Men’s Downhill Skiing
One of the glamour events - the men’s downhill - was postponed by frosty weather.
Heavy snow at the top of the downhill course delayed the debut of the powerful Austrian Alpine skiers, including World Cup leader Hermann Maier.
There was no word on when the downhill would be rescheduled, but prospects for the immediate future are dim. Accumulations of 16-17 inches were expected before the snow tapers off atop Mount Karamatsu.
Snow, as well as fog along portions of the Happo’one course had delayed the start of the competition before its postponement.
The decision to delay the race came as the first competitor, Luca Cattaneo of Italy, was about to step up to the starting line. Ten forerunners had already come down the course when action was halted.
The fifth of those forerunners, Hidekazu Yokoyama of Japan, fell halfway down the course and tumbled hard on his left leg. It was unclear whether his fall was related to the weather conditions.
“It was impossible to ski today,” said Tommy Moe of Jackson, Wyo., whose reign as defending champion was extended by at least one day. “It was snowing unbelievably hard. Fog would come in and go out, then it would be clear for a second. Then it would snow harder.”
Organizers have drawn up 40 alternative plans for rescheduling the skiing events, including the possibility of moving the men’s downhill to Friday - the same day as the women’s downhill.
Women’s cross country skiing
Russian cross country skier Olga Danilova won the initial gold medal of the Nagano Games, sailing through the snow in Hakuba to capture a tight race in the women’s 15-kilometer classical race by 5.6 seconds.
Danilova, whose last Olympic race came six years ago in Albertville, used a late surge to defeat teammate Larissa Lazutina, who won relay golds at the last two Olympics. Danilova completed the distance in 46 minutes 55.4 seconds. The bronze medal went to Anita Moen-Guidon of Norway.
The fastest American, Kerrin Petty of Townshend, Vt., finished 47th, nearly 6 minutes behind the winner.
Men’s snowboarding
Snowboarding made its Olympic debut as Canada’s Ross Rebagliati unleashed a super second run through heavy fog to win gold in the men’s giant slalom.
Italy’s Thomas Prugger took the silver and Switzerland’s Ueli Kestenholz the bronze as the United States was shut out of the medals.
Women’s moguls freestyle skiing
The elimination round of the women’s moguls freestyle skiing event brought good news for the Americans, with two skiers - past gold medalist Donna Weinbrecht of West Milford, N.J., and Liz McIntyre of Winter Park, Colo. - in the top four. Weinbrecht is tied for the lead.
Finals will be held Tuesday.
Men’s moguls freestyle
Jonny Moseley of Tiburon, Calif., is alone in second place. The finals are on Tuesday.
Men’s ice hockey
The preliminary round - the only competition on the first day - opened with four games lacking in NHL star power. The professional hockey players arrive this week to compete for the first time.
Japan, before a frenzied, flag-waving crowd, battled Germany into the third period before Daniel Kunce broke a 1-1 tie by jamming in a rebound with 9:36 left. Jan Brenda scored an insurance goal 5 minutes later.
In other games, a pair of former Soviet republics made their Olympic hockey debuts with victories.
Kazakstan made its debut a success by rallying to beat Italy 5-3. Backup goaltender Alexandr Shimin took over for Vitaliy Yeremeyev at the start of the second period and stopped all six shots he faced to help Kazakstan erase a 3-1 deficit.
Belarus ruined the return of former U.S. coach Herb Brooks by defeating France, 4-0. For Brooks, coach of the 1980 U.S. gold medal team, it was his first loss as an Olympic coach.
Slovakia, expected to be the best team in its preliminary pool, was tied 2-2 by surprising Austria. Slovakia, the sixth-place finisher in the 1994 Olympics, played without NHL stars Peter Bondra and Zigmund Palffy. The pair will join the team for the final round - if it advances out of preliminary play.
Women’s ice hockey
Johanna Ikonen scored twice and Tiia Reima and Sari Krooks each had a goal and an assist as Finland defeated Sweden 6-0 in the first-ever Olympic women’s ice hockey game.
Men’s luge
Germany’s Georg Hackl began his quest for a record third straight Olympic gold medal, blistering the 15-turn Spiral course in 49.861 seconds on the first of four runs.
Wendel Suckow, of Marquette, Mich., was the first slider of the day and broke his own track record with a run of 50.069. But Hackl, sliding third, quickly erased it with a flawless run.