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Saturday, 16 February, 2002, 18:10 GMT
Aamodt clinches super-G title
Kjetil Andre Aamodt won his second gold of the Games with victory in the highlight of the day - the men's super-G.
The Norwegian, who also took gold in the men's combined earlier in the week, set a time of one minute 21.58 seconds to win an eventful race.
The Austrian pair of Stephan Eberharter and Andreas Schifferer finished second and third respectively.
Aamodt set the standard having left the starting gate third, but his run gave no sign of the mayhem that was set to develop.
Didier Cuche, running fifth, was doing well before going wide - a mistake that was also to account for Freddie Nyberg and Lasse Kjus who were among the pre-race favourites.
The trio skied out of the course as they pushed themselves to the limit on a testing section just below Buffalo Jump, only 20 seconds from the finish.
Eberharter, who has dominated the World Cup season, also fell desperately short of victory.
Looking to make up for having missed out on gold in the downhill, Eberharter at one stage looked poised to bounce back from that disappointment.
But he crossed the line a mere 0.10 seconds short of Aamodt and was forced to settle for silver.
Men's downhill champion Fritz Strobl, also of Austria finished in fourth.
He started well but lost vital seconds in the middle section of the demanding Grizzly course to drop out of contention.
In an event the Austrians regard as their private domain, three in the top four will be viewed as scant consolation for having missed out on the biggest prize.
Worth the wait
But for Aamodt it signalled the end of a ten-year wait for a second super-G gold.
It was also a seventh medal from four Winter Olympics.
"The combined was the important one for me. When I managed to win that one it gave me a bit of confidence," he explained.
"This is a bonus. To win the super-G again after ten years is a dream come true. It's great. It's hard to believe."
Schifferer was equally delighted with his bronze medal, which he compared to winning the World Cup downhill crown in 1998.
"I don't want to say that one is more beautiful than the other," said the 27-year-old.
"It's the same as having sex. Every time is beautiful."
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