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"&lt;p&gt;               &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; VIENNA (AP) - Austria is in need of a new flag bearer for Friday's opening ceremony at the Winter Olympics as Alpine skier Benjamin Raich has delayed his trip to Sochi.    &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Raich will skip the Feb. 14 super-combined, the Austrian Olympic Committee said Monday, which leaves the giant slalom five days later as his first event.    &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; ''I will fully focus on the giant slalom and the slalom, so I will travel to Russia one week later than initially planned,'' Raich said in an AOC statement.    &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; Raich's start in the super-combined had already been doubtful for weeks because of the skier's persistent back problems.    &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; The injury also prevented the 35-year-old Austrian from competing in a World Cup super-combined in Wengen, Switzerland, on Jan. 17, which was his last chance to meet the Olympic qualifying criteria for the discipline set by FIS.    &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; However, the sport's governing body granted him exception on medical grounds and allowed him a start in the Olympic race.    &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; The AOC will announce a new flag bearer on Thursday.    &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; It will be the committee's third choice after initially considering three-time Olympic ski jump champion Thomas Morgenstern, the country's most decorated Olympian in Sochi.    &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt; However, Morgenstern is recovering from a ski flying crash and needs rest ahead of the qualification for the normal hill competition on Saturday, the day after the opening ceremony.  &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Copyright 2014 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.      &lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/olympics/2014/02/03/sochi-olympics-austria-flag-bearer>