flight has long fascinated humans. from … past games...was about to see. but what he saw overjoyed...

S K I J U M P I N G • F L I G H T HAS L O N G FASCINATED

H U M A N S . F R O M T H E M Y T H OE I C A R U S T O T H E W R I G H T

B R O T H E R S ' 1 9 0 3 A I R P L A N E , T H E R E HAS BEEN A QUEST

TO SOAR W I T H THE BIRDS, TO SEE THE W O R L D EROM ABOVE,

T O ELOAT FREELY I N T H E SKY. I N 1 8 6 0 , A N O R W E G I A N

BY THE N A M E OE S O N D R E N O R H E I M D E C I D E D THAT SKIS,

N O T W I N G S , C O U L D G R A N T H I M T H E P O W E R T O FLY.

H E L A U N C H E D OFF A S N O W ' C O V E R E D R O C K A N D FLEW

3 0 METERS, B E C O M I N G T H E W O R L D ' S F I R S T - K N O W N SKI

JUMPER. S O O N , MORE DAREDEVILS BEGAN C O M P E T I N G FOR

Just two days after jumping to gold on the KPO hill, Switzerland's Simon Ammann [number 58] looks

down at 20,000 who gathered to see the Kl20 competition—and to see him soar once again.

Source : Bibliothèque du CIO / IOC Library

distance whi le the masses gathered to watch f rom below: Some 150,000 spectators gathered for ski

j u m p i n g at the Oslo 1952 Games. Fi f ty years later, we assembled again, at U tah O l y m p i c Park, to

gaze upward as a few brave took f l ight through the th in air. We stargazers were treated not on ly to

an athletic event, but to an amazing spectacle of men in silver and orange suits, of German electri-

cians and Finnish students and Austrian soldiers lay ing down their tools, weapons and books to com-

pete as equals. A n d we were bedazzled by a young Swiss jumper w h o resembled a flying wizard. His

humi l i ty , good humor and gent i l i ty made our own hearts soar.

K 9 O I N D I V I D U A L • O n the eve of Salt Lake 2002 Games, several names swirled in the air as K90 medal contenders.

There was Adam Malysz of Poland, w h o had been compet ing since he was 6, and w o n back-to-back

overall season titles in 2000-01 and 2001-02. Germany's Sven Hannawald was a two- t ime O l y m p i c

medalist w h o had just swept the prestigious Four H i l l s Tournament in Germany and Austria, the first

jumper to do so in the 50-year history of the event. Strong showings were also expected f rom Finland

and Austria, whose team featured four-t ime O l ymp i c medalist Mar t i n Hoel lwar th . Miss ing f rom the

buzz was Switzerland's Simon Ammann, a 20-year-old w h o had never won a W o r l d Cup event in his

career. H e had taken a terr ible fall just one month before the Games, wh ich left h im w i t h a concus-

sion, a back in jury and several cuts and contusions to his face.

But Ammann's bruises healed, and on February 10, it appeared that his confidence had never

suffered. The field of ski jumpers had been wh i t t led down from 60 to 50 in the qualif ication round on

February 9. W i t h clear blue skies, on ly a whisper of w i n d and the stands packed w i t h 20,000 specta-

tors, the athletes were ready to soar. In the first of two jumps, Ammann flew 98 meters and landed

atop the leader board, ahead of Malysz, Hannawald and the others. For the second jump, athletes

competed in order of scores f rom lowest to highest, so Ammann was slated to jump last. W i t h three

jumpers left, Finns he ld the top three spots. Malysz's jump of 98 meters was good enough to propel

h im past the Finnish athletes and into the top spot. Malysz had guaranteed himself a medal; the first

Pole to do so in the O l ymp i c Win te r Games since Wojc iech Fortuna won ski j ump ing go ld in 1972.

Hannawald was next, and his 99-meter leap knocked Malysz down to second place w i t h one

jumper left. Ammann began his descent down the in-run—knees bent, leaning forward, hands clasped

beh ind his back. Launching f rom the take-off point , his skis splayed in a perfect V posit ion, Ammann

soared th rough the crisp, t h in air for 98.5 meters. S l id ing to a stop, he knew that in order to best

Hannawald, he needed near-perfect style points. Scarcely able to wait for the results, Ammann peered

anxiously through his skis at the scoreboard, as if somehow h id ing wou ld lessen the impact of what he

was about to see. But what he saw over joyed him. A second-jump score of 135.5 points (based on dis-

tance and style) w o n h im O l y m p i c gold. It was the first ski j u m p i n g medal for Swi tzer land since

Wal ter Steiner took silver in 1972. Ammann's teammates and coaches mobbed h im in the snow.

Later, atop the podium at the O l ymp i c Medals Plaza, he was ecstatic. In the shimmering silver

cape of the Swiss un i form, w i t h his tousled hair and eyeglasses, he bore more than a passing resem-

blance to H a r r y Potter , the immense ly popu lar chi ldren's l i te ra ture character w h o also shared

Ammann's ab i l i ty to fly. "I always thought , 'Go ahead and do your dreams,"' he said. "But the go ld

medal.. .1 never expected. Never,"

K 1 2 0 I N D I V I D U A L « If Ammann was bewildered by his K90 win, noth ing could have prepared h im for the events of

February 13, and the weeks fo l l ow ing . A l o n g w i t h Hannawa ld and Ma lysz (who took si lver and

bronze, respectively, in the K90) and 11 more athletes, Ammann had already qualif ied for the K ] 2 0

finals and thus took a few practice jumps dur ing the qualifier on February 12. Thi r ty-s ix others jumped

wel l enough to advance, inc lud ing Japan's Nor iak i Kasai, who proclaimed, "Tomorrow, I w i l l perform

a miracle."

But as the compet i t ion unfolded, it was clear the miracle had been bestowed elsewhere. Once

again, the quest for go l d came d o w n to the last three jumpers. Ma lysz leaped 128 meters, g o o d

enough for the top of the list and another medal, guaranteed. Tied w i t h Hannawald for the lead com-

ing in to the final round, Ammann skied next, his 133-meter jump topp ing his previous ef for t by half

a meter. As he skidded to a stop in the outrun area, all eyes moved to the top of the in-run, where

Hannawald sat on the start ing bar. He needed to equal or surpass Ammann's score to claim gold. H e

shoved off and gained speed. As he jumped, things looked up for Hannawa ld—plen ty of distance,

good form. But then he touched ground and couldn't ho ld the telemark landing, fal l ing back onto his

skis and out of medal content ion. It wou ld be four th for the German soldier and electrician. Finland's

Ma t t i Hautamâki took the bronze, aware that his medal was the result of a simple twist of fate. "I was

lucky because Sven was unlucky," he said.

Malysz took second place, in f la t ing his already considerable popular i ty in his homeland of

Poland w i t h a second pod ium appearance. "1 can't f i nd words to express h o w happy I am," Malysz

gushed after the race. " M y dream was to w in a medal, and now I have two!"

"TO CARRY ON QUIETLY," SAID SLMON A M M A N N . "THAT'S

ABOUT THE ONEY WAY TO GO ABOUT SKI J U M P I N G . "

Simon Ammann, meanwhile, had soared into O l y m p i c history. Against the odds, he became

the first ski jumper since Finland's Ma t t i Nykaenen at the Galgary 1988 Games to w in bo th the K90

and K120 events. "1 am trembling," he said, his voice cracking. "It's been a crazy day and a crazy week.

I never w o u l d have bel ieved that this cou ld be possible."

Soon, Ammann took flight again—on a plane to his native Switzerland, where he was greeted

as a national hero. Thousands of fans had been wa i t ing for h im at the Zu r i ch A i rpor t , and traveled

w i t h h im on a specially decorated train toward the vil lage of Unterwasser, where he was raised. There

were breads, cakes, pizzas and two songs created in his honor, whi le admirers showered h im w i t h love

letters, wedding proposals and such gifts as a car, a golden cell phone, even a live pig. (Hav ing grown

up on a farm, Ammann proclaimed he l iked the p ig best.) It was a magical ending to a magical tale, but

the boy wonder remained grounded by his remarkable accomplishments and instant celebrity. "To

carry on quietly," the O lymp ian said. "That's about the on ly way to go about ski jumping."

K i 2 o T E A M • extraordinary happenings w o u l d on ly cont inue as the final ski j u m p i n g event unfolded.

W i t h four athletes per nat ion j ump ing just two times each in the K120 team, one poor j ump threat-

ened to damage a team's overall standing. So w i t h Germany, Austria and Finland c la iming nine of the

top 1 1 jumpers in the wor ld , the three medal posit ions seemed a near certainty. Japan, composed of

the athletes w h o w o n four medals at the Nagano 1998 Games, inc lud ing team gold, also hoped to be

j ump ing into medal content ion.

Throughout the compet i t ion, the leaderboard was in a constant state of change. Af ter all the

athletes had completed one jump, Germany and Finland sat in the first and second positions, respec-

t ively, less than 10 points apart. But i t was not Austr ia in th i rd , nor was i t Japan. Thanks to Robert


Kranjec's jump of 13 3 meters—the longest jump of the day—it was Slovenia. !n only its fourth O lympic

Win te r Games appearance, w i t h only two jumpers in the top 20 W o r l d Cup standings, the t iny Baltic

nation held a surprising 11.5-point lead over Austria heading into the final round of jumping.

As the second round progressed, strong jumps f rom Kranjec and teammates Damjan Fras,

Peter Z o n t a and t w o - t i m e W o r l d Cup champ ion Pr imoz Peterka w idened the scor ing gap w i t h

Austria, so l id i fy ing Slovenia's third-place standing. The go ld medal, though, stil l hung in the balance.

Af ter three jumpers each, the margin between Germany and Finland had narrowed to just under six

points. There were just two jumps left. Finland's Janne Ahonen went first, f l y ing 125.5 meters to a

score of 126.9 points. Germany's gold-medal hopes rested on Mar t i n Schmitt , a student and four-t ime

W o r l d Cup champion. Schmi t t needed 121.3 points or more to capture go ld for Germany. A f te r

g l id ing down the in-run and launching skyward, he stopped and waited for his score. Suddenly, the

numbers on the board shifted.

In first: Schmitt and his teammates, w i t h 974.1 points. They had edged out Finland by just one-

ten th of a po in t for the go ld , the closest O l y m p i c team compe t i t i on ever. Ce lebra t ing w i t h the

Germans at the base of the hi l l , Schmit t performed one more jump, a backflip. "They [the Finns] also

deserve the go ld medal," he said. "This is the k ind of compet i t ion where one day you win, and one day

you lose." Added teammate Michael Uhrmann, "Today, we were not better, we were the luckier ones."

T h e bronze was Slovenia's on ly medal of the Games, and Kranjec accepted th i rd place w i t h

unbr id led joy. "I knew we wou ld do well , maybe as h igh as top six, but we were surprised to get the

bronze," he said. "I'm go ing to sleep w i t h my medal. N o t just ton ight , every night, always."

<24

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of a jump should the electronic system fail.

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<23

"You tell us, without words hut through your actions, that life is a beautiful thing, exciting

and dramatic and full of the potential for joy." - Salt Lake 2002 President and CEO Mitt Romney

R A Y M O N D M E E K S


iWm K i f M m F AIL I - » Z I H

Finland's Veli-Matti Lindstrôm soars off the K120 on February 13 Roar Lj0kelsoey of Norway trains on the Ki 20 hill in the early morning.


'From the outside it probably looks like I am very relaxed and cool. But inside it is

completely different." — Gold medalist Sven Hannawald, Germany

After reaching speeds of 55 miles per hour on the in-run, ski jumpers launched off the

highest-altitude jumps in the world and covered distances of 2.5 football fields.

H U E T J 0 H N


"The idea of flying is extraordinary. You don't need any extra assistance, any

parachute. It's just taking off and it's an extraordinary feeling." - Simon Ammann of Switzerland,

gold medalist in the Kpo and K120 events

A N D Y A N D E R S O N

A Korean ski jumper gathers the immense focus required for the task ahead.



IP" ' ^

Unlike other ski jumping hills, Utah Olympic Park's KPO and Ki20 sites were carved into the natural

contours of the land, providing a stunning backdrop for competitors and spectators.

Finland's Matti Hautamâki, bronze medalist in the Ki20 individual event, takes his

turn in the team jump. It would be the closest such competition in Olympic history with Germany

winning by just one-tenth of a point.

J O H N H U E T


"A champion is someone who surpasses personal limits. This means that all of you can

champions, regardless of your final ranking." - IOC President Jaccjues Rogge

Michael Uhrmann of Germany prepares for the K120 individual event, in which he would place

16th, a disappointing finish after struggling through the season prior to the Salt Lake 2002

Games. But Uhrmann was soon elated by Germany's narrow defeat of Finland in the team competition.

"I would like to thank my coaches for trusting me," he said after the victory.

D A V I D B U R N E T T


In the early 1990s, the aerodynamically superior V style of jumping replaced

the traditional method of keeping one's skis parallel inflight.

S T E V E N C U R R I E ( A B O V E )

"You don't hear anything, in terms of little noises or people talking. All you do hear is the sound

of your skis sliding on the snow, the air moving around your helmet. When you actually

jump, all you hear is the air noise, and once you stop at the bottom of the hill, then everything comes

back, the sound of people." - Alan Alborn, United States of America

1

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*35


A Finnish jumper steadies himself after landing during the Ki20

team event."Germany was a little better today, that's all." - Janne Ahonen, Finland



BF «HB "

N O R D I C C O M B I N E D H i s P E R C H : A STEEL

BAR ATOP A STEEP, S N O W - C O V E R E D RAMP AT U T A H O L Y M P I C

PARK. H E IS MORE T H A N 7 0 0 0 EEET ABOVE SEA LEVEL A N D

H U N D R E D S OE EEET ABOVE A WALL OE FANS. H E PAUSES A

M O M E N T A N D CATCHES HIS BREATH. H E CHECKS HIS GEAR

ONE LAST T IME, T H E N LETS GO. W H E R E THE RAMP ENDS, HE

PUSHES OFF W I T H MASSIVE FORCE. I N T H E T H I N A IR , HE

SHIFTS HIS SKIS I N T O A V SHAPE A N D PRESSES HIS TORSO

FORWARD, FLOATING ELEGANTLY U N T I L HIS SKIS SLAP THE

PACKED S N O W . H E DROPS A KNEE I N T H E T R A D I T I O N A L ,

In the ski jumping portion of noriic combined, jumpers are scored on not just the distance hut the style

—during flight, landing and runout—with which the jump is executed.

M I C H A E L S E A M A N S


telemark landing, a court ier bow ing to the crowd. He spreads his arms and legs to slow down, spray-

ing a fine mist of snow through the air.

But his j ob is on ly half done. His batt lefield, the fo l l ow ing day: Soldier Ho l low, a begui l ing

land of meadows and aspens, and an infamous high-alt i tude cross-country course dreaded for its steep,

unre lent ing cl imbs and slick, sharp curves. Here, he assumes a new ident i ty and turns his legs in to

powerful weapons. The gentleman has become a warrior, fighting for the finish.

Nord i c combined athletes must have the precision and grace of a ski jumper, the power and

endurance of a cross-country skier and nerves of steel. It is a delicate balance, and the competi tors at

the Salt Lake 2002 Games brought their own balancing acts. Finland's Samppa Lajunen played guitar

in a rock band. Felix Go t twa ld of Austria and German Ronny Ackermann were soldiers. Ackermann

was so focused on maintaining his balance, he had sworn off dat ing for a year before the Games. W i t h

F inn Jaakko Tallus, Amer i can T o d d L o d w i c k and Japan's D a i t o Takahashi, these were the t o p

contenders in three challenges: a K90 jump w i t h a 15 km cross-country race, the team K90 and 4 x 5

k m event, and the brand-new sprint event, a K l 20 jump w i t h a 7.5 km race.

I N D I V I D U A L K 9 0 / 1 5 K M • Q n February 9, nordic combined compet i t ion began. Forty-f ive athletes jumped three times

each f rom U tah O l ymp i c Park's K90 hi l l . Lajunen's performances landed h im in th i rd place, wh i le his

teammate Tallus was first and Austrian Mar io Stecher was second. Ackermann earned a fifth place spot,-

Lodwick was just behind in seventh; Got twa ld trai led in eleventh. Less than 24 hours later, at Soldier

Ho l low, the racers l ined up for the 15 km race, consisting of three, 5-ki lometer laps. Accord ing to the

rules of nordic combined, each racer started a certain amount of t ime after the leader (Tallus) based on

their scores f rom the j ump ing hi l l . Tallus started first, Stecher had a 48-second delay, Lajunen had a

53-second delay, and Go t twa ld was 2 minutes and 43 seconds behind.

We l l before the 5-ki lometer mark, Lajunen overtook Stecher to move into second place, 13.8

seconds behind Tallus. By the end of the second lap, he had taken a decisive lead, legs and arms pump-

ing rhythmical ly w i t h no signs of fatigue as he passed the stadium, head down, steady and unrelenting.

W h i l e Tallus c lung stubbornly to second place, excitement bui l t beh ind him. Got twa ld , the

W o r l d Gup leader f rom Austria, was making an incredible push f rom his 11th place start. By the sec-

ond lap, he was closing in on the leaders—Finland's Lajunen and Tallus, German rival Ackermann and

Austria's Stecher. By the last lap, he had a sol id ho ld on th i rd place behind Finns Lajunen and Tallus.

Lajunen, however, wou ld not be overtaken. As he approached the finish line, he led Tallus by

some 24 seconds—enough t ime to accept a Finnish flag f rom a fan and wave it as he skied the final

meters, its vibrant blue cross matching not on ly the cloudless sky at Soldier Ho l low, but also his hair,

dyed blue for the Games. Lajunen took the gold, Tallus the silver and Got twa ld the bronze. "That was

one of the best compet i t ions 1 have ever skied," Lajunen said. "This day was perfect."

Nord i c combined is of ten considered the toughest of w in ter sports, and the team event was

tough even before it began. Jumps were postponed two days because of bad weather. W h e n the event

finally began on February 16, Finland—Lajunen and Tallus w i t h Jari Mant i la and Hannu Mann inen—

earned the top combined jump score. The Austrian team was second, thanks to Stecher's outstanding

jumps. T h e Austrians wou ld start 44 seconds beh ind Finland in the next day's race. T h e Amer ican

team, led by Lodwick, wou ld begin the race th i rd ( 1:34 beh ind Finland) w i t h h igh hopes for a first-

ever nordic combined medal. Japan and Germany fol lowed, respectively, in a close fourth and fifth.

The race started fast—so fast that Lodwick and several others collapsed, exhausted, just inches

past the exchange line. Lodwick even needed an oxygen mask to recover. Finland held the lead, w i t h

Austria in second, and Germany's Bjôrn Kircheisen skied impressively, passing Lodwick and Japan's

Gen Tomi i to move into third. In the th i rd leg, German skier Marcel Hoeh l i g passed Austria's Stecher

and c la imed second place. T h e last lap was a matchup be tween Finland's Lajunen, Germany's

Ackermann and Austria's Gottwald. Lajunen kept Finland's lead and won the gold, but Ackermann was

breath ing down his neck: Thanks to sk i ing at an al l -out sprint pace, the German f in ished just 7.5

seconds beh ind Lajunen, c la iming the silver medal for his team. Go t twa ld c l inched the bronze for

Austria, finishing 11 seconds behind dominant Finland.

A n d so for Lajunen, another perfect day.

I N D I V I D U A L K 1 2 0 / 7 . 5

K M S P R I N T

W i t h a cross-country distance of on ly 7.5 km, the K l 20 sprint demands more aggressive jumps

and more furious racing than the K90 individual event. Af ter the j ump ing on February 21, the 7.5 k m

course at Soldier H o l l o w became a showdown among Finland's Lajunen, Austria's G o t t w a l d and

Germany's Ackermann. Gottwald's j ump ing on the K120, or large hi l l , had again placed h im in 11th

at the race's start, 51 seconds—a considerable gap in a race this shor t—beh ind first-place Lajunen.

Ackermann , w h o had d o m i n a t e d spr in t events t h r o u g h o u t the season, star ted 15 seconds after

Lajunen, w i t h Finland's Tallus, Japan's Takahashi and Austrians Mar io Stecher and Ghr is toph Bieler on

his heels. "There was only one way for me to go," Ackermann wou ld later recall, "and that was attack."

The strategy was apparently the same for Got twa ld . W i t h i n the first lap, he had skied f rom

11th in to four th place, fighting to overcome Tallus, w h o had begun th i rd, and Lodwick, w h o was ski-

ing tenaciously f rom his 12th place start toward the front of the pack, even ho ld ing th i rd place briefly.

By the t h i r d lap, Gottwald's challengers for the bronze had fallen away. Lodwick finished fifth, the

highest place ever for an American in the nordic combined.

*41

"THAT WAS ONE OF THE BEST COMPETIT IONS I HAVE EVER

SKIED," SAID SAMPPA LAJUNEN. "TODAY WAS PERFECT. ;;

The event, however, and the six days of nordic combined compet i t ion, belonged to Lajunen.

His head shaved of its Finnish-blue locks for the final day of racing, Lajunen displayed the confidence

of a rock star and the physical power of a t ru ly accomplished athlete. He maintained his lead to w i n

yet another gold, nine seconds ahead of silver medalist Ackermann and a ful l 40 seconds ahead of

bronze medalist Got twald.

Asked if he was shocked by sweeping all three events, Lajunen shook his head. "When 1 was

17, I w o n a W o r l d Gup tit le," he said. "That was the year 1 was surprised."


"This sport is at its pinnacle. The best jumpers are skiing the best times right now, and they

do it every time." — Todd Lodwich, whose 5th place finish in the individual Ki 20/7.5 km earned him

the highest spot ever for an American nordic combined athlete.

'There was only one way for me to go, and that was attack." - Silver medalist Ronny Ackermann of Germany


YOM cannot win without being great at both sports." - Gold medalist Samppa Lajunen of Finland

E L I S A B E T H o D O N N E L L

Milan Kucera of the Czech Republic tests his limits against

the cross-country course at Soldier Hollow in the fast-paced 7.5 km sprint.


At 7350 feet, Utah Olympic Park offered nordic combined athletes the highest

world-class ski jumping venue in the world.


<48

Nordic combined athletes hope for head winds, which help lift them higher and carry them farther.


Norihito Kohayashi of Japan, S f e r r e Rotevatn of Norway and Pavel Churavy of the

Czech Republic vie for position on one of the 7.5 km sprint's climbs, above.

S H E I L A M E T Z N E R


iilPS

'I won't forget the surroundings here anytime soon. It's just beautiful." - Bjdrn Kircheisen, Germany


C R O S S - C O U N T K I I N G IS T H E OLDEST

OF W I N T E R SPORTS A N D DECEPTIVELY BEAUTIFUL. F KO M A

DISTANCE, THERE IS THE ELEGANCE OF THE RACERS, AGAINST

THE BACKDROP OF S N O W - L A D E N FIELDS, PINES A N D ASPENS.

LEGS A N D ARMS S T R I D E I N PURPOSEFUL, S Y M M E T R I C A L

ANGLES, T H I N SKIS S K I M M I N G ACROSS THE SNOW. T H E ONLY

S O U N D IS T H E SWOOSH OF T H E POLES. ' O R IS IT? M O V E

CLOSER, A N D THERE ARE T H E GASPS FOR BREATH A N D THE

G R U N T S OF E X H A U S T I O N AS T H E ATHLETES S U M M O N THE

VERY LAST OF T H E I R E N D U R A N C E FOR T H E PUSH TO THE

"Everything is wonderful. It's like being in a fantasy.

I'm happy to represent my country." - Isaac Menyoli, Cameroon


finish. Sweat is f rozen to thei r cheeks, fear in thei r eyes as they glance over the i r shoulders to see a

compe t i t o r approach ing fast.

These were the cross-country skiers of the Salt Lake 2002 Games, w h o competed in 12 events

ranging f rom the brand-new 1.5 k m sprint to the arduous 50 k m classical. A t Soldier Ho l low, they tested

thei r lungs at h i gh alt i tude and their legs on twist ing, c l imb ing trails. Each had a vision: to b r i ng home

another gold, to earn a first medal, to just finish at all. The i r surprising performances embodied the Salt

Lake 2002 theme of Light the Fire Within, as crowds packed in to the stadium and l ined the course, w i t -

nessing the power to inspire. From a distance or up close, it was s imply beautiful.

T h i r t y - n i n e minutes and 54 seconds after the gun sounded in the women's 15 k m freestyle, the

first go l d medal of the Salt Lake 2002 Games was earned on February 9. Italy's Stefania Belmondo, 33,

and cal led the "T iny Tornado" because of her 5 - f oo t 3 - i nch stature and 101-pound we igh t , led the

pack for the first 10.5 ki lometers. For a woman whose coach says she skis 10,000 ki lometers each year,

4.5 k i lometers must have seemed a short distance to v ic tory . But suddenly, she co l l i ded w i t h another

racer and looked d o w n to see half her ski pole dangl ing f rom her wrist . She fel l back to seventh place.

" A t t he m o m e n t w h e n 1 b r o k e m y po le , 1 c r i e d f r o m the b o t t o m of m y hear t , she la te r

recalled. "! t hough t m y O l y m p i c race was over. T h e n a French coach handed me a pole, bu t since 1 am

very short , the pole was too long. 1 again cr ied out." O n e of her coaches appeared and handed her

the correct pole, and, sk i ing th rough her tears, she regained her stride and caught up to the f ront pack.

In the final spr int , Be lmondo surged past Russias Larissa Lazut ina to w i n the race. A t the finish, she

cr ied once more. "1 am very, very happy," she said. I ts incredib le.

Mass-start races leave l i t t le r o o m for guessing: the leaders, and the trailers, are easy to p ick out

f r om the beg inn ing. A n d in the first men's cross-country race of the Games, i t was clear that Johann

M u e h l e g g was the dominan t force among the 78 athletes. T h e German-born Spaniard, w h o swi tched

nat ional i t ies after a fa l lout w i t h the German Ski Federation, led a breakaway group of five racers, and

then pushed even farther ahead at the 6.2 k i lometer mark. H e finished more than two minutes ahead

of his t w o Austr ian pursuers, silver medalist Chr is t ian H o f f m a n n and teammate M i k h a i l Botvinov, w h o

w o u l d w i n the bronze. Soldier Ho l low 's h i g h al t i tude and terrain punished many favorites, i nc lud ing

Sweden's Per Elofsson. H e d r o p p e d out of the race at the 15-k i lometer mark and w o u l d leave the

Games p lac ing no h igher than fifth.

Far b e h i n d M u e h l e g g , a 43 -yea r -o ld professor f r o m T h a i l a n d w h o learned to ski w h i l e o n

breaks f rom school, had already w o n his o w n race. Prawat Nagvajara was the first athlete to represent

Tha i l and at the O l y m p i c W i n t e r Games, and s imply a r r i v ing at the O l y m p i c Vi l lage was a v ic tory . I

st i l l can't bel ieve it ," he said. "1 never imag ined I 'd be an O l y m p i a n . " W h e n the o ther racers b o l t e d

f rom the start, Nagvajara was already t ra i l i ng by hundreds of yards, and midrace, he suffered a fall

that w o u l d force h i m to d rop out. N o matter. "Ma rch ing in the O p e n i n g Ceremony was one of the

best moments of m y l i fe," he said afterward. "But rac ing today is even better."

Th ree days later, on February 12, N o r w a y w o n its first cross-country go ld of the Games w h e n

Bente Skari crossed the finish l ine in the women's 10 k m classical race. K n o w n as the "Classical Queen"

for her k ick-and-g l ide skills, Skari finished just 2.5 seconds ahead of two Russians: O lga Dan i lova and

b r o n z e meda l i s t Ju l i ja Tchepa lova . For the 2 9 - y e a r - o l d Skar i , O l y m p i c g l o r y ran in the fam i l y .

G r o w i n g up in Oslo, she was inspired by her father. O d d Mart insen, w h o w o n a go ld medal as a mem-

ber of the Norweg ian relay team at the Grenoble 1968 Games. "Tonight , I w i l l tel l m y father I am a lo t

better than him," she joked, "because he w o n a relay go ld but no ind iv idual compet i t ions! A n d n o w we

have t w o go ld medals in our family."

M E N ' S i s K M C L A S S I C A L • Andrus Veerpalu w o n Estonia's first-ever O l y m p i c W i n t e r Games medal on February 12 as he

t ook first place in the men's 15 k m classical. For ty - th ree seconds later, his teammate Jaak M a e w o n

the bronze. Norway's Frode Estil was the silver medalist. A t the finish area, Veerpalu was busy receiv-

i ng congratu la t ions w h e n his cell phone rang. It was the Prime M in i s te r of Estonia. " H e said people

were cheer ing all around the count ry as the results flashed across the television," said Veerpalu. "Today

is a great success for m y coun t r y and the people of Estonia. I feel very proud."

M E N ' S i o K M + 1 0 K M For the first t ime at the O l y m p i c W i n t e r Games, b o t h legs of the 10 k m + 10 k m pursuit were

P U R S U I T • raced on the same day, w h i c h meant l i t t le rest for the athletes between the classical and freestyle por-

t ion. But Mueh legg apparent ly d idn' t need rest as he cruised to his second straight O l y m p i c gold. N o t

even an early sl ipup in the first k i lometer cou ld derail the Spaniard, w h o con t inued to ski aggressively,

on l y s low ing d o w n w h e n a spectator handed h i m the Spanish flag to carry across the finish l ine.

Even as the c r o w d cheered for Mueh legg , a new drama was rap id ly un fo ld ing . A f te r ba t t l i ng

each o ther over the ent i re course, N o r w e g i a n teammates Frode Esti l and Thomas Alsgaard entered

the stadium in a head-on duel. T h e t w o skiers blasted around the final corner and dove across the l ine

in a spectacular p h o t o finish. T h e scoreboard wen t blank. W o u l d i t be Alsgaard or Esti l for the silver?

T h e race j u r y finally ru led the finish was too close to call and awarded b o t h athletes the silver medal.

N o t since the 1982 Os lo W o r l d Championsh ips had a major cross-country race ended in an ou t r i gh t <55

tie. Joked Estil, "I need to w o r k on m y f lex ib i l i t y so I can reach for the finish l ine."

W O M E N ' S s K M + 5 K M T h e day f o l l o w i n g the men's pursuit , Russia's t op female skiers, 11 - t ime w o r l d championsh ip

P U R S U I T • medal ist O l g a Dan i l ova and her teammate Larissa Lazut ina swept the t w o top spots on the p o d i u m

of the women's 5 k m + 5 k m pursuit .

Beckie Scot t f r om Vegrev i l le , A lber ta , sk ied the race of her l i fe and w o n Canada's f i rst-ever

cross-country medal, a bronze. I t was also the first N o r t h Amer ican medal in the sport since Bil l K o c h

w o n the 30 k m classical si lver at the Innsbruck 1976 Games. K o c h , w h o popu la r i zed the freestyle

technique, had inspi red Scot t to pursue the sport. "It is a dream come true," she said. "This has been

the best race of m y l i fe, and to have a race l ike this at the O l ymp i cs , it's incredib le."

M E N ' S 4 X 1 0 K M Every sport has its main event, the one def in ing compe t i t i on that everyone dreams of w inn ing .

r E L A Y • Soccer has the W o r l d Cup , baseball the W o r l d Series and for cross-country, it's the O l y m p i c team

relay, in w h i c h w inners have been dec ided b y mere inches. In 1994, Italy's S i l v io Fauner s tunned

100,000 spectators a l o n g the L i l l e h a m m e r course w h e n he beat No rway ' s B j0 rn Daehl ie b y a ski

length,- in 1998, N o r w a y nar row ly edged out I ta ly b y half a ski length.

O n February 17 the r iva ls faced o f f at So ld i e r H o l l o w . As t h e race progressed, an ea r l y

Norweg ian lead was broken on the t h i r d leg as I taly surged back to the f ront . W h e n Thomas Alsgaard

t o o k the h a n d o f f o n the f ina l r ound , he was in a dead t ie w i t h his I ta l ian foe, s p r i n t i n g p h e n o m

Cr is t ian Zo rz i . O n l y 10 k i lometers s tood between the t w o skiers and a g o l d medal. Each, h o p i n g to

save st rength by draf t ing, beckoned to the other to take the lead. Alsgaard re luctant ly took i t and was

soon passed by Zo rz i . But on the final corner, Alsgaard s l ingshot ted around Z o r z i t o take g o l d b y the

second-smallest marg in in men's O l y m p i c relay history. "A spr int between I ta ly and N o r w a y is a tra-

d i t ion , " said Alsgaard at the finish. "But today shows we are the fastest team in the wor ld . "


W i l d l y popular throughout Europe, sprint racing made its O lymp ic debut at Soldier H o l l o w

in a short but th r i l l i ng show of athleticism. "It's three minutes of absolute adrenaline," said American

Kikkan Randall. "You need to go all out and push your l imits."

A n d push they did. As the four skiers in each heat jockeyed for the fastest angles, they bumped

shoulders and dodged each o ther r i g h t d o w n to the w i re . A f t e r the qua l i f y i ng round, 16 skiers

advanced to the el iminat ion heats and then the four fastest competed in the final. In the women's com-

peti t ion, Russia's Julija Tchepalova, using an o ld pair of skis she hadn't worn in two years, surged ahead

f rom the field at the 500-meter mark and w o n her first go ld of the Games. Ani ta M o e n of No rway

was edged out by Evi Sachenbacher of Germany, as she took the silver at the line.

In the men's race, Italy's Crist ian Zo rz i faced off against the wo r l d champion, Norwegian Tor

A rne He t l and . T h e t w o o ther f inal ists, B jôrn L i n d of Sweden and f i r s t - t ime O l y m p i a n Peter

Schlickenrieder f rom Germany hoped to unseat the two favorites. (Schlickenrieder obviously l iked to

" W h e n I BROKE MY POLE, I CRIED FROM THE BOTTOM OF

m y HEART. I T H O U G H T MY O L Y M P I C RACE WAS OVER."

drive even faster than he skied, later compla in ing about America, "1 don't enjoy dr iv ing 65 miles per

hour on the highways.") As the pack blasted in to the stadium for the f inal 100 meters, Z o r z i and

He t l and squared of f for the dash to the f inish. He t land appeared to be fading, but hung in there.

Schlickenrieder and Zo rz i made their move. W i t h arms flailing and legs pumping the three blazed to

the line, and the Norweg ian fans erupted in applause when the announcer gave the results. Het land

had rall ied and struck gold. He finished just one tenth of a second ahead of Schlickenrieder, who took

silver, and less than a th i rd of a second ahead of Zorz i , w h o w o n the bronze medal.

A t the start of the women's 4 x 5 k m relay, t w o lanes were empty. Bo th the Russian and

Ukra in ian women were unmistakably absent: Some of their skiers had failed a prerace b lood dop ing

test and were disqualif ied f rom the event. W i t h the Russian favorites out of the picture, No rway and

Germany were left to race for the gold. The two country's skiers traded the lead throughout the legs,

w i t h N o r w a y leading after the th i rd. Then, Germany's Evi Sachenbacher pul led ahead of Norway's

Ani ta Moen, who then retook the lead. In the final 100 meters, Sachenbacher surged forward, passing

M o e n for the gold.

The Swiss team pul led off the surprise performance of the day and finished th i rd. It was the

country's first-ever women's O l y m p i c medal in cross-country.

Weary and battered f rom two weeks of fierce racing, the cross-country athletes faced their

toughest challenge yet on the closing weekend of the Games: the ski marathon. The men would ski 50

km, and on the fo l low ing and final day of compet i t ion, the women wou ld ski 30 km. Start ing at 30-

second intervals, each skier had l i t t le company in the two or more hours of sheer pain and exertion.

For more than 40 ki lometers of the men's race, Russia's M i k h a i l Ivanov cruised through the

fields and hills, his splits indicat ing he was the clear leader. Muehlegg was chasing h im the entire way.

"1 knew I was in the lead," Ivanov recalled, "but then the snow became damp, and I felt my speed

decrease." His lead had been cut to just 3.3 seconds. In the final four kilometers, Muehlegg maintained

M E N ' S & W O M E N ' S

1 . 5 K M S P R I N T

W O M E N ' S 4 X 5

K M R E L A Y

M E N ' S 5 0 K

& W O M E N ' S

C L A S S I C A L

M C L A S S I C A L

3 0 K M

a to r r id pace, the pain clearly visible in his eyes, unt i l he crossed the finish l ine first. Usually boister-

ous, Mueh legg appeared too exhausted to celebrate. "This was the most di f f icul t race of my life," he

said, t rembl ing, almost unable to stand upr ight . It wou ld prove to be even more dif f icult : The fo l low-

ing day, he was str ipped of this gold medal after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

O n February 24, the women's field faced the tough 30 km classical. Russia's Larissa Lazutina,

w h o had been disqualified f rom the relay after a b l ood test deemed her unhealthy to compete, was

permit ted to race. She skied w i t h a fervor that no one could equal, and crossed the line almost two

minutes ahead of her nearest competitors, Italians Gabriel la Paruzzi and Stefania Belmondo, bo th ski-

ing their last O lymp ic race. Skari, finishing fourth, saw her hopes for one more medal slip away. "Right

now, I am just really t ired," she said. "1 am hop ing for a better posi t ion next year."

Shor t ly after the finish, Lazutina and fe l low Russian O lga Dani lova were disqualif ied after i t

was revealed that they, l ike Muehlegg, had tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Lazutina

was str ipped of her 30 km go ld—the 10th medal of her career and the most ever for a woman. The

decision meant that Paruzzi won the gold, Belmondo the silver and Skari, the bronze. "I hope it w i l l be

remembered as my medal," said Paruzzi. "1 have w o n it w i t h my craft and w i t h my hard work."


• '

"The Olympics are a wonderful coming together. Even though I am not a

gold medalist, it's good to he here." - Paul O'Connor of Ireland, after placing 70th in the

men's 1.5 km sprint at Soldier Hollow


Heber Valley, and Salt Lake 2002 decorations, created a spectacular backdrop for nordic events.


Spain's Haritz Zunzunegui battles through the men's 30 km on February 9.



462

"I think the mass-start format opens the race up. They will start together

and go together, almost like a cycling race. It will he interesting to see who wins.'

- Norwegian cross-country legend Bj0rn Dcehlie

S T E V E N C U R R I E

A skier trains at Soldier Hollow on February 10. The venue offered a

brand-new experience to Olympic spectators: the ability to wander along

the course as cross-country athletes competed.

I A N L O G A N


<64

A Norwegian fan watches the men's 50 km race on February 23.


Andreas Schlatter helps his team toward a bronze medal in the men's 4 x 10 km relay on

February 17. It was Germany's first relay medal since the Innsbruck 1976 Games.



•

"In Europe, the courses are more up and down. Here you've got long uphills,

followed by long flat sections. You really have to fight after the uphills.

I think the strong guys will really he able to open up the gap on the flat sections. That's

where the races will he won." — Kristen Skjeldal, Norway


Cross-country skiers glide down one of Soldier Hollow's rolling hills.

"This is a very hard course because you go one to two kilometers

uphill with steep and fast downhills. You never have time to relax. And if you

get tired, you are finished." - Markus Hasler, Liechtenstein



468

/

Athletes endure the exhausting men's 50 km event on February 23.

J O H N H U E T

"In cross-country, it's not the fastest skier that wins, it's the person with the

freshest legs. And that was me today. " — Thomas Alsç/aard of Norway who anchored

his team to an historic win over Italy in the men's 4 x io km relay

J O H N H U E T


member tests the Soldier Hollow course for

More of Spain's team service members examine the particulars of Soldier Hollow

snow. Each cross-country team traveled with a substantial support crew, which skied courses

and chose from hundreds of waxes the perfect application for that day's conditions.

T I B O R N E M E T H


On the last day of competition at Soldier Hollow, Italy's Stefania Belmondo ended a brilliant Olympic career.

"These will he my last Olympics, " said the 30 km silver medalist. "But I've learned that in life, you can also

win outside of sport. So I will continue to find gold—with my family."

A L B E R T C O L A N T O N I O

.

i M

•" 'V: •• -M

1 1


B I A T H L O N I S A G R U E L I N G C O M B I N A T I O N OF CROSS-

C O U N T R Y S K I I N G A N D P R E C I S I O N SHARP S H O O T I N G . T O

SUCCEED, ITS C H A M P I O N S M U S T PUSH T H E I R BODIES TO

T H E L I M I T OF H U M A N E N D U R A N C E , A N D I N A N I N S T A N T ,

B R I N G T H E M BACK F R O M THE BRINK. TLLEY NEED MASSIVE

LUNGS TO POWER UP M O U N T A I N S , A N D I C E - C O L D NERVES

TO T R A I N T H E I R RIFLES O N FIVE C O I N ' S I Z E D TARGETS HALF

A FOOTBALL FIELD AWAY. A N D ALL OF T H I S I N THE HEAT OF

C O M P E T I T I O N . W E L C O M E TO THE W O R L D OF B I A T H L O N . -

IF THERE WAS ONE M A N S T A N D I N G O N TOP OF T H I S WORLD

Norway's Ann-Elen Skjelhreid takes aim in the women's 7.5 km sprint on

February 4 3 . Five days later, she would help her teammates,

including her sister Liv Crete Poiree, win silver in the women's relay.


in 2002, it was Norway's O le Einar Bj0rndalen. The 28-year-old biathlete came to Soldier H o l l o w

look ing to w i n all four of his events, a feat achieved only twice before, in 1964 by Russian speed skater

Lydia Skobl ikova and in 1980 by American speed skater Eric Heiden. A place in history awaited h im.

Meanwh i l e , Sweden's Magdalena Forsberg had w o n pract ica l ly every major b ia th lon t i t le

except one, an O l ymp i c medal. O n the verge of ret irement, she had one final chance to face down

her O l ymp i c demons. T h e German women, captained by the veteran Uschi Disi, planned to defend

their t i t le as the strongest team in the wor ld, a t i t le that wou ld be fiercely contested. Soldier Ho l low,

once an encampment for the American mil i tary, wou ld once again host r i f le- tot ing pioneers: some real

soldiers, some civil ians, all w i t h their eyes set on glory.

O n February 11, the 10-year anniversary of women's b iath lon debut in O l ymp i c compet i t ion,

Germany's Andrea Henke l shot a near flawless race to eclipse Norway's Liv Grete Poirée by on ly 7.9

seconds. A t the finish, the gold medalist received an emotional bear hug f rom her sister Manuela, w h o

was compet ing in the cross-country events. "I didn't know whether 1 had won bronze, silver or gold,"

Henkel said w i t h tears in her eyes. "1 was just so unbelievably happy to have my sister there w i t h me."

Magdalena Forsberg recorded the fastest ski t ime of the day, blazing the course in sl ightly more

than 46 minutes. But ski ing alone wouldn ' t w i n her a medal; she had to survive the shoot ing range.

The pressure mounted. A n d it almost got the best of her.

Forsberg stepped to the range w i t h the bronze medal on the line. (Poirée w o n the silver.) T h e

stadium fell silent. One miss. Then another. W i t h each mistake, she incurred a I -minute penalty added

l y g to her race time. Wou ld she ho ld on? Forsberg hi t her last shot and attacked the final three kilometers

of the course, po l ing harder and pushing faster w i t h each stride. A t the finish, she he ld on to t h i r d

place, just 6 seconds ahead of fourth-place finisher O lga Pyleva of Russia. Her quest for an O l y m p i c

medal was complete. "Today means so much," she said. "1 feel the pressure is finally over."

That af ternoon in the men's 20 km race, Bj0rndalen also had a double miss at the range. H e

hoped his t ime of 51:03 w o u l d be enough to overcome the 2-minute penalty. W i t h the f inal chal-

lengers stil l out on the course, all he could do was wait. As each skier crossed the line, the Norwegian

remained in the lead. I t w o u l d all depend on his teammate Frode Andresen, the on ly one left w h o

could take away the gold. Andresen had led the race and shot perfect ly through the first three shoot-

ing rounds. Just four shots remained.

Bj0rndalen waited in suspense. "When I was watch ing Frode, my pulse was higher than in the

race," he later said. But disaster soon struck for Andresen. Three straight misses added a 3-minute penalty

to his time, ending any hopes for a medal. He finished the day in seventh. Bj0rndaIen won the gold and

Germany's Frank Luck barely edged out Russia's Victor Maigourov by 1.2 seconds for silver.

W O M E N ' S 1 5 K M

I N D I V I D U A L & M

2 0 K M I N D I V I D U A

M E N ' S 1 0

W O M E N ' S

short event, penalty laps on the course would be a deciding factor. There was bound to be a shuffle on

the scoreboard.

Bj0rndalen shot flawlessly in bo th rounds, con t inu ing his go ld medal streak w i t h a w inn ing

t ime of 24:51.3. W i t h one missed shot, German veteran Sven Fischer finished 28.9 seconds behind

for silver. The astonishing Austrian team placed three skiers in the top 10, inc luding bronze medalist

Wo l fgang Perner. "It was the biggest surprise of my career," Perner said. "Today I concentrated."

The women s 7.5 km sprint was promoted as a battle between Sweden's Forsberg and Norway's

Poirée, a strong sprinter whose husband Raphaël was the French W o r l d Gup biath lon champion. But

K M S P R I N T & Two days later, the men's field faced the intensity of the 10 km sprint compet i t ion, an event

7 • 5 K M S P R I N T • that penalizes skiers w i t h a 150-meter lap for each missed shot. In the physically taxing, yet relatively

Germany's Kati Wi lhe lm, a former cross-country skier w h o began biathlon in 1999, soon took contro l

of the race. She skied wel l and h i t every target to w in her first O l ymp i c go ld medal. Her teammate

Uschi Disi jo ined her on the podium in second posit ion after an amazing recovery f rom a missed shot.

Forsberg had fallen behind and when she missed a first-round shot, Poirée was poised to take the

bronze. Both skiers approached the range for the final round. Poirée faltered. Forsberg shot cleanly,

skied aggressively to the finish and earned her second medal of the 2002 Games, a bronze. "No matter

what else happens, I'll go home satisfied," she said. "I have finally achieved O lymp ic success."

Can you make it any harder? That's what the rest of the field was asking as it started a ful l 29

seconds beh ind Bj0rndalen in the O l y m p i c debut event of men's pursuit. In the new format, racers

started at intervals based on the results f rom the sprint compet i t ion. W i t h the sprint winner start ing

first and the rest of the f ie ld chasing for gold, i t was a th r i l l i ng add i t ion to the l ineup of events at

Soldier Ho l low.

Bj0rndalen was relentless. A l though he missed a pair of shots and skied two 150-meter penalty

loops, his superior endurance pulled h im to a 32:34 victory, 43 seconds ahead of Raphaël Poirée. W i t h

this th i rd consecutive victory, Bj0rndalen became the first biathlete in O l ymp i c history to w in three

golds in one Games. "1 didn't set out th ink ing about the record," he said. "Today, I had fun, and that is

what is most important to me."

Silver medalist Raphaël Poirée had secured his f irst-ever place on the O l y m p i c pod ium by

h i t t i ng every target on the final round wh i le his German challenger Ricco Gross lost his focus and

missed twice. "When you want an O l y m p i c medal," said Poirée, "You have to give your maximum."

Th i r teen seconds behind, Gross finished for the bronze.

"I D I D N ' T K N O W W H E T H E R 1 H A D W O N BRONZE, SILVER OR

GOLD. 1 WAS JUST SO HAPPY TO HAVE MY SISTER THERE."

In the women's race several hours later, all of the prerace favor i tes, i n c l u d i n g medal ists

W i l h e l m , L iv Grete Poirée and Forsberg, made cr i t ical shoot ing mistakes that opened up the race.

Star t ing more than one minute beh ind race leader Kat i W i l h e l m , Russia's O lga Pyleva seized the

moment. She shot a nearly perfect race and caught up to Wi lhe lm, ho ld ing on dur ing the final sprint

to w i n by 5.3 seconds. "When 1 approached the last shoot ing, I realized I had a real chance to w in

this race," she said. Cry ing , she spoke w i t h her mother in Siberia w i t h the news. W i l h e l m took the

silver. Liv Grete Poirée made a strong push to come back f rom four penalty loops, but lost the bronze

to Bulgaria's Irina N ikou l tch ina by 2.5 seconds.

Biathlon challenged these athletes in every way possible. Ski ing taxed their bodies. Shoot ing

was a batt le of the mind. A n d the relay threw national pride into the mix. For the German women, it

wou ld be their chance to prove their cont inued dominance in b ia th lon as they defended their 1998

relay gold. But Norway, captained by double medalist Liv Grete Poirée, had its own agenda. So d id

the Russians. A fast and furious fight was inevitable.

A t the sound of the gun, the pack of 15 skiers charged out of the stadium. The first round at

the range was next. W h e n Germany's lead-off skier Kat r in Apel took aim from the standing posit ion.

M E N ' S 1 2 . 5

& W O M E N ' S

P U R S U I T

K M P U R S U I T

1 0 K M

W O M E N ' S 4 X 7 . 5 K M

R E L A Y


the team's medal chances nearly vanished. T h e early race leader missed four shots on the opening

round and p lummeted back to 12th posit ion. The German fans fell silent in disbelief. "When 1 missed

those targets, I thought we lost the go ld because of me," Apel said later. It was now up to her teammate

and captain Disi, who took the handoff on the second leg. She shot br i l l iant ly and skied into the lead

W h a t looked like ruin was fast becoming a possible victory. In the final stretch, anchor skier W i l h e l m

overcame two missed shots and held on for the win. "When 1 missed twice," she said, "I realized Liv

Crete was r ight there next to me, and she wou ld do anyth ing in her power to catch up w i t h me on

the shooting. It was a tough moment."

No rway stayed in content ion most of the race, but a val iant ef fort in the final stretch by Liv

Crete Poirée fell short. The team ended the day 30 seconds behind Cermany for silver. The Russians,

sti l l r i d ing h igh f rom Pyleva's go ld in the pursuit event, took home the bronze.

If Bj0rndalen was go ing to w i n a record four th go ld medal, he needed his teammates to pul l

th rough w i t h their best performance yet. Besides Bj0rndalen, no other Norweg ian had medaled in

b ia th lon at the Salt Lake 2002 Cames. It w o u l d be a tough f igh t to unseat the formidable Cerman

team, the winner of the past three O l ymp i c b ia th lon relays.

But when the gun went of f and the pack surged, Germany's athletes realized they faced a seri-

ous challenge. The pack stayed bunched together through the first por t ion of the race. O n the second

lap, Norway's Andresen skied into the lead. Cermany lagged behind w i t h France in close pursuit. Fans

rose to their feet. Norway's final dash for go ld was on.

Bj0rndalen took the handoff on the last lap and skied into history. A l though a fall and broken

pole caused h im momentary panic, he recovered quick ly when his coach handed h im a replacement

pole on ly seconds later. Twenty minutes and 30 seconds after he started, he crossed the finish l ine in

v ic tory . T h e h is tor ic fou r th medal was his, a long w i t h Norway's f irst-ever relay go ld in b ia th lon .

Cermany trai led in second. The French just missed the silver, when Raphaël Poirée finished the sprint

seven seconds behind Germany's powerful anchor skier Luck.

Af terward, Bj0rndalen's elated teammates p i led on top of their captain. "The last go ld was the

most important," he said, "because it was the whole team—someth ing we d id together as a team."

Irina Nikoultchina of Bulgaria won her first-ever Olympic medal when

she finished third in the to km pursuit. "After my first two

races, I was so disappointed," she said. "But then I thought to myself, I have

no more pressure, so I just tried to ski and shoot my best."



'In Salt Lake City, there is so much color and flags. The people are so welcoming, I

feel like I am finally racing in the Olympic Games." - Raphaël P o / r e e , France.

Competitors line up at the range to shoot from the standing position. Since 4 978,

hiathletes have used standard 0.22 caliber rifles in international events.


<82

:.•/••••• :Ì., -

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"I was so exhausted, I had nothing left in the last part oj the race. I have never been this tired before,

hut it is the Olympics, and you need to try your hardest." - Maddalena Forsherg of Sweden, a five-

time world champion who finally won her first Olympic medal at Soldier Hollow.


In a Scandinavian duel, Sweden's Bjorn Ferry chases Norway s Etjil Gjelland during

the men's i2.5 km pursuit. Ferry finished the race 24th, Gjelland, 15th.


<83


A racer slides under the spectator hridge. Soldier Hollows unique design

allowed fans to traverse the course with outstanding) views oj the action.

Soldier Hollow's stunning beauty was deceptive. "This venue is very difficult.

We did several high-altitude training sessions before coming to Salt Lake,

hut today proved challenging. The trails here are very demanding. " - Julien Robert

of France after the men's 10 km sprint on February 13.



Biathlon has been compared to sprinting up 25 flights of stairs

—and then trying to thread a needle at the top.


A racer crests one of Soldier Hollows relentless hills in the women s 4 x 7.5 ktn relay.


Oleksander Bilanenko oj Ukraine races the men's 4 x 7.5 km relay, above.

Right: "This is the finest biathlon venue I've ever seen. It's a unicjue

setting. There are no others like it. Environmentally, it's absolutely fabulous."

- IOC President Jacques Rogge

T I B O R N E M E T H

r "

189


A German athlete trains on Valentine's Day, 2002. That day, France's

Raphaël Poirée and Norway's Liv Crete P o / ' r e e celebrated becoming the first married

couple from different nations to win Olympic biathlon medals.


Vyacheslav Derkach of Ukraine skates across a meadow in the men's 20 km.

I Source : Bibliothèque du CIO / IOC Library

Nearly 6000 spectators journeyed to Soldier Hollow on the "Heher Creeper,"

a historic steam train that once carried pioneers through the valley.


On February 20, Michael Dixon of Great Britain closed a biathlon career that

spanned a record six Olympic Winter Games. While he never medaled,

Dixon hoped his dedication would inspire others. "After so many Games, I've realized

that when you believe in your dreams," he said, "anything can work out."

E L I S A B E T H O D O N N E L L


Some i 0 ,000 rounds were shot at Soldier Hollow. All were recycled, and the brass

shell casings were collected to make commemorative cheering hells.



flight has long fascinated humans. from … past games...was about to see. but what he saw overjoyed...

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