Day 7Medal Count
Country---------Gold--Silver--Bronze--Total
Norway---------- 1------6-------6-------13
Germany----------5------4-------2-------11
Russia---------- 5------2-------4-------11
Canada-----------2------4-------5-------11
United States----6------3-------1-------10
Canada cemented its position as the top skeleton country, capturing gold and silver in the men's competition Friday.
Duff Gibson had the fastest combined time of one minute, 55.88 seconds. Compatriot Jeff Pain (1:56.14) was just behind. Another Canadian, Paul Boehm (1:57.06), placed fourth. Swiss slider Gregor Staehli (1:56.80) won bronze, passing two British racers on his second run of the 19-curve course.
"I skipped the last two World Cups to go home and prepare physically and recuperate from some injuries I had, and to repair some of the technical problems I had with my sled," said Gibson.
"I'm just lucky and thrilled to be able to come here and put my race down. All aspects of the race were at my best."
Gibson described Pain as the "greatest champion" he knows. Pain also had high praise for Gibson.
"If I'm going to lose to anybody I just hope it would be Duff. He's a great competitor and I just love being around him."
Earlier in the week, Gibson predicted at least two Canadians would wind up on the podium. Gibson, 39, is Canada's oldest-ever gold-medal winner at a Winter Games.
Montreal's Dominique Maltais survived a wild final heat to win a bronze medal on Friday in the Olympic debut of women's snowboard cross. Canada's other finalist, however, wasn't so lucky. Tanja Frieden of Switzerland won the gold medal, while Lindsey Jacobellis of the U.S. took silver.
In a stunning turn of events, Jacobellis appeared to be cruising to victory before going down after the penultimate jump. Frieden took advantage and zoomed past her to capture the gold. Jacobellis grabbed her board on the jump, a move halpipe riders employ to impress judges. After the race the 20-year-old, who also competes in the halfpipe, brushed off suggestions that she was showboating.
"I had been having trouble with that jump all day. (Grabbing the board) helps you stabilize in the air," Jacobellis said. "I tried but it didn't work."
U.S. coach Peter Foley, however, conceded that Jocobellis probably had gone over the top.
"She definitely styled that a little too hard," he said.
Earlier in the race Maltais wiped out spectacularly into the netting lining the course, nearly taking out a spectator. But she was able to recover and cross the finish line in third, well behind Jacobellis. Maelle Ricker of Whistler, B.C., was the first rider to go down in the final. She botched a jump, landing hard on her back, and was unable to get up. Ricker received attention on the course and was taken to hospital in Turin by helicopter. A team official said Ricker suffered a slight concussion but expected to be released from hospital later on Friday and was able to call Maltais to offer congratulations on her bronze medal.
Snowboard cross is a new Olympic discipline. Formerly known as boardercross, snowboard cross is a big twist on its cousin, the parallel giant slalom.
Shannon Kleibrink got the better of defending champion Rhona Martin of Great Britain in women's curling at the Torino Olympic Winter Games. Kleibrink, whose rink curls out of Calgary, built up a 3-0 lead by the third end en route to a 9-3 win in the seventh draw. Canada improved to 4-2 overall, tied with Norway and Switzerland behind front-running Sweden (5-1). Great Britain fell to 3-2.
Kleibrink scored two in the second and one in the third, then stole one in the fourth on Martin's failed double-takeout for a 4-0 lead. Martin was lying two deep in the fifth with a chance to draw for three on last rock, but settled for halving the deficit when it ran heavy. It remained 4-2 until Kleibrink scored one on a takeout in the seventh. Martin answered back with one in the eighth but, forced to relinquish the hammer, conceded when Kleibrink counted four in the ninth.
The top four rinks advance to the medal round.
Canada's Brad Gushue lost 8-7 to Markku Uusipaavalniemi of Finland in men's curling at the Torino Olympic Winter Games.
Trailing 8-6 and lying two in the 10th end, Gushue looked poised to pull even, but his final rock stopped inches short of the upper edge of the outer ring. That permitted Uusipaavalniemi to simply remove a Canadian stone and concede the point, but clinch his second win of the day.
In Friday's morning draw, he parlayed a pair of early takeouts into an 11-4 victory over Sweden. Both Canada and Finland now sit 4-2 overall, tied for second with the United States behind front-running Great Britain (5-1).
Canada's play had been crisp since addressing its shaky start during a team meeting Tuesday night. Tension between Russ Howard, the crusty two-time world champion recruited to throw second and call shots, and the three young Canadian upstarts was evident in the earlygoing at Pinerolo. But they aired out things out and had curled well since.
"Russ comes from the old school of curling," Gushue said. "The rest of us are New Age.
"We work with sports psychologists and stuff like that. We're working on him."
Gushue jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the opening end, but Uusipaavalniemi responded with an impressive triple-takeout for a 3-2 lead through three. Gushue tied it in the fifth and, lying shot rock on the button, stole one in the sixth when Uusipaavalniemi completely missed on an inside roll. Uusipaavalniemi quickly made amends in the seventh, forcing Gushue to freeze before scoring four on an authoritative takeout. 7-4. Uusipaavalniemi upped it 8-4 in the eighth, but Gushue right answered back with two in the ninth to cut the deficit to 8-6.
The Swedish women's hockey team shocked the United States in women's hockey Friday with a 3-2 shootout win to advance to the Olympic final. Pernilla Winberg scored the winning goal in the shootout to lead Sweden to the gold-medal game on Monday.
Led by the brilliance of goaltender Kim Martin, Sweden overcame a 2-0 deficit and will now have a chance to win a gold medal in international competition for the first time in its brief hockey history. It's also the first time the U.S. failed to make a final of an international competition.
After Martin stoned four American women in the shootout, Winberg beat goalie Chanda Gunn to the stick side to give Sweden a 1-0 edge. Following Krissy Wendell's miss on the fourth shot, Maria Rooth, who scored two goals in regulation time, secured Sweden's win with the insurance goal.
"I don't think anyone will ever understand [this win]," a tearful Erika Holst told CBC Sports. "We worked so hard for so long and finally we're here."
It looked as though the U.S. women caught a break after Martin stopped Wendell on the fourth shot. Referee Joy Tottman ruled that Martin moved before Wendell started her move toward the net and was awarded another shot. The call was moot, as Martin turned away Wendell on her second attempt.
In a thrilling contest that had many turning points, Martin made 37 saves including several on American power plays that kept Sweden within striking distance.
"We really believed it, that's why we worked so hard," said Martin. "It was great playing them and everything worked for us.
Swedish coach Peter Elander's decision to save Martin for this game certainly paid off. She is one of the best goalies in women's hockey. Elander didn't use Martin against Canada in Sweden's final preliminary game to give his 19-year-old netminder more rest.
The game dramatically turned in Sweden's favour as the U.S. women were enjoying a 2-0 lead in the second period. After overpowering American defenceman Courtney Kennedy, Swedish Emilie Konor fed a nifty pass to Rooth in the slot. With a defender draped over her, Rooth was able to spin around and beat Gunn to the far side of the net at 6:17 to cut the lead in half. Martin's continued brilliance help set up Sweden's tying goal. She stopped several point-blank shots on the American's next power play that eventually sent Sweden the other way.
Winning the battle along the boards in the U.S. end, Holst quickly passed the puck to Rooth in front of the U.S. net and then buried a shot over Gunn's shoulder at 9:40 for the short-handed goal.
"We knew that if we got one goal on them that they were going to get a little shaky," said Holst. "We didn't care what people wrote at home in the newspapers or on TV because the team believed."
The games outcome was more surprising considering Sweden's problems in the penalty box. The Swedes committed six consecutive penalties in the second period and were forced to kill two 5-on-3 man advantages by the Americans. The U.S. women got goals from Kristin King and Kelly Stephens.
Canada and Sweden headed for the finals
* Gillian's grandfather, Syl Apps, won three Stanley Cups in the 1940s as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and is enshrined in the NHL Hall of Fame. He also competed in the pole vault at the 1936 Olympics. Gillian's father, Syl Jr., played for three NHL teams, from 1970 to 1980.
Gillian Apps scored her sixth goal of the women's hockey tournament to help her team to a 6-0 semifinal victory over Finland on Friday at the Palasport Olimpico. Canada, which improved its record to 4-0, has advanced to Monday's gold-medal game against Sweden, which shocked the United States with a 3-2 shootout win in the other semifinal.
In Tuesday's 8-1 thrashing of Sweden, Apps scored three times against Cecilia Andersson, but she won't be afforded that luxury on Monday. Barring injury, Elander will start No. 1 goaltender Kim Martin, who was sensational in a 37-save performance against the U.S.
Canada held period leads of 2-0 and 4-0 against Finland, thanks to power-play goals by Katie Weatherston, Hayley Wickenheiser, Caroline Ouellette and Apps. Cherie Piper scored a pair of third-period goals in support of goalie Charline Labonte, who made 17 saves for her second shutout of the tourney. Apps, who shares the tournament scoring lead with Piper, added three assists. Wickenheiser set up two goals to give her five goals and 15 points in four games at these Olympics. Weatherston notched the eventual game-winner when she buried a shot over Finnish goalie Maija Hassinen at 17:33 of the opening period.
Canada has outscored the opposition 42-1 in Turin and has yet to allow an even-strength goal in international competition since the 2004 world championships.
Later,
Kenaz
