SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2014 SPORTS Winter Games a family affair for athletes VIENNA: Sibling rivals, dynasties of champi- Lake Placid and bronze four years later in Sochi, while their sister Allison has skated for won two silvers and one bronze in luge sin- Austria’s Marlies and Bernadette Schild, ons or coaching parents: the Olympic com- Sarajevo. The Kostelic siblings of Croatia- Georgia and now Israel at international level. gles between 1992 and 2002 and is also his German double Olympic champion Maria munity likes to style itself as one big family... Janica and Ivica-have accumulated nine In biathlon, Russia’s Anastazia Kuzmina and manager. Even when they’re not racing, Hoefl-Riesch and her sister Susanne, and and in winter sports, that’s quite often literal- Olympic medals, including four gold, since her brother Anton Shipulin took part in sepa- uncles, dads and other relatives are often Italian siblings Manfred and Manuela ly the case. In disciplines like alpine skiing, 2002. In Turin, she won gold in the women’s rate races in Vancouver in 2010 but still took part of the all-important entourage back- Moelgg. French nordic combined star Jason passed on from one generation to the next combined and he won silver in the men’s home a full set of medals. Olympic genes are stage. Yves Hamelin, head of Canada’s short Lamy-Chappuis, an Olympic and world in remote valleys in Switzerland or Austria, race. Siblings competing together are not an especially strong in some families. Super-G track speed skating program, led his athletes champion, has a cousin, Ronan, in ski jump- there is no shortage of racing dynasties. Tina unusual sight in figure skating or luge, like gold medalist in Vancouver Andrea to five medals on home ice at the last ing. In a well-timed effort, Austrian two-time Weirather of Liechtenstein, a top medal con- Austrian duo Andreas and Wolfgang Lindner, Fischbacher is a cousin of Austrian ski legend Olympics. On the team were his sons Charles ski world champion Mario Matt won a slalom tender in Sochi, is the daughter of 1980 dou- who took doubles gold in 2006 and 2010. and double Olympic champion Hermann and Francois who took gold in the men’s in Val d’Isere on December 15 just as his ble Olympic champion Hanni Wenzel and But the Reed family has gone one step Maier. Ski jumper Gregor Schlierenzauer, 500m and 5000m relay. brother Andreas, silver medalist in former world champion Harti Weirather. further: US-born ice dancers Cathy and who will be seeking a fourth Olympic medal Elsewhere, Alpine skiing also has Italy’s Vancouver, won in ski cross a few valleys Her uncle Andreas Wenzel won silver in brother Chris will compete for Japan in in Sochi, is the nephew of Markus Prock, who Fanchini sisters (Nadia, Elena and Sabrina), away. — AFP US eye medal repeat in land of long hard winter LOS ANGELES: The United States is hoping to repeat their record medal success of Vancouver as the land of the long hard win- ter gets set to stage the largest Winter Games in history. The US heads to Sochi hop- ing for some sparkling Olympic performanc- es from its dominant ski team but also aware there are questions surrounding its athletes in traditionally strong events like figure skat- ing. The Americans would like to equal or better its performance in 2010 where it put together its most successful Winter Games with 37 medals, including nine gold. But they will be hard pressed to do so as there will be some big names missing-skier Lindsey Vonn and figure skater Evan Lysacek both withdrew with injuries, while short- track speedskater Apolo Ohno has retired. Team USA will be paced by a potent alpine ski team that won eight medals in 2010, twice as many as any other nation. There could also be a passing of the torch in Sochi for the American skiers. With Vonn pulling out, the US would like these Games to become a breakout Olympics for teenage phenom Mikaela Shiffrin. In 2012, Shiffrin captured the World Championship and she now has seven career World Cup slalom wins. The 18-year-old from Vail, Colorado knows the expectations are high but she isn’t letting the pressure get to her. “For any athlete it is a childhood dream to win an Olympic medal and it is no differ- ent for me. The perfect Sochi experience for me would be knowing I put my best into both slalom and GS.” Besides Shiffrin, one of their best medal hopes rests with Ted Ligety, who been enjoying some of the best success of his brilliant career. Ligety claimed three gold medals at the 2013 Worlds in Super-G, Super-Combined and Giant Slalom. He won a gold medal in 2006 Olympics in Combined but failed to reach the podium at the Vancouver Games. SOCHI: Visitors pose in front of the Olympic rings at the 2014 Winter Olympics yesterday in Sochi, Russia. The Olympics begin Feb 7th. — AP “It was disappointing walking away from Vancouver without a medal but it helped me get in the right mind set for moving forward because the last three years have definitely Push comes to shove as former been my best three years.” Some of the biggest questions for the USA in Sochi sur- round the figure skaters, including the loss of track stars eye bobsleigh glory 2010 men’s champion Lysacek, who pulled out of the Games in December because of injuries. PARIS: Three former top-level female track ath- on social media. But Jones simply remains to it 100 percent-hopefully we can become top the team.” Another athlete featuring in the bob- The women will try to redeem themselves letes will bid to complete a remarkable transfor- focused on what lies ahead for the two-women six at the Olympics. “You just don’t know-it’s a sleigh event will be former British sprinter Craig after a subpar performance in 2010 when mation into winter sports stars when they take to bobsled, which made its Olympic debut at Salt very different sport. I have the physical attributes, Pickering, who turned from the track to the ice they went without an individual medal for the bobsleigh track at the Sochi Olympics. Ex- Lake City in 2002. “There are some skills that will it’s just now whether I can put it together in the after his funding was cut following injury prob- the first time since 1964. US women will have 100m hurdler Lolo Jones and Lauryn Williams, a transfer from track, obviously the running behind split second we take off.” Radjenovic added: “Jana lems that saw him miss the London Games. With three skaters in the individual but none are gold medalist with the 4x100m relay team at the the bobsled, but other than that, there is actually trains very hard and has brought a good work a best of 10.14sec over 100m and a world favored to reach the podium. The last time 2012 London Games, will represent the US bob- a lot that I had to learn,” said Jones. ethic to our strength and conditioning. 4x100m relay bronze medal from 2007, Pickering the Americans went without a medal in both sled team with Australia’s former two-time world “You just have to be really strong and power- “As for the bobsled side of things she was as said: “Two years ago I was at home thinking my men’s and women’s individual was 1936. This 400m hurdles champion Jana Pittman also mak- ful for bobsled, and there’s really no sport like it. much a rookie as everyone else. However she has career was over. “But today I made my second also marks the 20 year anniversary of the ing the trip to Russia. It’s not like you can practice this sport in high worked hard to learn fast and contribute a lot to Olympic Games. Never give up.”— AFP Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan scandal that Jones, a two-time world indoor hurdles cham- school or middle school.” Williams, the 100m run- rocked the figure skating world and became pion who finished fourth in London and seventh ner-up at the 2004 Athens Olympics, added: “You the biggest story of the 1994 Winter Games in Beijing in 2008 after clipping the final hurdle really have to come there and have no knowl- in Lillehammer. while leading the field, and Williams become the edge about it and then just have to learn every- What were they thinking? Once again there is controversy after ninth and tenth US athletes to compete in both thing so very quickly. It takes a lot of help from third-place finisher at nationals, Mirai Summer and Winter Games. Neither athlete had your teammates. “It’s a lot of people just mould- Skaters fashion own style Nagasu, was passed over for the team in even tried bobsled until 2012 when they were ing together at the same time. It’s been a chal- favor of Ashley Wagner who placed fourth. recruited after the London Games. “It felt like lenge. It’s definitely more challenging than track PARIS: Forget the quadruple jump or the triple Holiday” this season has mystified spectators. Social media lit up with negative reaction to someone put me in a can and threw me off of and field in that aspect.” axel what will really count in the Olympic rink at “It was (coach) Brian (Orser)’s idea to use the decision and an online petition was start- Mount Everest,” Jones said after her first trip in a Pittman’s selection for the Australian bob- Sochi’s Iceberg Sports Palace from February 6-20 Spanish-typical colors.