Programs
Competitions
Venues
Access
A la carte
Photo Album
From the Olympics Toword Tomorrow
 |
Russian Danilova wins 1st gold of Nagano Olympics
 Olga Danilova |
9:00- Start
Olga Danilova upstaged her more prominent Russian teammates Sunday to win the women's 15-kilometer classical cross-country ski race and the first gold medal of the Nagano Winter Olympics.
Danilova, a 27-year-old sports instructor and mother of twin boys, powered through the final kilometers of the demanding Snow Harp course in the ''Japan Alps'' resort village of Hakuba and crossed the finish line in 46 minutes, 55.4 seconds.
Her teammate Larissa Lazutina, known as the ''Queen of Thunder Bay'' after taking three individual golds at the 1995 world Nordic ski championships, completed a Russian 1-2 medal finish by coming in a mere 5.6 seconds behind.
Anita Moen-Guidon, dropped off Norway's relay team at last year's world championships in Trondheim, Norway, shrieked for joy and leaped into the arms of her coach at the finish area after posting the third fastest time of 47:52.6 for the bronze.
The unusually dry snow conditions evidently caught the Russian team off guard and Danilova admitted she was counting on the sun to come out and produce a wetter track.
But it did not matter Sunday. Lazutina held a razor-thin lead over Danilova in the 69-woman field according to split times at the 12.4-km point, before Danilova claimed victory as light snow dusted the course.
''I did not know for a fact that I would become an Olympic champion, but I was training very hard,'' said Danilova, who yielded a few tears afterward. ''It has been a long while since I've seen my two twin boys, who are back home in Russia.''
The tears streaming from Russian teammate and race favorite Elena Vaelbe, however, were of frustration and sadness.
Vaelbe, who claimed an incredible five gold medals at last year's world championships and was hoping to gain her first Olympic gold, finished 17th, more than two minutes behind the winning time.
Danilova also confirmed the thoughts of many skiers during the past week that the Snow Harp, with its hairpin-like turns and steep descents, is the toughest cross-country course in the world.
''That was the hardest track of my life,'' she said. ''When I was in Japan for the first time, I thought the downhill parts were for professional downhillers.''
Danilova previously competed in one Olympics and three world championships, but spent most of those years in the shadow of her teammates. The Bugulm native's best Olympic finish before Sunday was sixth in the 5-km classical race at the 1992 Albertville Games.
Italy's Olympic champion Stefania Belmondo, who claimed a pair of World Cup wins on this same track last year, clocked 48:57.7 to finish eighth.
Sumiko Yokoyama crossed the line in 50:55.3 to finish 24th, top among the Japanese women. Veteran Fumiko Aoki, who placed fifth in a pair of World Cup races here last year, was 37th.
(Kyodo News)
Official results of cross country skiing women's 15-kilometer classical Sunday in the 18th Olympic Winter Games at Snow Harp in Hakuba, Nagano Prefecture:
1. Olga Danilova, Russia 46 minutes, 55.4 seconds
2. Larissa Lazutina, Russia 47:01.0
3. Anita Moen-Guidon, Norway 47:52.6
4. Irina Taranenko Terelia, Ukraine 48:10.2
5. Marit Mikkelsplass, Norway 48:12.5
6. Trude Dybendahl Hartz, Norway 48:19.0
6. Bente Martinsen, Norway 48:19.0
8. Stefania Belmondo, Italy 48:57.7
9. Katerina Neumannova, Czech Republic 49:01.9
10. Jaroslava Bukvajova, Slovakia 49:02.0
-----
20. Svetlana Deshevykh, Kazakstan 50:28.0
24. Sumiko Yokoyama, Japan 50:55.3
33. Oxana Yatskaya, Kazakstan 51:39.7
34. Kumiko Yokoyama, Japan 51:48.7
37. Fumiko Aoki, Japan 51:53.7
49. Svetlana Shishkina, Kazakstan 53:13.7
51. Luan Zhengrong, China 53:48.4
54. Emiko Sato, Japan 54:11.1
55. Guo Dongling, China 54:50.6
57. Elena Antonova, Kazakstan 55:34.0
 Fumiko Aoki |
No part of the article, photographs, or illustrations presented here may be printed or used without permission.
Copyright 1998 The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun