International Capsules: Lysacek hasn't slowed down since Vancouver
NEW YORK — Evan Lysacek is headed for the airport. Again.
It's time for another cross-country flight — not that the Olympic gold medalist needs an airplane to be flying high these days. He's traveling back to Los Angeles for rehearsals for "Dancing With The Stars" after a whirlwind couple of days in New York.
All part of the spoils from Vancouver.
"It's surreal," Lysacek says. "I went to training for 'Dancing With The Stars' right from Vancouver. So I've kept up the pre-Olympic pace if not increased it.
"I think mingling with the A-list celebs in Hollywood in Oscar week and feeling that thrill building for that competition — and now feeling it for 'Dancing' and not for a skating competition, I'm feeling that energy and anticipation and it is great. ...
"I am the kind of person who likes to gather info everywhere and I've had so many great opportunities to do that from all walks of life."
Lysacek has chosen to skip next week's world championships in Turin, Italy. He doesn't have the fondest memories of the site of the 2006 Winter Olympics, where illness left him weak for the short program. He rallied to finish fourth, which intensified his desire to succeed at the Vancouver Games.
He's the defending world champ, but Lysacek recognized he could never be properly prepared for worlds considering his nonstop schedule outside of skating these days. Still, the 24-year-old is making no plans to leave competition just yet and already is looking for music for next season's programs.
"I already miss the lead-up and the preparation and the couple weeks of anticipation before you compete," he says. "I definitely will watch and will be cheering louder than anyone for our team and for all my friends to do well.
"But I will also be distracted with doing the jive," he adds with a laugh.
What is no jive: complaints registered by the Russian federation when Evgeni Plushenko finished second to Lysacek last month. Plushenko verbalized them by wondering how the Olympic gold medalist could not do a quadruple jump, and even compared the competition to ice dancing.
Lysacek steered clear of any controversy in Vancouver, and he still does. He's developed a thick skin over his career, which spans eight years on the senior level and includes two U.S. titles, a Grand Prix finals championship, and a pair of bronzes at the world championships before his breakthrough in Los Angeles last March.
"I wish that I could say my performance was really strategic," he says of the Olympics, where he was second to Plushenko after the short program, then was flawless while the Russian was ragged in the free skate. "I didn't feel the way I skated was a strategy, it was a special, special night for me and one I probably can't repeat. I wasn't plotting that.
"The Russian federation and Evgeni were plotting for him to win that gold medal 365 days for three years, and that's why he came back in the first place. I am sure it was a tough pill to swallow.
"But just as it is taking a long time for my medal to sink in, I think it's the same for him. I think Evgeni finally will realize it is such a special thing to win three medals in the three Olympics, and I think he will be proud."
While many of Lysacek's teammates directly expressed their pride in his achievements in Vancouver — the last U.S. man to win Olympic gold was Brian Boitano 22 years ago — it is the praise from a skater representing the host country that leaves Lysacek at a loss for words.
Well, as speechless as the outgoing, perceptive Lysacek ever gets.
Canada's Patrick Chan, who finished fifth in Vancouver, expressed awe at Lysacek's performance. He also found inspiration from it, and said the American's perseverance provides a lesson every athlete can learn from.
"I think Evan's a perfect image of me, except earlier," the 19-year-old Chan says. "It helped me get through the disappointment of not doing my best in Vancouver, to look back at what he did. It helped me get over the fact that I didn't come home with a medal.
"It's very, very rare someone wins a gold medal — or any medal — at their first games. Evan's a big, big help, helping me feel better and move on and look forward to the future."
When told of Chan's comments, Lysacek is silent for several moments before simply saying, "WOW!"
"That is incredible, especially because as a fellow competitor of Patrick I admire him very much and what he's accomplished. It's an honor to hear him say that," Lysacek said.
"It's still incredible for me to think back to what's happened. Throughout years of being a competitive athlete, I've found so much inspiration from athletes in so many sports and watch the way they handle themselves on and off the field of play. Something I have always strived for is that I have tried to emulate so many of them. And then to hear someone I respect in my sport say those nice things ..."
That's sort of how it tends to be in figure skating, where a brotherhood among competitors exists — aside from the Tonya and Nancy saga in 1994, of course. The camaraderie is particularly apparent within the Olympic community, and Lysacek makes note of how many Olympic medalists from the United States were at the 2010 games: Boitano, Scott Hamilton, Paul Wylie, Kristi Yamaguchi, Michelle Kwan, Peggy Fleming and Sasha Cohen to name a few.
He drew comfort from their presence in Vancouver, and even moreso from their kindness after he finished second at nationals in January.
"For us in figure skating, we are so lucky that so many past champions stay involved and were there," he says.
"There is a level of support there, kind of a family, and it's really crucial to the development of the athletes and it's been crucial to my development. I was disappointed at the U.S. championships that I did not skate very well, not as well as I wanted to. But I got texts and messages or e-mails or I spoke in person to every one of the 12 Olympic champions who were there at the ceremony (honoring U.S. Olympians) in Spokane. I kind of carried a little bit of advice from each of them.
"I was not going in with the expectations of win or plotting to win, but going in to be a positive force and for the Olympics to be a positive experience."
Mission accomplished.
Kokubo, Clark win U.S. Open championships
STRATTON, Vt. — Iouri Podladtchikov pulled off Shaun White's signature move, the double McTwist 1260, twice during the U.S. Open snowboarding championship and still came up short in the halfpipe competition.
Podladtchikov finished third behind Kazuhiro Kokubo of Japan and Louie Vito of the U.S. on Saturday.
Kokubo scored 97.17 points after pulling off moves that included a McTwist chicken wing, a rotation done while bending back and holding the board, while Vito did three double corks in two of his three runs to place second with 96.16 points.
Podladtchikov, a Swiss rider nicknamed "iPod," earned a 96.00 despite completing the move that involves two board-over-head flips inside 3½ twists.
"I was surprised, of course, I was for sure very surprised," Podladtchikov said. "I'm not one to bad mouth judges ever. But when I was done I thought I had the best run I ever had and it wasn't enough? What did they want?
"But in the end, I heard everyone screaming madly and I could feel them feel it was my best run. And I can't even complain."
In the women's competition, Americans took the top three spots, with Kelly Clark winning the day with 94.17 points. Kaitlynn Farrington (90.33) was second and Ellery Hollingsworth (86.33) third. American Hannah Teter placed fourth (82.50).
Though difficult, the McTwist likely scored lower than Vito's three corks in a row because of the precise timing needed to land each of the corks, said Matt Johnson, a spokesman for The Swatch Ticket to Ride, which crowns the World Championship snowboarding winners.
Vito said his set of corks likely earned more points because it's rare to see three in succession.
Podladtchikov went on to say while he hasn't spoken with White about doing the double McTwist, the two practiced together this week.
"I think he's stoked I'm doing it," Podladtchikov said. "I think we both respect each other so much, because we are the only ones that know what it takes to do that trick."
Podladtchikov said he was having trouble with the trick during practice and that doing it at all was a risk since the week's warm weather made the halfpipe soft.
But by the time his run came, he said he was confident and knew he was going to pull it off.
White, who was supposed to compete on Saturday, complained of exhaustion and withdrew.
American Scotty Lago pulled out a sixth place with 90.17 points and Peter Piiroinen of Finland, who took the World Championship, placed 12th with 68.33.
Many of the riders at the competition also paid tribute to Kevin Pearce, of Norwich, who's still recuperating from a head injury suffered in a training accident Dec. 31 in Park City, Utah.
Kelleher, Ganong top Olympians at U.S. Championships
WILMINGTON, N.Y. — Keely Kelleher and Travis Ganong both topped fields brimming with U.S. Olympians to win super-G titles at the U.S. Alpine Championships on Saturday.
Kelleher, of Big Sky, Mont., benefited from starting first in a field that included seven Vancouver Olympians, finishing in 1 minute, 6.31 seconds on Draper's Drop at Whiteface Mountain near Lake Placid.
With temperatures nearing 50 degrees, later skiers had to deal with soft snow and a track that rutted quickly.
"I carried my speed, but it didn't feel that good because of the conditions," Kelleher said. "It was softer in some spots, harder in others."
Chelsea Marshall of Pittsfield, Vt., a 2010 Olympian, started second and finished there in 1:06.67.
North American series downhill, Super G and overall champion Laurenne Ross of Klamath Falls, Ore., finished third, 0.03 behind Marshall.
Ganong, of Olympic Valley, Calif., also used bib No. 1, winning the men's super-G in 1:05.43 against a field of 65 skiers that had five 2010 U.S. Olympians, including 2006 gold medalist Ted Ligety.
"With the warm weather, it was definitely better to start early," said Ganong, who also captured the U.S. downhill title in Aspen, Colo., last month. "The course is smoother, you can go where you want to go and trust your line."
The field of 50 women excluded Julia Mancuso, a double Olympic silver medalist last month. Mancuso, also from Olympic Valley, Calif., will compete in Tuesday's giant slalom.
Lindsey Vonn, of Vail, Colo., a winner of gold and bronze medals, has concluded her year to heal a variety of nagging injuries, including hand and shin problems.
Will Brandenburg of Spokane, Wash., was men's runner-up in 1:06.20, followed by Warner Nickerson of Gilford, N.H., in third place with a time of 1:06.42.
Ligety, of Park City, Utah, had survival on his mind.
"I was just trying to make it down the course fast," said the slalom and giant slalom specialist. "The snow conditions were tough because it's so warm and soft. If you push it too hard, it could be dangerous."
Vancouver medal winners Bode Miller and Andrew Weibrecht didn't compete at the championships, which continue Sunday. Miller, of Franconia, N.H., shut down his season to heal an ankle injury after capturing three Olympic medals in February.
Weibrecht, the homegrown product from Lake Placid and Whiteface Mountain, separated his shoulder in Lillehammer, Norway, one week after the games and had surgery one week ago.
U.S. Ski Team chief arrested on DUI charge
PARK CITY, Utah — U.S. Ski Team chief Bill Marolt issued an apology Saturday after being arrested days earlier on suspicion of driving under the influence not far from the team's headquarters in Park City.
In a brief statement, Marolt apologized for his Wednesday night arrest, which came just days after the team completed one of its most successful seasons.
"This is something that I take very seriously both as an individual and as a leader of our organization," he said. "I apologize for any disruption this may cause to the organization for which I'm so passionate."
Park City police Sgt. Darwin Little confirmed the arrest but declined to comment on details in the police report.
Marolt has had two stints with the group, beginning as its alpine director in the 1980s. Since 1996, he has been president and chief executive officer of the organization, now formally known as the U.S. Ski and Snowboarding Association.
Association spokesman Tom Kelly said he was unaware of details surrounding Marolt's arrest.
U.S. Olympic Committee spokesman Patrick Sandusky declined to comment.
"Bill and (the U.S. Ski and Snowboarding Association) promptly advised the USOC of the situation and until there is resolution on the matter, to comment further would be inappropriate," he said.
Little said additional officers worked the night of Marolt's arrest because it was St. Patrick's Day.
Marolt oversees the national governing body for Olympic skiing and snowboarding in the U.S.
His arrest came days after Olympic downhill champion Lindsey Vonn won her third consecutive overall World Cup title.
At the Winter Games in Vancouver last month, U.S. skiers won the alpine skiing medal count, collecting eight medals and breaking the team's previous record of five medals at the 1984 Sarajevo Games.
Lamoureux clinches snowboard halfpipe crown
LA MOLINA, Spain — Justin Lamoureux of Canada clinched the World Cup halfpipe crown after finishing third to winner Fredrik Austbo on Saturday.
Lamoureux's score of 38.5 points from two runs gave him an overall total of 2,400. Lamoureux finished ahead of Janne Korpi of Finland in the overall standings by 670.
Austbo of Norway won the season's sixth event by scoring 40.9 points, with Christophe Schmidt of Germany second.
Holly Crawford of Australia won the women's event with 38.4 points, edging Mercedes Nicoll of Poland and Paulina Ligocka of Poland, who finished third.
Xuetong Cai of China had already clinched the women's halfpipe crown, with compatriot Zhifeng Sun coming in second overall.
Fourcade, Hauswald win World Cup biathlon pursuits
OSLO — Martin Fourcade of France won his third straight biathlon World cup race Saturday after protecting his lead to take the 12.5-kilometer pursuit.
The Frenchman started first after winning Thursday’s sprint race and overcame three missed targets to finish in 33 minutes, 46.9 seconds. Simon Schempp of Germany shot cleanly to finish second, 9 seconds behind. Russia’s Ivan Tcherezov was third, 26.2 seconds back, after two misses.
Norway’s Emil Hegle Svendsen reclaimed the overall World Cup lead by finishing fourth.
Earlier, Simone Hauswald of Germany won the women’s 10K pursuit.
Hauswald, who also won the 7.5-kilometer sprint on Thursday, finished in 32:05.5 with three missed targets.
Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 5.4 seconds behind with one miss, beating Sweden’s Anna Carin Olofsson-Zidek in third, 38.9 seconds behind with two misses.
Overall World Cup leader Magdalena Neuner of Germany finished eighth, with five misses.
Norway’s Bjoergen wins World Cup pursuit
FALUN, Sweden — Norway’s Marit Bjoergen has won the 10-kilometer pursuit, narrowing the gap with overall World Cup leader Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland.
Bjoergen, winner of the pursuit at the Vancouver Olympics, finished in 31 minutes, 58.4 seconds on Saturday. She was followed by Norway’s Kristin Stoermer Steira and Therese Johaug, who finished 2.5 and 33.6 seconds behind, respectively.
Kowalczyk finished 12th.
World Cup leader Petter Northug of Norway won the 20-kilometer cross-country pursuit, using a strong sprint to win by 1.7 seconds.
Northug crossed in 1:3.7 in the 10K classical and 10K freestyle race.
The World Cup champion broke away from eight other skiers shortly before the finish line, beating runner-up Tobias Angerer of Germany. Lukas Bauer of the Czech Republic was third.
Kuck wins 1,500 meters at World Allrounds
HEERENVEEN, Netherlands — Jonathan Kuck of the United States won the 1,500 meters Saturday to take the overall lead at the World Allround Speedskating championships.
Defending champion Sven Kramer of the Netherlands finished fourth behind Lucas Makowsky of Canada and American Trevor Marsicano. Kramer could still claim his fourth straight title with victory in Sunday's 10,000 meters.
The 20-year-old Kuck won in 1 minute, 45.36 seconds.
Ireen Wust of the Netherlands held the women's overall lead after finishing second in the 3,000 meters and sixth in the 500. Yekaterina Shikhova of Russia won the 500 in 38.83 seconds while defending champion Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic claimed the 3,000 in 4 minutes, 03.59 seconds.
China wins 2 gold medals at short track worlds
SOFIA, Bulgaria — China's Liang Wenhao and Wang Meng clinched gold medals in the men's and women's 500-meter races at the short track speedskating world championships.
Liang won the men's race in a time of 41.383 seconds Saturday, ahead of defending champion Francois Hamelin of Canada, who finished in 41.456. Hamelin's teammate, Francois-Louis Tremblay, won bronze
J.R. Celski of the United States, who won five medals at last year's world championships, was disqualified in the semifinals.
Defending champion Wang took the women's title in 43.619. Kalyna Roberge of Canada won silver in 43.679 and teammate Marianne St-Gelais took bronze.
Paralympics
U.S. wins sledge hockey gold 2-0 over Japan
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Alexi Salamone jokes that Russia is in his blood, but there's no doubt the United States is in his heart — right next to the gold medal he won for the country that adopted him.
Born in the Ukraine 14 months after the Chernobyl nuclear disaster with twisted legs that were later amputated, Salamone led the U.S. had a goal and an assist in the U.S. sled hockey team's 2-0 victory against Japan in the gold medal match at the Paralympic Winter Games on Saturday.
Salamone said he wants to explore to his Russian roots at the 2014 Games in Socchi, but there's no question about his loyalties. It's as obvious as the American flags painted all over the shell he straps himself into to fly all over the ice as one of sled hockey's fastest players.
"I'm so proud of my teammates and to get this gold for the USA," a beaming 22-year-old Salamone said after the game. "It's an incredible feeling to be a part of this."
Salamone was a big part of it. He led the US in scoring as an 18-year-old while winning bronze in 2006 in Torino, and again in Vancouver with four goals and four assists.
He opened the scoring on a power play 4:10 into Saturday's game against a gritty Japanese team that shocked Canada in the semifinals.
Goalie Steve Cash made that stand up with five saves, including a penalty shot early in the second period.
Salamone helped seal it late, using his speed to get in deep and throw a big hit that led to a turnover and Taylo Lipsett's deflection goal with 1:18 left.
"We're going to celebrate this for a long time, Salamone said.
It's a celebration that would have been hard to imagine early in life.
Given up by his birth parents, Salamone was 6 and living in a place he once described as more an "alley" than an orphanage when Joe and Sue Salamone adopted him.
He arrived at their home just outside Buffalo, N.Y., hobbling around in a crude pair of Russian-made prosthetics strapped around him like a straitjacket. He was introduced to sled hockey at 10, and never looked back.
The arm strength and gymnastics lessons that allowed him to walk upside down on his hands back in the Ukraine made him fast in a sport where players use metal picks on the end of their two sticks to push themselves around the ice.
"I loved the high speed and fast pace," Salamone said earlier in the games. "I always kid with people that because I'm from Russia it's in my blood."
Salamone is also a fan of Russian players and follows them closely, including Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin, who has been vocal about the importance of the NHL being at the Olympics in Socchi. Salamone's reasons are much different, but no less passionate.
"Going back where I originated from would mean a lot to me," said Salamone, who hopes to brush up on his Russian but is still undecided about looking for birth relatives for the first time.
"I have a good life here in the United States and when the time is right I'll look."
Salamone's hesitation comes from his loyalty to — and love for — the parents he calls his "real heroes." The Salamones later adopted a second child, Tatiana, from the same orphanage, and Alexi knows they are the biggest reason he now has a chance to chase dreams — on and off the ice.
Russia leads the 2010 Paralympics with 30 medals going into Sunday's final day. Even the Ukraine has more medal (17) than the American's 13. But neither country has a sled-hockey team.
"With my parent's support and love I've had this opportunity to come to the Paralympic Games," said Salamone. "They are more proud then I can ever be — they've seen where I came from in an orphanage to the highest level of sport."
Track & Field
Kenya's Sylvester Teimet wins Seoul Int'l Marathon
SEOUL, South Korea — Kenya's Sylvester Teimet won the Seoul International Marathon on Sunday, pulling ahead in the final seconds to finish in 2 hours, 6 minutes, 49 seconds — a course record and personal best.
The 26-year-old Teimet broke the course record of 2:07:06 set in 2004 by South Africa's Gert Thys and topped his personal best of 2:09:53. Teimet earned $125,000, including $45,000 for breaking the course record.
Gilbert Kipruto Kirwa was second in 2:06:59, and Paul Kiprop Kirui was third in 2:07:35 to complete the Kenyan sweep.
Ethiopia's Amane Gobena won the women's race in 2:24:13. China's Chunxiu Zhou was second in 2:25:01, followed by Kenya's Caroline Cheptanui Kilel at 2:26:58.
Cycling
Freire Gomez of Spain wins Milan-San Remo
SAN REMO, Italy — Oscar Freire Gomez has won the Milan-San Remo cycling race after a mass sprint to the finish.
The Spaniard finished the 185-mile race in 6 hours, 57 minutes, 28 seconds on Saturday ahead of prerace favorite Tom Boonen of Belgium and Italy’s Alessandro Petacchi after breaking from a pack of 25 riders.
The Rabobank rider also won in 2004 and 2007.
Lance Armstrong pulled out of the race Friday, citing acute gastroenteritis.
The Milan-San Remo is the opening single-day classic of the cycling season and one of the longest of the year.
