Women’s Hockey

Finland won the bronze medal today (Monday night PST), using a three-goal second period to defeat China 4-1.

Finland has finished third in all four Women’s World Championships since 1990, and things were no different in Nagano. The Finns lost only twice - to Canada and the United States, teams they have never beaten in international tournaments.

Men’s hockey

The U.S., which went 1-2 in the seeding round after losing to Canada 4-1, takes on the Czech Republic and star NHL goalie Dominic Hasek in the single-loss elimination tournament starting Wednesday.

The Canadians (3-0) open with Kazakstan.

Ski jumping

Japan’s Masahiko Harada became the hero of the 1998 Games before an adoring home-country crowd.

Harada, after a first-round jump of only 79.5 meters, came back on his final attempt to soar 137 meters and lift Japan to the gold medal in the large hill (120-meter) team competition.

Japan’s four jumpers combined for 933 points, vaulting from fourth after one round to claim the gold medal. Germany held on for silver medals with 897.4 points. First-round leader Austria wound up with 881.5 and bronze.

The U.S. finished 12th in the 13-team field.

Women’s combined skiing

Katja Seizinger, racing through heavy snow, led a German sweep of the women’s combined event today (Monday PST) and won her second gold in two days.

Seizinger became only the second woman in Olympic history to win three Alpine gold medals, joining slalom skier Vreni Schneider of Switzerland.

Seizinger won with an aggregate time of 2 minutes, 40.74 seconds.

Martina Ertl won the silver medal in 2:40.92 and Hilde Gerg gave Germany its first 1-2-3 finish in an Olympic Alpine event by finishing in 2:41.50.

Caroline Lalive, 18, of Steamboat Springs, Colo., finished seventh.

Figure skating

Pasha Grishuk and Yevgeny Platov became the first couple to win the ice dancing gold medal in consecutive Olympics as the Russians repeated their Lillehammer success.

The silver medal went to Russians Angelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsyannikov. Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat of France took the bronze.

American champions Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow were seventh.

Women’s speedskating

Shut out through its first six races in Nagano, America’s historically most successful Winter Games team finally broke its 1998 hex with an unexpected bronze from Chris Witty in the 1,500 meters. Marianne Timmer of the Netherlands set a world record of 1 minute, 57.58 seconds to win the gold. Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann of Germany was second.

Freestyle skiing

Three Americans survived the preliminaries in the freestyle aerials: Britt Swartley and Eric Bergoust on the men’s side, Nikki Stone for the women.

Swartley was in second place and Bergoust in fourth heading into Wednesday’s medal competition. Stone was in fourth after a treacherous opening round that featured some scary spills - including one that blew out American skier Mariano Ferrario’s knee and patella tendon.

Men’s biathlon

Heavy snow stopped the men’s 10-kilometer biathlon after several skiers had started the race.