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Winter olympic 2010 Vancouver

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Lindsey Vonn of the United States speeds down the course during the first run of the Women's giant slalom, at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010.

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Lindsey Vonn, from the United States, lies in the fence after crashing during first run of the women's giant slalom in Whistler, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010.

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Julia Mancuso, right, of the United States checks on teammate Lindsey Vonn as she is helped by emergency workers.

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Julia Mancuso of the United States skis past Lindsey after her first run of the Women's giant slalom was stopped at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010. Mancuso had to halt her first run ....​
 

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Julia Mancuso of the United States stops after her first run of the Women's giant slalom was stopped at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010. Mancuso had to halt her first run after Lindsey Vonn crashed. Mancuso was taken back up the course to start again later.

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Lindsey Vonn of the United States reacts after crashing into the fence during the Ladies Giant Slalom first run on day 13 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at Whistler Creekside on February 24, 2010 in Whistler, Canada.

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Lindsey Vonn of the United States, right, is embraced near the finish area after the first run of the Women's giant slalom at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010. Vonn crashed in the first run and was eliminated.

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Lindsey Vonn of the United States smiles as she stands in the finish area.

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Julia Mancuso of the United States speeds down the course.


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Julia Mancuso of the United States approaches the line to finish her first run of the Women's giant slalom at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010. Earlier Mancuso had to halt her first run after Lindsey Vonn crashed and was taken back up the course to start again.

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Julia Mancuso of the U.S. lies on the ground after competing in the first run of the women's alpine skiing giant slalom event at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, February 24, 2010.

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Julia Mancuso of the United States reacts as she leaves the finish area after finishing her first run of the Women's giant slalom at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010.​
 

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Olympics: Gold latest prize in Kim-Asada figure-skating
February 25, 2010
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Back and forth they go, trading titles in a figure skating version of leapfrog.

Mao Asada wins the world title one year, Kim Yu-na the next. Kim wins the Grand Prix final, her rival is runner-up. Asada gets the highest marks ever, Kim tops her.
Is it any wonder the women's Olympic gold-medal finale is setting up to be blockbuster of a show on Thursday night, with Kim and Asada playing a game of "Can you top this?"
"Having these two women fairly close and skating well and creating this rivalry that's been there in the past ... it's just good for the audience," Brian Orser, Kim's coach, said after Wednesday's practice. "It will keep everybody on the edge of their seats. It's exciting, and it's exciting for Yu-na."
Kim, the reigning world champion, has the inside track to the Olympic title after a sizzling performance in Tuesday night's short program. The South Korean's 78.5 points broke her own world record and, more importantly, put her almost five points in front of Asada.
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All that means, however, is the game is officially on for Thursday night's free skate.
Asada, the 2007 world champ, was as dismal at last year's world championships as Kim was brilliant. The Japanese star finished fourth, starting a slide that continued into this season. She was second to Kim at Trophee Eric Bompard, the season's first Grand Prix event, but Kim was in a class all her own. She finished a jaw-dropping 36 points in front.
Asada struggled so badly at her next event she didn't even qualify for the Grand Prix final, an event she's won twice and had yet to miss. Kim, naturally, won it.
But Asada bounced back with wins at Japanese nationals and last month's Four Continents.
"We were ready for that," Orser said. "She seems like a pretty feisty competitor and I was never underestimating she would show up in top form."
Asada is one of the few women in the world who trains for the triple axel, and she's the only one to do two of the 3½-revolution jumps in the free skate.
If she lands a good one Thursday night, and she might leap right over Kim.
A triple axel has a base value of 8.2 points, but Asada plans to do one in combination.
Throw in the style points, and those two jumping passes alone could be worth almost 20 points.
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"Usually, I think there's like a 10-point difference," Asada said after the short program. "So I feel good there's only this difference between myself and Yu-na."
Canada's Joannie Rochette is third, but she trails Asada by almost 2½ points, leaving little doubt one of the two most popular skaters in Asia will be wearing a gold medal when the time comes.
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Samsung picks Kim Yuna, her coach as its 2010 AC models
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SEOUL, South Korea — World figure skating champion Kim Yu-na and her Canadian coach Brian Oser have been tapped as models for Samsung Electroncis Co.’s Hauzen air conditioner for 2010. (Photo courtesy of Samsung Electronics) (Yonhap)
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2010-02-25
Canada wins women's bobsleigh Olympic gold
WHISTLER, Canada: Canada teams wrapped up the top two places in the women's bobsleigh of the Vancouver Olympics.
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Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse won the gold in 3:32:28, 0.85 seconds ahead of another Canadian pair Helen Upperton and Shelley-Ann Brown at the Whistler Sliding Center.
American Erin Pac and Elana Meyers fell from second to third in the fourth run, finishing 1.12 seconds behind the winners.
Canada has never won an Olympic medal in women's bobsled.
 

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Canada's Kaillie Humphries (R) and Heather Moyse start their run during Heat 1 of the women's bobsleigh at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, February 23, 2010.

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Canada's Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse compete during the final run of the women's bobsleigh at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, February 24, 2010.

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Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse of Canada in Canada 1 complete their fourth run to finish in first place and win the gold during the womens bobsleigh on day 13 of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics at the Whistler Sliding Centre on February 24, 2010 in Whistler, Canada.​
 

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Gold medalists Canada's Kaillie Humphries (L) and Heather Moyse (2nd,L) celebrate with silver medalists Helen Upperton (2nd,R) and Shelley-Ann Brown after the women's bobsleigh at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, February 24, 2010.

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Bronze medalists Erin Pac and Elana Meyers (R) of the United States celebrate after their final run in women's bobsleigh at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, February 24, 2010.

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WHISTLER, BC - FEBRUARY 24: Heather Moyse and Kaillie Humphries of Canada 1 celebrate gold Helen Upperton and Shelly-Ann Brown of Canada 2 celebrate silver and Erin Pac and Elana Meyers of the United States celebrate bronze after the women's bobsleigh on day 13 of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics at the Whistler Sliding Centre on February 24, 2010 in Whistler, Canada.​
 

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Tonight the winter olympic end with ladies figure skating free.

the gala is a waste of time.

the closing ceremony probably not as good as the opening. They going to distinguish the cauldron outside the stadium?? when everyone inside?
yeah, what a shit idea.

soon, every thing will be over for winter olympic. it is world cup next.

it is Kim Yu na , Mao , Joannie or Miki. best of luck to them all.
 

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The style, the grace -- the ice-cold politics
South Koreans follow figure skater Kim Yuna's quest for Olympic gold with pride, in no small part because she leads a Japanese rival.


Reporting from Tokyo and Seoul - Wearing a sassy black dress, twisting and leaping to a medley of spy thriller songs, the queen of South Korean figure skating is continuing a quest her countrymen hope is no mission impossible:

Not just to win, but to beat the Japanese in the process.

Kim Yuna, the pouting 19-year-old monarch-on-ice, is poised to win South Korea's first Olympic gold medal in figure skating -- a feat that for many countrymen would prove to be a satisfying athletic and political victory over their Asian neighbors.

Because when it comes to sports competitions against Japan, their colonial-era overlords from 1910 to 1945, Koreans wear their fiercest game faces -- whether on a baseball or soccer field, or even within the graceful realm of the figure-skating rink.

"With South Korea versus Japan, it is all about one-sided nationalism," said Shin Kwang-yeong, sociology professor at Chung-Ang University in Seoul. "Of course, Japan's colonization of Korea and emotions between the two countries are instilled in sports.

"It's a phenomenon based on South Korea's group perception about its traumatic history. If you do not win a gold medal, other medals are not satisfying."

And medals are sweeter if snatched from a Japanese competitor.

South Koreans held their collective breath Wednesday as Kim competed in the event's short program, her first step toward gold. For the broadcast here at 1 p.m., people flocked around TV screens in offices and department stores.

Once again, Kim did not disappoint -- giving a near-perfect performance that also set a world record. The performance gave her a commanding lead over Japanese arch-rival Mao Asada.

Viewers winced when, early in her program, Kim launched into a risky triple-lutz triple-toe combination jump. And they beamed when their teen hero's record-setting scores were posted and Asada, who competed just before Kim, held her head in her hands as she fell into second place.

Korean ice skating fans know that the 19-year-old Asada is a formidable opponent.

In 2006, at age 15, she was considered the world's best figure skater, winner of the 2006 Grand Prix Final and the first female skater to land two triple-axel jumps in the same program.

But Asada was also unlucky: She was born 87 days too late to meet the age requirement -- 15 years old by July 31 -- to compete in the last Winter Olympics. And many -- especially the Koreans -- think that Asada might have lost a step in her first Olympics.

Seoul taxi driver Park Byung-hee is following the figure skating on his dashboard television. He can almost taste Kim's gold medal.

"Japan is different from other competitors in the U.S. or China," he said. "There are these emotions between us. To beat Japan, our rival, is significant."

By many accounts, Japanese fans are taking the Olympic figure-skating showdown no less seriously. The competition in Vancouver, Canada, grabbed more media attention Wednesday than Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda's appearance on Capitol Hill over the auto recall.

Machiko Yamada, 67, special advisor on figure skating at Chukyo University and Asada's former childhood coach, dismissed the notion that politics plays a role on the ice or any other athletic field.

"I don't think the girls have any of that political stuff on their mind. They just consider themselves rivals, in a good sense, as athletes," she said. "They aren't buddies, but they have a good relationship with each other."

Although South Korea's Kim has many fans in Japan, most of the loyal figure-skating watchers are rooting for a Japanese victory.

"If Mao can skate flawlessly in the free program and do the two triple axels she is planning on doing, I think she can beat Yuna," said Emi Watanabe, 50, a former Japanese figure skater and World Championship medalist.

"Korea already has 10 medals. Japan hasn't been able to get any gold medals. It's kind of sad. The national mood is down with this Olympics because there has been a lack of gold medals."

For Koreans, a Kim victory could go far to wash away the distaste of Olympics past.

Marathoner Sohn Kee-chung was the first Korean to win an Olympic gold medal at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. But at that time, Korea was a Japanese colony and Sohn was forced to compete under a Japanese name.

Now, Koreans compete as Koreans -- to the delight of their countrymen. Even North Korea sent two athletes to the Games.

"Whether it is baseball or figure skating, people are increasingly viewing sports in a nationalistic perspective. They think of standout athletes as a national symbol," said Shin.

"Particular sports are feeding these interests, and subsequently a certain fanaticism is generated."

And so two nations, albeit for different reasons, will be watching closely as Kim and Asada face off for the topmost space on the medals podium. Both skaters are opting for a classical theme.

Mao's long-program accompaniment will be "Bells of Moscow" by Sergei Rachmaninoff, while Kim will skate to Concerto in F by George Gershwin.

But amid a national desire to be first, such high culture has disintegrated into something more akin to roller derby.

Before the figure skating event began, nationalistic tempers flared over the airtime given to Japanese speed skaters. The rift led to a South Korean broadcast network filing a complaint with Olympic officials over the video feed provided to networks worldwide.

Their beef: There was too much coverage of Japanese speed skaters while a Korean was racing toward a gold medal.
 

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China wins women's 3,000-meter relay after DQ
By BETH HARRIS AP Sports Writer
Thursday, February 25, 2010

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - A disqualification, a bloodied skater and the American team wins a medal after nearly getting lapped.
Just another night at short-track speedskating.
South Korea crossed the finish line first in the women's 3,000-meter relay Wednesday and was preparing to celebrate when the judges decided otherwise.
The four-time defending Olympic champions were disqualified for impeding, having clicked skates with China just after an exchange with five laps to go.
That gave China its first gold medal in the relay, prompting Wang Meng, Zhou Yang, Sun Linlin and Zhang Hui to jump into the rinkside padding for celebratory hugs with their coaches.
In the excitement, Zhang got cut, causing blood to stream down her face.
The Americans fell out of contention early in the 27-lap race, nearly getting lapped toward the end. But the DQ moved everyone else up, with Canada earning the silver and the United States the bronze.
"That's short track. Anything can happen at any moment," American Lana Gehring said. "You don't know the end result until it's final."
Several minutes went by as the referees conferred while South Koreans Cho Ha-ri, Kim Min-jung, Lee Eun-byul and Park Seung-hi had their country's flags in hand and were ready to celebrate.
Within minutes, though, it all changed. The DQ was announced and they slowly lowered their flags to the ice. Cho put her head down and covered her eyes with her left arm.
"I don't have any clue what the referee was saying," Kim said. "It doesn't make any sense at all."
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South Korea's coach Choi Kwang-bok (C) appeals to a race official (L) after his team's disqualification in the women's 3000 metres relay short track speed skating final at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 24, 2010

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China's gold medallists (R) celebrate with coaching staff as South Korea's coach Choi Kwang-bok (L) reacts to his team's disqualification after the women's 3000 metres relay short track speed skating final at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 24, 2010.

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A victory would have allowed South Korea to break a tie with Germany for most consecutive wins in a specific women's event at the Winter Games. South Korea had won the 3,000 relay in every Olympics since 1994. Germany won the 5,000-meter long-track speedskating and the luge singles in four consecutive Olympics.

"Blade contact is no reason for a DQ," said South Korea women's coach Choi Kwang-bok, who pounded angrily on the pads when informed of the DQ. "I don't understand why they did that."
Choi pointed out that women's referee Jim Hewish of Australia was the same official who disqualified South Korea's Kim Dong-sung to give Ohno his first career gold medal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games. Afterward, the U.S. Olympic Web site received so many angry e-mails, many from South Korean fans, it crashed.
Asked if he thought Hewish had a grudge against the South Koreans, Choi answered sharply, "No comment."
South Korea's Kim was in the lead when her left skate blade clicked with the right blade of China's Sun. From there, South Korea's Park pulled away to a big lead before teammate Cho finished off what they thought was a record fifth gold medal.
"She tried to make a pass and there was an impediment collision," Sun said. "We respect the decision of the judges."
The gold went to the Chinese, who smiled and waved, each one holding a corner of their country's flag. Zhang appeared on the podium with a bandage and later needed stitches to close the cut on her chin.
"We are not exactly clear on what happened," Wang said. "In short track, there is a lot of physical contact. The Korean skater (Kim) was trying to make a pass when the contact happened. Regardless of the referee's decision, whether it was for or against us, we would have accepted it."
The Americans were thrilled to receive the bronze, the first medal won at these games by the women's short track team.
 

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PUSH: Skaters line up to push each other midway through the women's Short Track Speed Skating 3000 meter relay at Pacific Coliseum.
(Robert Gauthier /Los Angeles Times)

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GOLD: China celebrates winning a Gold Medal as Cho Ha-Ri of Korea despondently skates by following a disputed 3000 meter Short Track Speed Skating Ladies Relay final at Pacific Coliseum. Korea crossed the line first, but was later disqualified for an illegal bump midway through the race.
(Robert Gauthier /Los Angeles Times)
 

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(R-L) Cho Ha-Ri of South Korea, Zhou Yang of China and Kalyna Roberge of Canada compete in the Short Track Speed Skating Ladies 3000m relay on day 13 of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics at Pacific Coliseum on February 24, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada

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South Korea's Cho Ha-ri leads the other competitors during the women's 1000 metres short track speed skating heats at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 24, 2010.

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VANCOUVER, BC - FEBRUARY 24: Cho Ha-Ri of South Korea reacts after Team Korea crossed the finish line first

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From L-R, South Korea's team Lee Eun-byul, Kim Min-jung, Park Seung-hi and Cho Ha-ri react after their disqualification in the women's 3000 metres relay short track speed skating final at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 24, 2010.

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China's gold medallists (L) celebrate as members of South Korea's team Cho Ha-ri and Lee Eun-byul (R) react to their disqualification after the women's 3000 metres relay short track speed skating final at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 24, 2010.

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The Chinese team, at left, react after winning the gold medal for the women's 3000m relay short track skating competition, as South Korea Cho Ha-Ri, right, looks on after her team was disqualified, at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010.

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China's (L-R) Wang Meng, Sun Linlin, Zhang Hui and Zhou Yang celebrate after finding out they had won the gold medal in the women's 3000 metres relay short track speed skating final at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 24, 2010
 

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Wang Meng (R) of China cuts the face of teammate Zhang Hui (L) with the blade of her ice skate after Team China won the gold medal in the Short Track Speed Skating Ladies 1000m finals

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Sun Linlin (L) of China reaches out to teammate Zhang Hui after teammate Wang Meng cut Zhang's face with the blade of her ice skate

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Zhang Hui of China reacts after teammate Wang Meng cut her face with the blade of her ice skate
 

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China's Zhang Hui (2nd R) holds her face after she was cut as her team mates (L-R) Wang Meng, Sun Linlin and Zhou Yang surround her after the women's 3000 metres relay short track speed skating final at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics February 24, 2010.

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Team China celebrate winning the gold medal, Team Canada the bronze medal and Team USA the bronze medal during the Short Track Speed Skating Ladies 1000m finals on day 13 of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics at Pacific Coliseum on February 24, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada.​
 
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