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From the Olympics Toward Tomorrow
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Canadian Rebagliati wins first Olympic snowboard gold
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9:30- Start
Canada's Ross Rebagliati earned his Olympic ''moment'' with an aggressive second run down Mt. Yakebitai on Sunday to grab the first-ever Olympic gold medal awarded in snowboarding.
With weather conditions rapidly deteriorating on the course, Rebagliati posted a time of 1 minute, 4.09 seconds on his second run to leap from eighth into first with an aggregate total of 2:03.96 in the men's giant slalom event.
''With the weather conditions the way they were, the course was a lot more difficult. You couldn't see that far ahead and the snow got a lot colder and harder,'' said the 26-year-old snowboarder from Whistler, Canada.
''I've won at big events before but this one, but this one with the extra media and all the attention we've been getting in the last few years, it's just a moment for me,'' Rebagliati said about becoming snowboarding's first Olympic gold medalist.
Thomas Prugger of Italy took the silver medal, a mere 0.02 second behind Rebagliati, while Switzerland's Ueli Kestenholz posted the best time of the second round with a 1:03.88 for the bronze with a 2:04.08 total -- 0.1 second behind Prugger.
Although fine weather greeted the snowboarders on their first run, the second run was interrupted and nearly canceled by the fog and snow enveloping the course.
As course conditions deteriorated, first-round leader Jasey-Jay Anderson of Canada fell early into his second run and tumbled all the way to 16th. (Kyodo News)
Official results of snowboard men's giant slalom after the second run Sunday in the 18th Olympic Winter Games at Mt. Yakebitai, Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture (course 936 meters, vertical drop 290 meters):
1. Ross Rebagliati, Canada 2 minutes, 3.96 seconds (first run 59.87, second run 1:04.09)
2. Thomas Prugger, Italy 2:03.98 (59.38, 1:04.60)
3. Ueli Kestenholz, Switzerland 2:04.08 (1:00.20, 1:03.88)
4. Dieter Krassnig, Austria 2:04.33 (1:00.11, 1:04.22)
5. Matthieu Bozzetto, France 2:04.57 (59.83, 1:04.74)
6. Christopher Klug, U.S. 2:05.25 (59.38, 1:05.87)
7. Martin Freinademetz, Austria 2:05.34 (59.58, 1:05.76)
8. Maxence Idesheim, France 2:05.52 (1:00.75, 1:04.77)
9. Dieter Happ, Austria 2:07.05 (1:02.65, 1:04.40)
10. Thedo Remmelink, Netherlands 2:07.25 (1:02.01, 1:05.24)
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Copyright 1998 The Shinano Mainichi Shimbun