See the light: Vancouver organizers open viewing ramp for Olympic flame after complaints

See the light: Viewing ramp open for Olympic flame

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Lindsey Vonn crossed the finish line, saw her time, then yelled and fell backward onto the snow.

Joy? Relief? Pain?

All the emotions that come with being a gold-medal winner.

Despite a bruise on her right shin that made it painful to even wear a ski boot, Vonn dominated a crash-marred downhill race to win the first of her five events at the Vancouver Olympics.

“I gave up everything for this,” she said. “It means everything to me. … I dreamed about what this would feel like, but it is much better in real life.”

Teammate and childhood rival Julia Mancuso was a surprising second, giving Americans the top two medals in an Alpine race for the first time in 26 years, and vaulting the United States back atop the medals chart.

U.S. athletes have combined to win 10 medals, one more than Germany. With three golds, the Americans are back in a tie for the most.

Vonn’s victory put the United States off to a great start in what could be a big day for the delegation.

Shaun White and Shani Davis defend their Olympic tiles, White in halfpipe and Davis in 1,000-meter speedskating. Short-track speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno also will be in action for the first time since matching Bonnie Blair for the most medals won by a U.S. Winter Olympian, although he will only be competing in preliminary heats.

WOMEN’S DOWNHILL

Since getting hurt in practice two weeks ago, Vonn spent more time with Austrian curd cheese smeared on her shin than being on the slopes. Several weather delays bought her time and kept her competition from getting too comfortable on this course.

She kicked out of the gate strong, building a quick lead and building on it. Just when it seemed she might lose control, she regained her form and kept charging toward the finish. A small bump just before the finish cost her a few ticks, but she still wound up winning by 0.56 seconds.

“I fought the whole way down,” she said. “It wasn’t a perfect run. I attacked, and I made it down.”

Maria Riesch of Germany, Vonn’s best friend and usual rival of late, finished eighth.

The course was tough, as evidenced by all the crashes. Swedish standout Anja Paerson went down hard, and another competitor had to be airlifted out. Yet another crashed across the finish line and disappeared under a logo of a skier; in trying to get up, she stuck out one ski, making for a bizarre image.

The only times Americans took gold and silver in an Alpine race both happened at the 1984 Sarajevo Games, with brothers Phil and Steve Mahre going 1-2 in the slalom and Debbie Armstrong and Christin Cooper doing so in giant slalom.

Vonn will be favored in two more races. It remains to be seen how much this event took out of her — or if it’s the start of a Phelps-like domination.

“I have what I want, and I’ll just keep fighting every day,” she said. “It’s definitely a huge relief that I finally did it.”

CURLING

The U.S. women fell to 0-2, losing to Germany when skip Debbie McCormick’s squad couldn’t make up a two-point deficit in the final end.

The men also are 0-2 going into a match against Switzerland.

OLYMPIC CAULDRON

Want an unobstructed picture of the Olympic cauldron? Not a problem any more.

Organizers of the Vancouver Games opened a viewing ramp Wednesday to bring visitors closer to the Olympic cauldron. A chain-link fence around the flame also was moved closer, with a 6-inch-wide strip cut into it for people taking pictures from ground level.

Olympic organizers initially drew criticism for making the flame inaccessible to the public. It was one of a series of glitches that have marred the opening days of the Winter Games.

LUGER BURIED

The body of the Georgian luger killed during a practice run was flown Wednesday to his hometown, where his grief-stricken mother threw herself on his coffin and cried: “Why have I survived you?”

Nodar Kumaritashvili’s body arrived in a flag-draped coffin at the Georgian capital’s airport before dawn, met by relatives and onlookers. The 21-year-old is to be buried Saturday at a churchyard in Bakuriani, a village of about 1,500 that is located in one of Georgia’s most popular winter sports regions.

The luger’s mother, Dodo Kharazishvili, became so upset she had to be held up by relatives. An ambulance team was called to help her. The casket was taken to the family home, located on a street that local authorities have renamed in the athlete’s honor. Hundreds of mourners gathered there, and many struggled to contain their own tears.

Among the mourners was Levan Gureshidze, a fellow Olympic luger who grew up and trained with Kumaritashvili but withdrew from the games after his friend’s death. He said he could not bear to compete after the accident that took his teammate’s life.

“How could I take part in competition after that?” he said, tears filling his eyes.

Kumaritashvili died during a training run Friday when he lost control of his sled and slammed into a trackside steel pole at nearly 90 mph.