Luge competition produces its 1st gold medalist

VANCOUVER, British Columbia -- The Olympic luge competition produced a gold medalist Sunday, bringing a sense of relief to a sport reeling from the death of a Georgian athlete only two days earlier.

Felix Loch, a 20-year-old German, sped safely down the altered track at the Whistler Sliding Center and won in a four-heat time of 3 minutes, 13.085 seconds.

"It was the right decision (to change the start position)," Loch said. "I was worried that I wouldn't do so well, but it's OK. It's great."

On Friday, 21-year-old Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died after crashing and hitting a steel girder while on a training run.

Earlier Sunday, the wet weather on Whistler mountain came in handy for French biathlete Vincent Jay, even if the same conditions caused more problems for the yet-to-start Alpine skiing events.

A mixture of snow and rain kept the Alpine racers off the courses yet again at the Vancouver Games. And it also made for difficult conditions for much of the 10-kilometer biathlon sprint, affecting most of the pre-race favorites.

Jay, however, shot flawlessly and took advantage of an early start number to win in 24:07.8.

Five-time Olympic champion Ole Einar Bjoerndalen of Norway was hurt by poor shooting. He missed three shots in the prone position to end all hopes of a medal, and had another miss in the standing to finish 1:41.1 behind Jay.

"I was very bad at the first shooting. It was not because of the conditions, it was my own mistake," Bjoerndalen said. "It just wasn't my day."

Another Frenchman, Jason Lamy Chappuis, also won a gold medal, overtaking Johnny Spillane of the United States on the final straight in the Nordic combined individual race.

"Johnny was pretty good. I just tried to catch him. It was good to have a view in front of me and a goal to catch him," Chappuis said. "I can't believe I am an Olympic champion."

In women's speedskating, Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic won the women's 3,000 meters, the first of a possible two long-distance golds.

Another gold medal was scheduled to be won later Sunday, in men's moguls. Also, women's ice hockey entered its second day of competition, while the pairs short program started off the figure skating schedule.

But Alpine skiing, the marquee sport on the mountain and the one most affected by the bad weather since before the games started, is still waiting to get going.

International ski federation president Gian-Franco Kasper maintains that everything is still fine despite a revamped schedule that will see seven events held on seven consecutive days.

"The weather forecast looks relatively good tomorrow for the men's downhill, then we've got to get in a women's training," Kasper said. "If in 16 days we still have the same situation, then I'll get worried."

The weather in Whistler caused problems on the World Cup circuit in the mid-1990s, with no races in three straight years. And the Olympics haven't been immune to Mother Nature either.

"Since 1970 we've never had an Olympics or world championships without delays or postponements, so it's nothing new," Kasper said. "We're used to it."

The men's ice hockey tournament doesn't start until Tuesday, but Canada may be wishing for more time after a slap shot hit Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby on his shin during his last National Hockey League game before the Olympics.

Although he appeared tentative during his first shift after the shot, by the end of the game the 22-year-old Crosby showed no visible signs the foot was hindering him. The Penguins lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Nashville Predators.

"I will be there," Crosby said of the Olympics. "I'm on the flight tonight."

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