Vonn collecting injuries instead of medals; she wipes out in giant slalom, Mancuso way behind

Vonn crashes, Mancuso way behind in giant slalom

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Lindsey Vonn’s Vancouver Olympics have gone from gold and bronze to black and blue.

Vonn crashed in the giant slalom Wednesday, adding a banged-up right pinkie, a sore left hip and battered chin to the deeply bruised right shin she’s been lugging around.

And don’t forget the wounded pride that comes with being fished out of the safety netting.

“I was like a pretzel,” she said, “so tangled up.”

While this is Vonn’s worst event, no skier wants to go out like that. The scorecard so far for the cover girl coming into these Winter Games: two medals, two wipeouts.

Her final event is the slalom Friday. That is, if X-rays show she’s only bruised the finger, not broken it.

The giant slalom was among six events being decided Wednesday. Without Vonn, and with reigning champion Julia Mancuso back in the pack, it might be a long day for the United States in the medal chase.

The best medal hopes for the day is in women’s bobsled, but even that is muted by the fact Germany could get the other two medals.

If Germany can load up like that in the other finals still to be decided — women’s 5,000-meters speedskating, women’s 3,000-meter relay in short-track speedskating and women’s aerials — the overall medals race could tighten up.

The Americans lead with 26. Germany has 23. Both are tied for the most gold with seven.

Also Wednesday, the U.S. men’s hockey team was playing Switzerland and Canada was to play Russia in a game that will knock out one of the teams considered a gold-medal favorite coming into the tournament.

GIANT SLALOM

Vonn lost control around a right turn in the middle of the course. She got twisted around, then landed hard on her left hip and spilled backward into the safety gear.

“I got a little bit too inside and lost my outside ski,” she said. “My knee came up and hit my chin.”

She was checked on the course, then skied to the finish.

Mancuso was next and starters made the mistake of sending her out while Vonn was still down. That meant a restart, which is tough on the body and the mind. She wound up 18th — and furious.

Mancuso tweeted that it’s “time to use that anger and fight” during the second run.

With wet and foggy weather making visibility difficult, Elisabeth Goergl of Austria was first, followed by Taina Barioz of France and Kathrin Zettel of Austria.

Also notable in this event was Marjan Kalhor becoming the first Iranian woman to compete at a Winter Olympics. The 21-year-old Kalhor, who wore a pink head scarf beneath her safety helmet to comply with Islamic dress code, was all smiles at the end of her run, despite being the slowest of 68 skiers who finished the run.

SVEN KRAMER

The coach who cost Sven Kramer the gold medal in speedskating’s 10,000 meters will be keeping his job.

Kramer said Wednesday that Gerard Kemkers has helped him too much to end their relationship over one mistake, no matter how colossal it was.

“I don’t want to blame anyone,” Kramer said. “That doesn’t help you to move on from this.”

What would help — winning the team pursuit Friday.

“Definitely,” Kramer said.

At the 2006 Turin Games, Kramer stepped on a lane marker and fell during the semifinals of the pursuit, keeping his country out of the gold-medal race.

Kramer also said he would be apologizing and giving a small present to a volunteer worker at the track that he shoved aside and shouted at following his disqualification.

CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING

Marcus Hellner was so far ahead at the end of his anchor leg that he had time to collect a Swedish flag to wave as he skied to the finish.

Norway got silver and the Czech Republic took bronze.