Miscellany

In Sestriere, Italy, France’s Karine Ruby beat her nearest rival by more than 2 seconds to win a fourth consecutive Snowboard World Cup giant slalom race and maintain a commanding lead in the season standings. Ruby is favored to take the gold when snowboarding makes its Olympic debut in Nagano.

In Portland, Tim Hacker pushed against a strong headwind in 40-degree rain to edge by teammate Bob Kennedy by just 3 seconds for the senior men’s title at the U.S. Cross Country Championships.

Deena Drossin captured her first national women’s championship, with Lynn Jennings and Kathy Franey trailing by more than a half-minute.

In Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada scored four goals in the second period and beat the United States 5-4 in women’s hockey, evening the series between the two at 3-3. Tara Mounsey had a goal and two assists for the United States, which is now 20-3 on its pre-Olympic tour.