Three Americans expected to be stars of the Vancouver Olympics delivered gold Wednesday.
As a result, the U.S. overtook Germany to lead the medal standings again.
Downhill skiing: Lindsey Vonn
If this is how Vonn skis with a bruised and swollen right shin, then the rest of the field has no chance. She showed few signs of discomfort in winning the downhill by more than half a second over teammate Julia Mancuso.
“Overwhelming,” Vonn said, her voice choked with emotion. “This is the best day of my life by far. …A huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders now.”
Vonn, although a two-time defending overall World Cup champion, hurt her right shin Feb. 2 during training in Austria and had hardly skied over the past two weeks.
“Olympic adrenaline is probably the best numbing cream there is,” said Thomas Vonn, her husband and coach. “I think she would have skied without a foot today and been OK.”
Speedskating: Shani Davis
With a furious kick on the final lap, Davis won his second straight gold in 1,000-meter speedskating. Four years ago at Turin, he became the first African-American to win an individual gold at the Winter Games. This time, he simply wanted to be known for his skating. Period.
“It’s always nice to go out there and do it again,” said Davis, a Chicago native who at times has trained and studied at Northern Michigan.
Snowboarding: Shaun White
White, who has enjoyed worldwide fame in snowboarding and skateboarding, captured his second straight halfpipe gold.
He posted the highest score in the qualifying (a 45.8 on a 50-point scale) On his first finals run, he scored a 46.8, again the highest score. He told NBC’s cameras: “I finally put it down. … The Olympics is pretty heavy.”
He didn’t need to take his final run, but he unleashed his Double McTwist 1260. He scored a 48.4.
source: www.freep.com
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