Steven Nyman added to the high-speed drama of the week. Michael Walchhofer added to the Austrian men's reputation.
Nyman recovered from a harrowing one-ski maneuver in mid-course to remind the crowd of a dangerous week on the Birds of Prey slope -- which hospitalized Aksel Lund Svindal -- while Walchhofer ended Austria's winless streak by triumphing in Friday's World Cup downhill.
"I did that every single training run, but I did it best this time," said Nyman, who despite his fate-tempting run finished second five-hundredths of a second behind Walchhofer. "But I skied where I wanted to ski and I hit the line the whole way down the course. I'm pleased with my run."
PHOTO: AP
Walchhofer claimed Austria's first victory of the season in 1 minute, 13.74 seconds, the nation's first since Benjamin Raich won last season's final slalom in March.
Despite winning every Nations Cup since 1993, Austrians often struggle to win their first race of the season. Last year, an Austrian didn't win until Dec. 28, a downhill victory by Walchhofer in Bormio, Italy, to end a 13-race slump.
"It was an important victory for me," Walchhofer said. "It's one of the most difficult downhills. The Austrian press was waiting and watching for this victory. Our team is doing well at the moment, but it's not easy to win."
PHOTO: EPA
The result ended the Americans' four-year winning streak at Beaver Creek, with Walchhofer becoming the first non-American to win since Austria's Stephan Eberharter in 2002.
Nyman, who was skiing through particularly heavy snowfalls, came through the colossal Golden Eagle jump but then sat back on the tails of his skis going through the Abyss. He ended up skiing through it on one leg with the other in the air.
Skiers enter the Golden Eagle jump going as fast as 110kph and soar as far as 70m. In Tuesday's downhill training, Svindal sat too far back on his tails coming off the jump and crashed, breaking facial bones and also requiring abdominal surgery.
"I've got long legs. I look like a bird when I'm flying on the hill," Nyman said. "But I'm kind of used to those moves. I'm part cat."
Though it meant the end of the US winning streak, Nyman kept alive the Americans' string of downhill podium finishes in Beaver Creek. The US men have climbed the podium at the last six downhill races in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
Additionally, two other Americans finished in the top 10. Bode Miller, a two-time winner of this race, was sixth. Racing in his first World Cup downhill, rookie Andrew Weibrecht started 53rd but wound up 10th.
Freddie Freeman homered and drove in four runs, Shohei Ohtani also went deep and Roki Sasaki earned his first major league win as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Atlanta Braves 10-3 on Saturday night for their seventh straight victory. The Dodgers have won the first two games of the series to improve to 5-0 against Atlanta this year. Los Angeles’ three-game sweep at home early in the season left the Braves 0-7. Sasaki allowed three runs and six hits over five innings. The 23-year-old right-hander gave up a home run to Ozzie Albies, but received plenty of offensive support in his
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Bayern Munich on Sunday were crowned German champions for the 34th time, giving striker Harry Kane his first major trophy, after second-placed Bayer 04 Leverkusen drew 2-2 at SC Freiburg. Bayern’s 3-3 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday, when the Bavarians came from two goals down to take the lead before conceding a stoppage-time equalizer, meant defending Bundesliga champions Leverkusen needed to win at Freiburg to delay the title party. Leverkusen were two goals down before scoring twice in the final 10 minutes, but Xabi Alonso’s side could not find a third, as Bayern reclaimed the title at the first attempt after
THRILLER: Raphinha gave Barca a 3-2 lead with two minutes remaining of regular time, but Francesco Acerbi equalized the game in the second minute of added time Davide Frattesi on Tuesday fired Inter into the UEFA Champions League final with an extra-time winner that gave the Italians a stunning 4-3 triumph over Barcelona, 7-6 on aggregate. Italy midfielder Frattesi won a tie for the ages under a downpour in Milan when he lashed home in the 99th minute, sending a packed and rocking San Siro wild with joy. Simone Inzaghi’s team will face either Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain at the end of this month in Munich, Germany, where they would feel they have a great chance to be crowned kings of Europe for a fourth time after
RSS