Posted on 02/26/2006 12:49:02 PM PST by Michael81Dus
TORINO (AP) — Germany and the United States again won the most medals at a share-the-wealth Torino Olympics that featured more countries winning medals and more in double figures than ever before. Canada and Austria, among others, had their best all-time showing.
Twenty-six countries — including first-time winners Slovakia and Latvia — earned at least one medal, up from a high of 24 in 1998 and 2002. And 11 countries won at least 10 medals — the previous mark was 10 countries at Nagano in 1998. (Related item: Medal count by country)
The Germans and Americans repeated their one-two finish from Salt Lake City four years ago, although both fell short of their 2002 totals. Germany led in Torino in overall medals with 29 and golds with 11, while the Americans won 25 medals overall, nine of them gold.
U.S. officials said they were pleased with their team's performance, the nation's best for a Winter Games on foreign soil, and expressed regret about pre-Olympic projections that the Americans would match or exceed the record 34 medals of 2002.
"This has been an incredible performance," said U.S. Olympic Committee chief Jim Scherr. "It's probably our fault that it's been viewed a little less than that."
Canada was among the major success stories, bettering its record 2002 haul of 17 medals with 24 in Torino, including a Games-high five by speedskater Cindy Klassen. The team's performance lent some credibility to Canada's "Own the Podium" plan to finish No. 1 when it hosts the next Games in Vancouver in 2010.
Austria also had the best showing in its long Winter Games history with 23 medals overall, nine of them gold, despite a police raid and unannounced doping tests that targeted some of its cross-country skiers and biathletes. It was most proud of a record 14 medals in Alpine skiing, including a medal sweep in the men's slalom on Saturday.
"This is the greatest Olympics ever for us," said Alpine director Hans Pum.
Others with their best Winter Games included Sweden with 14 medals, and China and South Korea with 11 each.
The Italians, despite competing at home before zealous and imploring crowds, was shut out in high-profile Alpine skiing and won only 11 medals in all — far off their Winter Games best of 20 in Lillehammer in 1994. Yet any disappointment was erased on the final day when Giorgio di Centa won gold in the 50km cross-country race.
The Games were frustrating for Norway, even though it extended its lead in all-time winter medals. With 19 medals in Torino, Norway's overall total reached 283, but only two of the latest medals were gold; by himself, biathlon star Ole Einar Bjoerndalen had been expected to win several golds.
Estonia, by contrast, won only three medals — but all were gold, in men's and women's cross-country skiing.
Russia, with eight golds and 22 medals overall, rebounded solidly from its worst Winter Games in Salt Lake City, where it won only 13 medals and was buffeted by doping scandals. It was not quite the 25 medals that some Russian officials had projected beforehand, but good enough to merit a special flight home Monday just for the medal winners.
Slovakia won its first winter medal thanks to a brand-new Olympic sport, snowboardcross, in which Radoslav Zidek took silver. Latvia's first winter medal, a bronze, went to Martins Rubenis in luge.
There were other breakthroughs: Tanja Poutiainen gave Finland its first medal in Alpine skiing with a silver in women's giant slalom, and Shizuka Arakawa, with her elegant free skate, gave Japan its first gold medal in figure skating.
Although more countries won medals, Australia was the only one from the Southern Hemisphere, with a gold in moguls for Canadian-born Dale Begg-Smith. Thirteen nations from Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean were among the 80 competing in Torino, but the all-time shutout streak for those regions continued.
Ping
Deutschland Uber Alles, eh Michael. ;)
If it´s during a fair sports competition, you shouldn´t be mocking, should you? I mean, still better than marching with our helmets (see thread about Dutch orange plastic helmets for Soccer World Cup 2006 in Germany) to our neighbour countries. ;-)
By the way, the US team is better than 2002, when you finished as third (and we as the second). Norway surprisingly wasn´t in good shape.
I really enjoyed the Olympics, especially biathlon. Shooting and cross-country is really exciting.
U.S. could've done better, and finished first:
Imagine if Kwan were able to compete, or if Bode Miller actually did....well.....anything at all. Or if the speed skaters actually fielded their best team in the relays. Or if the U.S. women bothered to show up at all for just about any non-ice-skating sport. Man, our women athletes just crumbled this time. Still, second is better than 2002!
There's always 2010!!!!
When looking at "true" medal counts for the U.S., I usually eliminate those events where the U.S. almost always does well simply because very few other countries compete in them to the same level that we do (like aerial skiing, snowboarding, and women's hockey, for example).
Winter Olympics are always more exclusive. A German newspaper wrote leaning to a Audi advertisement slogan: "Advantage through technical skills". It´s to a large extent about technics, such as the bobs, the ice skates, the skies, etc.
The Germans can thank the fact that now there are so many different Biathlon events for their win. 11 out of their 29 medals came from Biathlon alone. Take that away and frankly the Germans were a bit disappointing, especially in the Alpine events. But I guess a win is a win.
Had it not been for the X-Games events, the US did pretty dismal, although they did much better towards the end, (Bode not withstanding)
Did Bode Miller or Michael Weir win the gold medal for being the biggest jacka$$ of the Olympics?
Well, then, I hope you do the same for Germany who always win Luge and Bobsledding medals.
I thought Team USA did awesome this Olympics, and the facts back that up. If one bases everything on the success of a particular individual or sport, one is missing the "true" point of the Olympics.
And we can be glad that Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (NOR) did so bad. Michael Greis alone made three gold medals. And of course, we would rank as 20th or so, if we hadn´t the sport promotion program of our armed forces, allowing athletes to be paid by the mil and train in the mil sports centers. More than half of our athletes are soldiers. How is it in the US? How can your athletes afford to train, they surely can´t have normal jobs.
Considering it was the best we have ever done in the winter olympics at a non-american venue, I would say Team USA kicked major ass.
Major kudos to them all!!! Was a great olympics.
Bode wanted to be the American Tomba. Except for one thing, Tomba knew how to win.
Really, we haven´t heard about a drunken B. Miller. He was a hope for the US Team, but that´s all that was covered here. I guess the doping scandal around Team Austria distracted from him. Despite the negative urine results, I´m convinced that the suspected Austrians have used blood doping.
Oh, and don´t be disappointed, all the athletes and media guys here said that the Olympics in Salt Lake City were a lot better than this. In SLC, there were cheering crowds of people at the sports events and no traffic chaos - unlike in Turino.
Who the hell cares. Another fourth year interruption of network TV [which is saying something].
I was surprised to know there was a men's division.
Deutschland Uber Alles!
I thought that the original meaning of the slogan was from the Unification of Germany. Before then, many Germans thought of themselves as Hessians, Bavarians, etc.
They were encouraged to think of themselves as "German above all! Deutschland Uber Alles!
There was nothing terribly nasty about it, until the Nazis hijacked the slogan - along with the brilliant work of Nietsche and others...
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