the celebration that was going on in the dressing room."

Other Olympians playfully wondered aloud what they could do to top the Canadian women’s fiesta, which included players pouring drinks into each other’s mouths, climbing on an ice-resurfacing machine and posing in front of Olympic logos with booze and stogies in hand — all with gold medals dangling from their necks.

"We were hoping that celebration would stay private," forward Caroline Ouellette said. "We’re very sorry if we may have offended some Canadians, but for some of our girls, it’s the last time they’ll ever skate at the Olympics. It’s a tradition for our team. To go back on that ice and kiss it and take a picture is something special."

The International Olympic Committee said it would send a letter to Canadian organizers asking for more details about what happened, but was careful not to characterize the response as an investigation.

Asked whether a men’s team would face the same scrutiny in a similar situation, goalie Shannon Szabados said: "I don’t think so at all. When you’re watching the Stanley Cup, they’re all drinking champagne out of it."

Vancouver organizing chief John Furlong said it was simply a matter of "young kids who were happy."

"They had a great time," Furlong said. "They let their hair down. Yes, they said they were sorry, but they’re great ambassadors for hockey, and they shouldn’t regret what they did for a moment."

Well over an hour after the Canadians beat the Americans 2-0 on Thursday and were given their gold medals, 14 players returned to the ice still in their uniforms. Some wore wacky sunglasses and smoked cigars, while almost all were drinking beer or champagne.

Marie-Philip Poulin, the 18-year-old hero of the gold-medal game with two goals, had a beer in her hand while she’s still a few weeks shy of the legal drinking age in British Columbia. The drinking age in Alberta, where the team trains, and her native Quebec is 18.

"At that moment, I didn’t even realize it," Poulin said. "We’re really sorry, and it won’t happen again. We just wanted to enjoy the game and go back out on the ice."

Although the Canadians say they enjoy similar celebrations after most major international victories, including the Turin Games, they hadn’t been given much occasion to party after losing the previous two world championships to the Americans. They certainly enjoyed the once-in-a-lifetime chance to win a gold medal at home, though.

Haley Irwin poured champagne into the mouth of Tessa Bonhomme. Goalies Charline Labonte and Kim St. Pierre posed at center ice for Poulin, lying on their stomachs with a giant bottle of champagne resting just above the Olympic rings. Rebecca Johnston even jumped into the driver’s seat of the ice-resurfacing machine, mugging for pictures.

Gilbert Felli, the IOC’s executive director of the Olympic Games, said Thursday the antics were "not what we want to see."

"If they celebrate in the changing room, that’s one thing," he said, "but not in public."

One day later, IOC spokesman Mark Adams suggested the only outrage was coming from the press.

"To be honest, I think people are in search of a story that doesn’t exist," he said. "I think people are looking for someone to say it’s terrible."

The celebration was fairly brief, and included members of the team’s support staff joyously marking the end of what passes for tough times in the Canadian program, which lost to the Americans in the last two world championships.

The Canadians trained together in Alberta for much of the past year, moving away from their homes and playing a grinding schedule against teams of teenage boys to train for the Olympics.

"I can tell you the last time I had a cigar was probably in Torino," said Jayna Hefford, a four-time Olympian. "No one on our team smokes, and we don’t drink often. ... Some of the best memories we have are from going out on the ice and getting pictures by a logo. I guess we just got carried away with the celebration. We should have left it in the dressing room."

Hockey Canada apologized in a statement several hours after the match and said it regrets any embarrassment to the IOC or Canadian organizers, vowing to uphold Olympic standards in the future.

Yet boisterous celebration hasn’t been uncommon at these Olympics.

After Jon Montgomery won a gold medal for Canada in skeleton, he walked the streets of Whistler guzzling from a pitcher of beer. American Scotty Lago, who won a bronze in halfpipe, voluntarily left the games after a party photo surfaced of a woman kneeling below his waist to kiss the medal.

And after photos of the hockey players got wide international attention, most athletes applauded.

"We were thinking about what we could do to rival them," Michelle Gorgone, an American parallel giant slalom snowboarder, said with a laugh. "I’m probably not allowed to say that.

"The Olympics dates back a ways, so you’ve got to be respectful of the roots so when you’re partying, try to keep it respectful and keep it clean. But everyone wants to have a good time, and mistakes happen."

-- Greg Beacham

Riesch hailed as Olympic Alpine star ahead of Vonn

WHISTLER, British Columbia — The golden girl of women’s skiing at the Winter Olympics isn’t Lindsey Vonn. It’s her best friend, Maria Riesch.

"Yeah, she’s the champion now," Austria ski federation president Peter Schroecksnadel said. "That’s how it is at the Olympics."

Riesch finished off the "best day of my life" by skiing through driving snow to win the slalom, the final women’s Alpine event at the Vancouver Games. Vonn, who was supposed to be the breakout star of Vancouver, missed a gate and failed to finish the first run.

Now Riesch goes home to Germany with two gold medals, the slalom and the super-combined, while Vonn settles for gold in downhill and bronze in super-combined.

So often locked in combat on the slopes, they ended their Olympics in a warm embrace near the finish line.

Vonn was quick to greet her fellow 25-year-old after Riesch sloshed through snow, fog and a rapidly softening race surface Friday to successfully defend her first-run advantage under a strong challenge by Marlies Schild of Austria. Schild was 0.43 second back for silver, adding to her bronze in slalom at the 2006 Turin Games, and Sarka Zahrobska of the Czech Republic trailed by 1.01 to get the bronze.

"Awesome," Vonn told her friend and rival. "I’m so proud of you."

Skiing at her first Olympics, Riesch kept improving after finishing a tentative eighth in the downhill. But Riesch skied more like the reigning slalom world champion and World Cup leader in her best event.

"I really can’t describe how good it feels," Riesch said.

Slalom figured to be Vonn’s weakest link at Whistler, especially after the Feb. 2 training spill in Austria that deeply bruised her right shin. Then she broke her right pinkie when crashing out of Wednesday’s giant slalom.

Vonn straddled a gate on the upper half of the course in her first run and failed to finish for the third time in five medal events.

"I think Lindsey was having lots of bad luck," Riesch said. "Of course, maybe she was expecting a little bit more — or some people were expecting a little bit more — but according to all the circumstances I think she is happy with that."

Watching her friend struggle might not have been the hardest part.

Reisch’s 22-year-old sister, Susanne, was fourth after the first run but crashed out near the end just as she had a chance to take the lead in the afternoon. The younger Riesch straddled a gate, fell to the snow and lay on her back in dismay.

"Fortunately, I didn’t get (that news) at the start. That would have not been good for me, for sure," Maria said.

"It’s so hard now because I’m so totally happy on the best day of my life actually. For (Susanne), the whole world is breaking down," she said. "Maybe tonight we can go out for a beer. For her it’s best to forget this day as soon as possible."

The Riesch sisters are the brightest hopes in a German women’s team that emerged as a force at Whistler.

Riesch returned to the top step of the podium 24 hours after 20-year-old Viktoria Rebensburg got gold in the giant slalom. Teammate Kathrin Hoelzl is world champion in GS and will defend that title next year in Garmisch-Partenkirchen — Riesch’s hometown.

"There were some really, really difficult years where some people retired or were injured," Riesch said. "Now we won three gold medals."

Riesch’s performance marked the fourth straight Winter Games that one woman has taken gold in at least two of the five Alpine events.

Austria’s Michaela Dorfmeister won the downhill and super-G at Turin in 2006; Janica Kostelic of Croatia got three — slalom, giant slalom and combined — at Salt Lake City in 2002; and Germany’s Katja Seizinger was downhill and combined champion at Nagano in 1998.

Even as Riesch was claiming her crown, another star was leaving the Olympics stage.

Defending slalom champion Anja Paerson failed to finish her second trip down in what she said was "probably" her last Olympics race.

The 28-year-old Swede was chasing a record seventh career Olympic medal in women’s Alpine racing. Her bronze in super-combined last week tied her at six with former rival Kostelic.

Paerson skied down to the finish waving to fans, then performed a farewell bow in the finish area.

Vonn, Riesch and Paerson will be 1-2-3 in the points race as the World Cup circuit resumes next Friday in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, but that suddenly doesn’t matter as much to Riesch.

"It would be nice to win the slalom gold and the overall maybe, but this would be on the top," she said.

"Two gold medals — nothing can be better."

-- Graham Dunbar

Vonn’s Olympics end with slalom mistake, 2 medals

WHISTLER, British Columbia — These Olympics were supposed to be Lindsey Vonn’s Olympics, and she wanted to finish them skiing, not watching.

So there she was in the starting gate for Friday’s slalom — her broken right pinkie protected by a plastic brace and encased in a soft crimson mitten instead of a sturdy white glove; her back and famously bruised shin aching; her mind well aware she had little chance in an event that’s given her fits all season.

As it turned out, Vonn’s right ski slid too wide as she came out of a left-hand turn early in the first of two slalom runs contested through a veil of dense fog and penny-sized snowflakes. She straddled a gate instead of going around it.

Her final event at the Vancouver Games lasted less than 20 seconds, and after a shrug and a stare at the spot where things went wrong, Vonn slowly made her way to the bottom of the hill, then began the process of publicly assessing the ups and downs of her high-profile two weeks at Whistler.

"At this point, I’m kind of happy that the Olympics are over," she said. "I just feel mentally and physically beat down."

The good: a gold in her signature event, the downhill, and a bronze in the super-G.

The bad: failing to complete her other three races, plus accumulating all manner of injuries that Vonn said left her "just trying to put the duct tape around all my body parts and stay together."

All in all, nowhere near the Michael Phelps-like performance some predicted, but OK by her.

"Five gold medals was never my goal. Of course, I wanted to try. And looking back, four medals were very realistic," Vonn said. "But nothing goes the way you want it to. Nothing’s ever perfect."

While the 25-year-old from Vail, Colo., didn’t qualify for Friday’s second slalom run, she stuck around and was ready with a congratulatory hug for champion Maria Riesch of Germany, Vonn’s top rival and best friend on the World Cup circuit.

"I’m so proud of you," Vonn told Riesch.

By winning the slalom with a two-leg time of 1 minute, 42.89 seconds, it’s Riesch — not Vonn — who will depart Whistler with two gold medals. Riesch also won the super-combined after Vonn blew a lead by hooking a gate in the slalom portion of that two-run race.

"It was hard for her today, because her finger is in lots of pain, and she couldn’t train very much in the last days and weeks," Riesch said. "I’m really sorry for her, but she did a great games here. She killed the downhill. ... She can go home happy."

Indeed, Vonn insisted she’ll do precisely that.

As her mother, Linda Krohn, put it: "You can’t beat a gold medal, can you? It works for me."

Yes, one certainly is better than none, particularly when you consider that Vonn banged up her right leg during slalom practice Feb. 2, badly enough that simply walking became a chore for the next 48 hours or so. That accident came on the very first run of what was supposed to be three days of pre-Olympic training, and the forced time away from the slopes not only cut into Vonn’s preparation, it left her questioning whether she’d be able to compete at all.

Then came her spill in the giant slalom Wednesday, when Vonn ended up tangled in the course-side netting after slamming her chin off her knee, pounding her back against the hard slope and breaking her finger.

While the U.S. Olympic Committee and Vonn herself said she contemplated skipping Friday’s race, it shouldn’t have surprised anyone that the two-time World Cup overall champion did compete.

"She keeps going. That’s what everybody loves about her," Vonn’s mother said. "She’s not a quitter. She skis as hard as she can, every time."

Don’t forget, Vonn’s 2006 Turin Olympics began with a body-battering training crash at more than 50 mph that sent her to the hospital. Yet she raced less than 48 hours later.

It wouldn’t have seemed right to Vonn to skip Friday’s race, even if she had produced only one podium finish in seven World Cup slaloms this season and hadn’t managed to complete the last three before Vancouver.

"That’s just, I guess, my personality. I never want to give up," she said. "The Olympics are something special — they only come once every four years — and I wanted to go out there and try. I knew that I wasn’t probably going to win a medal, but at least I gave it everything I have."

Much like she didn’t blame the shin for her problems in the giant slalom or the super-combined, Vonn refused to point to her pinkie when evaluating her slip-up in the slalom. She attributed it to "pure bad luck or bad skiing, whatever you want to call it."

Hardly a storybook ending.

Hardly the way things were supposed to wind up at "Vonncouver," which was stitched on the side of her mom’s white knit cap.

"I was stoked she got that gold medal with all the pressure. I would’ve hoped she could’ve pulled out a couple of more — super-combined, she almost had it," said Sarah Schleper of Vail, who finished 16th Friday with five stitches in her chin after smacking it into a gate warming up. "She should’ve had a couple more medals. But I’m super-happy she got to come away with a gold here."

Regardless of how anyone else might evaluate or remember Vonn’s performance at her third Olympics, she’ll forever focus on — cherish, really — the downhill victory.

She called it "the most emotional race I’ve even been a part of in my life," and said that victory will provide confidence when it’s time to compete at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

More immediately, Vonn will think about the race itself, to be sure, but also the aftermath.

Stepping atop the podium. Hearing "The Star-Spangled Banner." Celebrating with her mother and siblings, including the brother who had her initials shaved into his hair, the "L" on one side, "V" on the other.

"I have that gold medal, and despite everyone else’s expectations, my goals were simply to win one medal," Vonn said, "and that’s what I did."

A few minutes later, she hopped a barrier and made her way over to Mom for a long, hearty embrace. Then Vonn casually made her way along a path nestled between snow-powdered pine trees, skiing one final time down the Vancouver Games mountain, site of her first Olympic gold.

-- Howard Fendrich

Ohno earns bronze in relay, DQ’d in 500 final

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Apolo Anton Ohno threw up his arms in a what-can-I-do gesture and smiled.

The American short track speedskater had just been disqualified in the 500 meters, but he wasn’t leaving the Vancouver Olympics empty-handed Friday night.

Ohno returned later and anchored the United States to a bronze-medal finish in the chaotic 5,000 relay, giving him his eighth career medal.

It was Ohno’s third medal of these games, to go with a silver and another bronze that made him America’s most decorated Winter Olympian. He already has the most short track medals of any skater.

The 45-lap relay ended a wild final night of short track, marked by crashes, disqualifications and capricious skating.

It also might have been the final Olympic race of Ohno’s stellar career. He is contemplating retirement, although U.S. national coach Jimmy Jang is hoping to convince the 27-year-old skater from Seattle to compete in a fourth Olympics in 2014.

"I never say never," Ohno said. "I need a break from this sport that’s been very good to me."

Ohno remade himself in the months leading up to the games, slimming down to 142 pounds — 25 less than he weighed at his first Olympics in 2002.

"Apolo is an incredible athlete," U.S. teammate Katherine Reutter said. "He works harder than anyone I know."

Ohno skated the final two laps of the U.S. relay, sticking out his left skate at the finish before getting edged by South Korea’s Kwak Yoon-gy. Canada won the gold and South Korea earned the silver.

"This is very important for me," Ohno said, referring to his eighth medal. "I train with these guys year-round. They pour their heart and soul into this sport as well. I want to be able to share a medal with these guys and we did. We delivered."

Ohno slapped hands and exchanged hugs with teammates J.R. Celski, Travis Jayner and Jordan Malone. He waved to the crowd before skating to the boards and hugging an ecstatic Jang, a longtime friend.

Ohno then skated over to congratulate the Canadians, nearly stepping on their Maple Leaf flag. He also shook hands with his South Korean rivals.

"He’s a very excellent athlete, exceptional in every way," China’s Han Jialiang said.

On the podium, a roar went up as Ohno’s name was announced and the medal slipped over his slicked-back hair. He held up his bronze in one hand and waved his bouquet in the other.

Yves Hamelin, Canada’s team leader, said he ranks Ohno among the top five best short track skaters, along with some of the South Koreans.

"He’s one of the smartest racers," he said. "We have to really give a great respect to Apolo."

Lee Ho-suk, one of Ohno’s longtime Korean rivals, said: "We have some good memories and we also have some bad memories of Ohno. I will be sorry to see him leave the world of short track when he does."

The medal salvaged the night for Ohno after he was disqualified in the 500, apparently for causing a crash in the final turn. He crossed the finish line second behind Canada’s Charles Hamelin, whose momentum spun him into the middle of the ice as the race ended.

Ohno was in last place when he tried to go inside of Canadian Francois-Louis Tremblay to move up on the final turn. The American’s right leg appeared to hit Tremblay and he crashed into the padding.

South Korea’s Sung Si-bak also went down, although it appeared he lost his balance.

"There was no space between the skaters," Ohno said. "There was a fast pace from the beginning. I had so much speed that I put my hand up to not run into the Canadian before me. I guess the judge saw something I didn’t."

After several minutes of discussion, during which Ohno skated calmly around the ice, the referees DQ’d him. He smiled, fully aware of the unpredictable nature of his sport.

"I thought I was going to be able to snag another silver," he said. "The referees didn’t see it that way."

Ohno managed to get past crashes in both his previous heats to advance to the 500 final, which he won four years ago in Turin.

Hamelin won the gold. Sung took silver and Tremblay got bronze.

-- Beth Harris

With advice from Blair, Reutter skated to silver

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Katherine Reutter has an autographed poster hanging in her bedroom, one she got as a child from a hometown hero.

"Best wishes," it says. "Go for the gold."

Silver will do just fine. Relying on the lessons she learned from fellow Champaign, Ill., skating star Bonnie Blair, Reutter won a silver medal in the 1,000 meters Friday on the final night of Olympic short track.

She already had a bronze from Wednesday night’s relay, but the Americans backed into that medal after the front-running South Koreans were disqualified for impeding.

This time, Reutter left little doubt that she’s as good as anyone in the world, getting edged at the line by China’s Wang Meng, who captured three gold medals in Vancouver.

"I just needed to believe," Reutter said.

Adorned in a red knit cap, she could hardly contain herself on the medal stand, jumping up and down several times before she stopped long enough to have the silver draped around her neck.

Long after the race, she was still wearing both her medal and an American flag she had carried on the ice after her runner-up finish.

"I feel complete," she said. "I don’t plan on taking off the medal or the flag for three days."

She credited Blair, who won five golds and a bronze over three Olympics in long-track speedskating, with giving her the inspiration to make the medal stand, too.

They weren’t close friends, but Blair was always there with an encouraging word as Reutter was coming through the ranks.

"She was a huge influence on me," Reutter said. "Just to have her believe in me at such a young age is amazing."

Shortly before the Vancouver Games, Blair briefed her protege on what to expect at her first Olympics.

"She told me, ‘Don’t forget your credential. You’ll have people coming at you from all sides, so don’t be overwhelmed. And just remember, these are the same girls you’ve been racing against,"’ Reutter recalled.

Clearly, she was paying attention.

-- Paul Newberry

U.S. is halfway to huge victory in Olympic bobsled

WHISTLER, British Columbia — The cry came from track level, 50 feet below the platform where the driver of the world’s baddest bobsled was standing.

Steve Holcomb looked down and saw his 4-year-old niece calling his name and gave her a thumbs up.

Dressed in a blue knee-length overcoat speckled with stars, Holcomb looked like Captain America. Two more runs like he delivered Friday, and he’ll be America’s bobsled superhero.

Driving "The Night Train," the rocket-on-ice sled designed with NASCAR technology and powered by American muscle, Holcomb has the lead after the first two runs of the Olympic four-man competition, a race the United States hasn’t won since 1948.

"It’s a two-day race, we’re at halftime right now and we’ve got a pretty good lead," Holcomb said. "If we put two solid runs tomorrow, we’ll be in the mix — I mean, not in the mix, we’ll be kicking butt."

Setting track records on both runs, Holcomb completed his two descents down the frighteningly fast Whistler Sliding Center course in 1 minute, 41.75 seconds — 0.40 seconds ahead of Canada’s Lyndon Rush and 0.44 better than Germany’s Andre Lange, the most decorated driver in Olympic history.

Lange won his fourth Olympic title by winning the two-man event earlier at the Vancouver Games and is bobsled’s gold standard. Holcomb has a chance to lessen his value in the last two heats Saturday.

The pudgy 29-year-old and sledmates Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curt Tomasevicz have done this medal-drought busting thing before. Last year, Holcomb sent a seismic shiver through the sliding world when he became the first U.S. driver to capture a world championship in 50 years, winning it on Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid, N.Y. — home ice.

Next could be a road win of epic proportions.

Six bobsleds, including USA-2 driven by John Napier, crashed during the two runs. Each of the sleds overturned in the dastardly 13th curve, nicknamed "50-50" last year by Holcomb after he wrecked in the harrowing bend. Russia-2, driven by two-time Olympic medalist Alexsandr Zubkov, along with Austria-1 and Slovakia-1 all dropped out before their second heats.

Lange was fortunate to get through his second trip. Ae two-time defending champion in four-man, Lange lost control in 13, teetered dangerously for a nanosecond on one runner but managed to stay upright. In doing so, he stayed in the medal hunt.

Holcomb, though, may have put the gold out of his reach.

"What Holcomb did here today was super genius," said Germany’s Kevin Kuske, Lange’s teammate for all four of his Olympic victories. "If he does that two more runs, he will be a very worthy Olympic champion."

No American sled has finished first since Francis Tyler drove teammates Patrick Martin, Edward Rimkus and Williams D’Amico to a gold down a snowy track at St. Moritz, Switzerland, in 1948. The U.S. came close in 2002, winning silver and bronze at Salt Lake City. Lange won gold then and repeated in 2006.

Holcomb and his teammates don’t discuss their run at history.

"It just adds pressure that we don’t need," Holcomb said. "Right now, everybody’s saying this is the best team we’ve had in a long time and this is the chance to break a medal (drought). If it doesn’t happen, who knows when it’ll happen. So if I don’t medal this week, then it’ll be 66 years.

"Andre’s under the pressure. He’s the reigning champion. He’s the one with the pressure on him. But he’s a fighter. He’s not going to give up. It’s an interesting situation."

Napier was in 17th place and USA-3, piloted by Mike Kohn, was in 12th after pushman Jamie Moriarty slipped trying to load into the sled on the second run. Moriarty had to be pulled into the sled by teammate Bill Schuffenhauer, competing two days after he was detained by Canadian police following an argument with his fiancee.

Moriarty said he had never slipped before.

"And, of course, it had to happen at the Olympics," he said.

Schuffenhauer was distraught after the first run and cried as he was led by the hand through the media mixed zone near the finish. He did not talk to reporters after the second heat.

With a few U.S. fans at the bottom of the track blowing wooden train whistles, "Night Train" with its coat of flat-black primer, accelerated off the starting line as snowflakes as big as the stars on the team’s red-white-and-blue racing suits, blanketed Blackcomb Mountain.

Holcomb and Co.’s start time of 4.75 was slower than Germany-1’s 4.73, and the U.S. team also trailed at the first interval. But from there on, it was All-American as Holcomb completed his first heat over the ice in 50.89 seconds, setting a record for this 16-curve course.

Holcomb lowered his mark with a blistering second run of 50.86, serving notice that he, and not Lange, is the man to beat this time.

"As nervous as I am, Holcomb doesn’t need to be," said American coach Brian Shimer. "I’m carrying all that with me. I can’t stand this. It’s ridiculous. I don’t know what to do."

As USA-1’s designated driver, the affable Holcomb receives most of the attention. But "The Night Train" is turbo-powered by men who were successful athletes in other sports and somehow found their way to bobsled.

Tucking in directly behind Holcomb is Olsen, a former star high school tight end and quarterback from San Antonio, hooked by the sport’s adrenaline rush. Next is Mesler, a kid from Buffalo, N.Y., who grew up playing hockey and soccer and ran track for the Florida Gators. And then there’s Tomasevicz, the brakeman from Shelby, Neb. (pop. 900), who walked on and played football for the Cornhuskers.

Their personalities don’t clash. They mesh.

"I’ve had more fun in the last four years," Mesler said.

A few years ago, Holcomb’s vision had deteriorated to 20/500 from a degenerative eye condition called keratoconus, which makes the corneas bulge. He was legally blind and Holcomb’s days in the front of a bobsled seemed to be numbered.

He decided to undergo a radical procedure during which a contact lens was embedded behind the iris in both eyes. He can now see 20/20.

Everyone knows what he’s set his sight on.

-- Tom Withers

Notebook: ’Hurricane’ lands in Vancouver by way of ‘Speedy’

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Jeret "Speedy" Peterson sat with his journal, writing out his thoughts and goals hours before the aerials finals at the Vancouver Olympics. Then he turned to a clean sheet of paper and wrote: "I can land the Hurricane."

"I crossed out ‘can,"’ he said, choking up at the memory Friday morning. "I wrote ‘will.’

"And I did it, you know. All that hard work, all that stubbornness, all that support that I’ve had for so many years, it paid off. These are tears of joy. I haven’t cried those in, like, 15 years."

Peterson won a silver medal Thursday night by landing that impossibly difficult move he invented. Then again, his 28 years have been filled with difficult moves, many of his own doing.

He’s tried killing himself twice, been depressed and faced up to an alcohol addiction. He was sexually abused as a child, lost his 5-year-old sister to a drunken driver and witnessed a friend shooting himself to death months before the 2006 Turin Olympics.

He used to gamble a lot, too, until the $550,000 he won playing blackjack one night vanished through bad real estate investments, forcing him to declare bankruptcy. That forced him to put aside skiing and get into the construction business.

The American ski team stuck by him, as did family friends, realizing he was a good guy undone by bad choices and bad luck.

"It goes to show that people can make something of second chances," he said. "It’s OK to make mistakes as long as you learn from them, as long as you’re able to become a better person.

"I’ve been very fortunate to have the support of the ski team and the Olympic team, for me being an idiot. They just treat me like a kid that they have to love whether they want to or not. Because I wasn’t going anywhere and I think they knew that."

REDEMPTION? He had answered the question countless times leading to the Vancouver Olympics, insisting time and again that a victory by his star pupil wouldn’t make up for his failure to win a gold medal in Canada in 1988.

Now, Brian Orser was asked again if this is a bit of redemption. With a sly grin, Orser slipped in his answer before the question could be finished: "Yes, it is."

Then he returned to his standard response.

"It’s here; it’s in Canada; it’s Olympics," Orser said. "And I’m wearing a different hat. But it feels great."

Kim Yu-na of South Korea won gold Thursday under Orser’s tutelage. Orser was one of the few who could prepare her to withstand the pressure she’d face in Vancouver. At the Calgary Games, the Canadian came in as the world champion, but was edged for gold by American Brian Boitano.

Orser recalled that at his first worlds with Kim in 2007, she asked where the warmup area was and he realized he hadn’t checked.

"What a horrible coach," he thought.

"I gained confidence in my coaching over the years with her," Orser said. "Coming here, you have no idea how many times I’ve gone through everything in my head to make sure I covered every single thing. ... I felt good about that. That’s maybe one of the reasons why she was prepared to skate like this."

MOTION MAN: It was 25 years ago that disabled athlete Rich Hansen embarked on a two-year quest to cross four continents in his wheelchair. Today, he wants the world to consider the Paralymics as one with the Olympics.

Hansen, with a collection of Paralympic medals, is a household name in Canada and was one of the four citizens — along with Wayne Gretzky, Steve Nash and Le May Doan — who were selected to light the Olympic cauldron in the opening ceremony.

Hansen also was a torchbearer and named a co-mayor of the Olympic village. He helped the Vancouver organizers plan the games. He is proud the committee officially designated the event the "2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games"

"They’re considered two events in one games," Hansen said. "It is a big step toward bridging the gap between the Olympic and the Paralympic games."

Hansen, who was paralyzed from the waist down in a car accident at 15, competed in two Paralympic Games. He won a gold silver and bronze in 1980, and two golds and a silver in 1984.

He became a national icon in 1985 with his "Man in Motion" tour through 34 countries to raise awareness for spinal cord injuries. He averaged the distance of two marathons a day over the two years.

There are newspaper photos from the tour of Hansen with Pope John Paul, wheeling on the Great Wall in China, and crossing the Golden Gate Bridge. His global odyssey inspired the song, "Man in Motion," which later was used as a theme for the movie "St. Elmo’s Fire."

TRAIL BLAZER: Iran’s first Winter Olympian stands out from her competitors — she wears a pink Islamic headscarf beneath her helmet.

Marjan Kalhor finished last among the 55 skiers who completed the women’s slalom Friday — a full 35.71 seconds behind gold medalist Maria Riesch of Germany.

But for the 21-year-old Kalhor, the important thing was blazing a trail for others from her nation.

"I’m proud," she said through a translator. "I’m the first one and we’ll practice and practice, and we’ll be better in the next Olympics."

Kalhor grew up in a popular ski area in Iran and started skiing at age 4. She said the headscarf complies with the Islamic dress code and is not an issue.

"We’re used to it," she said. "We wear it at every event in Iran and everywhere we go."

She dismissed those views in the West that Iranian women are oppressed.

"Women in Iran are free, and accept that the Islamic revolution rules. ... President (Mahmoud) Ahmadinejad wants women to be more active, to be free," she said, then added: "I don’t want to say anything on politics because I don’t know politics."

FAR FROM BEIRUT: Lebanese skier Jacky Chamoun had just finished her second run of the Olympic slalom when teammate Chirine Njeim flew into the finish area for an embrace, knocking Chamoun straight into the snow.

Both skiers finished well down the leaderboard Friday, but that was hardly the point. This was the first Olympics for the 18-year-old Chamoun, who was born in Beirut. And who better to show her the ropes than Njeim, making her third trip to the Winter Games.

"I was watching on the screen, waited until she crossed the line," said Njeim, who wound up in 43rd place, 15.31 seconds behind gold medalist Maria Riesch of Germany. "I didn’t know if I was allowed to walk out there, so I just sneaked out. It was fun."

Njeim grew up skiing at an area called Faraya-Mzaar, an hour’s drive from Beirut. Now she’s living in Salt Lake City and attends the University of Utah, majoring in exercise sports science.

Chamoun, who also trained at Faraya-Mzaar, was 54th of the 55 racers who finished both runs.

"This was very hard compared to Lebanon," she said. "We used to train on smaller (slopes). It’s hard to come here and do something. But I enjoyed the experience."

LAST CALL: Vancouver police ordered the early closing of liquor stores on Friday night in anticipation of crowds expected in the city for the start of the final weekend of the Olympics.

Police wanted to avoid problems like last Friday, when an estimated 150,000 people descended on the downtown core. About 40 revelers were arrested for public drunkenness.

Openly drinking alcohol outdoors is a ticketable offense that carries a $230 fine in Vancouver.

Police asked the B.C. Liquor Control and Licensing Branch to close its stores at 7 p.m. Bars can remain open.

Vancouver police and the Integrated Security Unit, the joint effort between law enforcement and the military to provide security at the Olympics, also increased the number of officers downtown

-- Jaime Aron

Norway (and its pants) vs. Canada for curling gold

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Maybe the king will wear the pants.

Curling has been as cool as those pebbled sheets of ice at the Vancouver Games, with cowbell-clanging fans packing the stands and Norway’s men’s team becoming international cult heroes with their gaudy diamond-print pants.

Can Saturday’s gold-medal game get any cooler? Norwegian skip Thomas Ulsrud hopes so — if King Harald V turns up for the showdown with undefeated Canada bedecked in the 2010 Olympics’ most famous trousers.

Considering the king politely declined to try on the pants for the team when he was presented with a pair Tuesday, a royal fashion statement seems unlikely. Ulsrud would happily just take another appearance by the king, who watched the team’s win over Britain and gave the curlers a pep talk.

Even louder than Norway’s pants have been the crowds at the Vancouver Olympic Center. The Norwegians’ multihued attire have made them quite popular — though not against the home country.

"It’s going to be like 5,000 for Canada and maybe 500 for Norway," Ulsrud said. "The good thing about Norwegian fans, though, you will recognize them. They’ll have some funny pants on."

Norway is up against more than thousands of rowdy fans. Canada is the defending champion and is in position to become the first team to go undefeated since curling was reinstated as a medal sport in 1998. And add in sentiment to dominant: A win would give an elusive gold medal to 43-year-old skip Kevin Martin.

Norway won Olympic gold by an inch in 2002 — against a Canada team with Martin as its skip. Martin didn’t make the 2006 team that triumphed in Turin.

In contrast to the Norwegians’ gaudy, multihued slacks is the sleek, black bobsled driven by American Steve Holcomb. On Saturday he could win the first four-man gold medal for the United States in 62 years.

Holcomb and his teammates in USA-1, better known as "The Night Train," are in first place halfway through the competition, with the final two runs scheduled for Saturday.

The Americans have a chance at two unexpected medals in speedskating Saturday in the team pursuit, as two veterans heading into retirement look to add to their medal collections. The men face Canada in the final, with 32-year-old Chad Hedrick guaranteed a fifth career medal. And Jennifer Rodriguez could earn her third career medal at 33 as the women take on Germany in the semifinals. Even with a loss, they’ll have a chance at bronze against Japan or Poland.

-- Rachel Cohen

A look at the Vancouver Olympics on Saturday

Canadian fans will pack the stands to cheer for gold in a favorite sport Saturday. No, not hockey — curling, when Canada’s men face Norway in the final. Those crazy pants worn by the Norwegians have made them popular at the Olympics, but not against the home team.

OLD BEAR IT: Canada’s 43-year-old skip, Kevin Martin, is seeking his first career gold medal after coming an inch short in 2002.

NIGHT TRAIN RIDES: Steve Holcomb could lead the United States to its the first four-man bobsled gold medal in 62 years.

CRAFTY VETERANS: Chad Hedrick is guaranteed a fifth career medal and Jennifer Rodriguez could earn a third in the two speedskating team pursuit events.

LAST CHANCE: The men’s slalom is the final opportunity for Austria’s "Wunderteam" to win an Alpine medal.