Italy's Elena Fanchini, looking for a repeat of her only World Cup victory, braved temperatures as low as minus 21oC to post the fastest time on Friday in the final training session for the season-opening women's downhill.
Fanchini covered the 2.8km course in one minute, 49.00 seconds. Switzerland's Monika Dumermuth was second in 1:49.36 while Austria's Alexandra Meissnitzer was third in 1:49.45.
The downhill was due to be held yesterday followed by a super-giant slalom today.
Fanchini's lone downhill victory came at Lake Louise in 2005.
Based on past performances, Renate Goetschl of Austria and American Lindsey Vonn should be among the favorites heading into the downhill, although neither did well on Friday.
Goetschl, 32, has won five races at Lake Louise, dating back to 1998, and been on the podium 12 times. She was 35th on Friday, more than three seconds behind the leader.
Vonn, 23, earned her first ever World Cup downhill victory at Lake Louise in 2004 and has won two more races since. She missed a gate on Friday and was disqualified.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Lewis Hamilton on Thursday said there was a “racial element” to International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Mohammed ben Sulayem’s recent comments regarding drivers swearing during Formula 1 races. In an interview with motorsport.com, Ben Sulayem said: “We have to differentiate between our sport — motorsport — and rap music” when referring to drivers having a responsibility to stop swearing on the radio. “We’re not rappers, you know,” Ben Sulayem said. Responding to those remarks ahead of tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix, seven-time champion Hamilton said: “With what he said, I don’t like how he has expressed it. Saying ‘rappers’ is very stereotypical.” “If you