Russians rule amid spectacular crashes

US gold medalist Hannah Teter flies high over the Alps as she competes in the second run of the finals of the Women's Halfpipe Snowboard competition in Bardonecchia, Italy, on Monday. American Gretchen Bleiler won the silver medal and Kjersti Buaas of Norway won bronze. PHOTO: AP

With gold-medal winning grace, figure skaters Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinen delivered Russia its 12th straight Olympic pairs title.

Around them, there were spectacular crashes everywhere on Monday at the Turin Winter Games.

Helicopters and ambulances ferried injured skiers, boarders and luge sliders off the Olympic slopes to local hospitals. Even in the pairs free skate, China's Zhang Dan had a stunning spill, but recovered to get the silver medal.

Winning the first figure skating gold of the Turin Games, Russia's "Tot and Max" performed their best programs ever to continue a winning sequence by Russia or the Soviet Union that extends back to the 1964 Olympics.

The Russians outscored China's Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao, who rallied with amazing composure after Zhang Dan's nasty fall, by 14.75 points. Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo of China took bronze for the second straight Olympics.

"I felt really great on the ice," Totmianina said. "It was a long, long way and it wasn't the easiest way. I'm just thrilled with everything. We've done so well, our personal best at the Olympic Games."

Japan's Melo Imai grimaces as she is assisted after crashing in the second qualifying round of the Women's Halfpipe Snowboard competition in Bardonecchia, Italy, on Monday. Imai was flown to a Turin hospital with torso and abdomen injuries. PHOTO: AP

Marinin said the gold will be their last performance, however, since they decided at the beginning of the season to retire after the Olympics.

Earlier in the day, Russia's Svetlana Ishmouratova nailed 19 of 20 targets on Cesana San Sicaria's 15-kilometer biathlon course to finish in 49 minutes, 24.1 seconds. Teammate Olga Pyleva also missed once, but was slower on her skis and took silver. Martina Glagow of Germany was third.

Yu Fengtong of China falls just before the finish line during the second race of the men's 500m speed skating competition in the Lingotto Oval, Turin. PHOTO: AFP

In sunny Bardonecchia, the day belonged to the American snowboarders. Again. Following the men's example from the day before, Hannah Teter won gold and Gretchen Bleiler won silver in the halfpipe. Kjersti Buaas of Norway won the bronze. Japan's star, Melo Imai, last year's World Cup halfpipe champion, took a hard fall during a qualifying run and was flown by helicopter to a Turin hospital.

Teter and Bleiler dominated every part of the snowboarding event. Teter scored a 44.6 on her first run in the finals to take the lead and a 46.4 on her second -- on the strength of a frontside 540 followed by a frontside 900.

The US' Samantha Retrosi lays on the luge course after crashing during the second run of the Women's Singles Luge in Pariol, Italy, on Monday. The US slider was taken from the course in an ambulance. PHOTO: AP

"I just kind of felt the same standing up there," Teter said. "It's like, `Here we go again, another run on the pipe -- but at the Olympics.' I just felt super positive."

Shaun White and Danny Kass finished 1-2 on Sunday.

The US team got its second gold of the day from speedskater Joey Cheek, who skated the two best races of his career to win the men's 500 meters.

Athletes injured in frightening crashes at the Turin Olympics * Women's Downhill: Lindsey Kildow: American gold medal contender fell on her training run. She was taken by helicopter from San Sicario to a Turin hospital with a severely bruised left hip, but didn't rule out competing again as soon as today. Carole Montillet-Carles: Defending Olympic champion lost control during a jump midway through her run, slamming into the protective fencing. Montillet-Carles, of France, was taken to a clinic in nearby Sestriere with rib, back and facial injuries. She's unlikely to race today. Allison Forsyth: Canadian racer crashed and was taken to Turin, where an MRI showed she had torn a ligament in her left knee. Elisabeth Goergl: Austrian fell, but was able to ski down on her own. * Luge: Samantha Retrosi: American was carried off on a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance after slamming into the wall on the second run of the Olympic competition. She appeared unconscious as she slid underneath her sled through at least two curves, and a large drape was pulled across the curve where she stopped, shielding her from view. Retrosi sustained a concussion, cut her chin and had short-term memory loss. She is out of the games. Several other lugers crashed on the first day of the women's event, including Italy's Anastasia Oberstolz-Antonova, who was expected to challenge for a medal. Czech slider Marketa Jeriova wiped out in the opening round, and medal hopeful Natalia Yakushenko of Ukraine didn't start her second run after banging the wall hard and hurting herself in her opening heat. Canada's Alex Gough and Slovakia's Jana Sisajova also had near-disasters. Sisajova came off her sled in a turn and lay on the ice for several seconds before climbing over the barriers apparently unharmed. Argentina's Michelle Despain bounced off the walls repeatedly in both of her runs she struck concrete at least six times on her second. Anne Abernathy: Slider known as ``Grandma Luge'' withdrew because of a broken wrist. The 52-year-old Abernathy crashed on Sunday during a training session and was taken to a hospital. * Figure Skating: Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao: Chinese pair won the silver medal after a fall early in the routine. Zhang Dan fell in a split while attempting an unprecedented throw quad salchow and doubled over in pain. They stopped skating as Zhang Hao struggled to help her off the ice, then returned and finished skating. Phyo Yong Myong and Jong Yong Hyok: North Korea's only skaters in the pairs final withdrew after Phyo was injured in practice. Phyo fell on a throw move and crashed into the boards at the training rink. * Snowboarding: Melo Imai: Japanese star was carried away on a stretcher after injuring her lower back during a qualifying run. Imai collapsed in the center of the halfpipe after failing to land cleanly from a flip and spin combination, smacking her board and body into the lip. She briefly slipped in and out of consciousness before being flown by helicopter from Bardonecchia to Turin.

Cheek covered the 1 1/4 laps in 34.94 seconds and had a combined time of 1 minute, 9.76 seconds. Dmitry Dorofeyev of Russia won the silver in 1:10.41 and Lee Kang-seok of South Korea earned a bronze in 1:10.43.

It was the second speedskating gold for the US at the games. Chad Hedrick, looking to win five golds, took the 5,000 meters Saturday.

"I was focused, relaxed and I enjoyed it," Cheek said.

Elsewhere, however, athletes weren't having so much fun.

Samantha Retrosi had a frightening crash on the second run of the luge competition.

She was carried off on a stretcher and taken away in an ambulance with knee pain and a cut on her chin. But US team officials said they did not believe the first-time Olympian was seriously injured.

"It was a bad crash." US team leader Fred Zimny said.

"But the bottom line is that she's going to be OK," he said.

In Sestriere, the women's downhill training was also repeatedly interrupted by crashes, with runs by defending Olympic champion Carole Montillet-Carles of France and gold medal contender Lindsey Kildow of the US both ending in the hospital.

Kildow was taken off the slope by helicopter and diagnosed with "a minor head trauma without neurological problems," Italian organizers said in a statement.

French Ski Federation doctor Marie-Philippe Rousseau-Bianchi said Montillet-Carles, 32, suffered rib and back trauma and a burn to her face that made it impossible to put on her helmet.

She is unlikely to compete in today's downhill.

Canadian Allison Forsyth is definitely out after she crashed and an MRI showed she had torn a ligament in her left knee, according to a statement by the Canadian team. Elisabeth Goergl of Austria fell but was able to ski down on her own.

Kjetil Andre Aamodt was to try to enhance his status as the greatest Olympic Alpine skier yesterday.

The 34-year-old Norwegian, who injured ligaments in his left knee while finishing fourth in Sunday's downhill, planned to defend his title in the men's Alpine combined event. Overall World Cup leader Benjamin Raich of Austria, who won two bronzes at Salt Lake, is favored in the event.