Olympics start out with disappointments for US team

By Andy Goldberg Feb 13, 2006, 23:48 GMT

Los Angeles - The US team touted itself as the world's best, but after just a few days of Olympic competition, the American contingent may qualify for a gold medal in disappointment even though they top the medal table in Turin.

'The Turin Winter Games turned awfully sour for the United States on Sunday,' the Salt Lake Tribune moaned.

Competitors such as ice rink queen Michelle Kwan, downhill ski daredevils Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves and short track god Apolo Anton Ohno had all been considered virtual lock-ins to bring home the ultimate sporting honours, spiking national interest in the far-off Turin games and plopping a huge ratings boon into the lap of broadcaster NBC.

Then the real world took over.

Kwan, the crowd-pleasing figure-skating doyen of grace, pulled out of the competition Sunday due to a training injury.

Kwan, who has largely dominated the sport for the past decade, was to have been the icing on the cake for NBC and US Olympic officials, who had reckoned she would attract millions of viewers to what is the most popular broadcast event from the competition.

Newsday described Kwan's departure as a 'death spiral out of Turin' and said that her decision 'ended figure-skating life as we knew it'.

The New York Daily News ran with the headline 'Tears of a Kwan' and catalogued her glittering career in which injuries and patches of poor form repeatedly robbed her of a chance for Olympic gold.

'If this is the end, Michelle Kwan goes out the way she came in: With class and the adoration of many but without the object of her life's quest, Olympic gold,' the paper lamented.

Her demise sent ripples through the Olympic team.

'Michelle Kwan means more to the United States Olympic Committee than maybe any athlete thats ever performed for the US Olympic Committee,' said Peter Ueberroth, chairman of the US Olympic Committee.

'She's been a leader, she's been gracious, she's somebody that cares for so many youngsters that are training in our country. She's a real loss to all of the United States Olympic Committee and to the United States of America and I think to the world, and she's made a courageous decision.'

The disappointing announcement was quickly followed by a stutter from short track king Ohno, who stumbled when trying to execute an unnecessary pass in the semi-final and failed to make the final to get the 1,500-metre gold like in Salt Lake City.

'The Golden Boy loses luster' said the New York Post, while the Salt Kale Tribune couldn't resist the dig: 'Oh no! Ohno misses out'.

'I put a lot of dedication and time into this sport,' Ohno said. 'To not even make that final and be able to challenge those top skaters, it Hurts.'

Just as bad was the poor performance from the team's downhill demons.

Insiders in the US team had expected Miller and Rahlves to both place in the medals like at the 2005 worlds where Rahlves got gold and Miller silver.

In the end, both skiers were undecided about which skis to use until the very last minute and appeared unable to focus themselves on going as fast as possible down the intimidating slope.

Defending World Cup overall champion Miller made a few split second mistakes to finish in fifth place, while Rahlves, who has won three downhill events this season and had posted the fastest training run Thursday, came down in tenth position.

'It's disappointing,' men's Coach Phil McNichol said. 'We had two of the best guys in the race and we came up short.'

Those results were bad news for NBC, which saw disappointing ratings for the opening ceremony, and had been hoping for American sporting success to boost viewership levels.

But the withdrawal of Kwan also means that the spotlight will shine increasingly on the brash Miller in the combined events as the symbol of US winter sports.

For the Los Angeles Times that was a problem.

'Under glorious skies whose silver linings perhaps hid an oncoming storm, the torch borne by the symbol of the U.S. Winter Olympic team was formally passed,' the paper noted. 'From class to crass. From royal to rude. From Kwan to Miller, which doesn't Bode well for anyone.'

A least things looked better on the halfpipe where the US snowboarders - led by effervescent 19 year California wunderkind Shaun White, aka 'The Flying Tomato' - captured gold and silver in both men's and women's events. <!--page-->

To add to White's festivities, video game maker Ubisoft announced a new game based on his unique style.

White came back from a disastrous fall in qualifying, prompting the Detroit Free Press to write: 'KILLER TOMATO: After first-run fall, American lives up to nickname.'

Most other top riders 'drop into the pipe, they do their tricks, they land their tricks and just drift into the next wall,' explained Bud Keene, coach of the U.S. team.

There was hardship for the US women skiers on the downhill slope Monday, too, when medal contender Lindsey Kildow, 21, was injured in a severe crash on her training run and airlifted to a hospital.

Initial fears that Kildow was seriously injured were allayed after she underwent tests.

The same applied to luge slider Samantha Retrosi, who escaped a horrific crash with a concussion.

And there were even better news as well on Monday: US athletes got two more golds Monday to top the medal table with four, from snowboarder Hannah Teiter and speedskater Joey Cheek.