Local cross country skiers had a strong day yesterday in Olympic competition in Vancouver. The men and women’s team sprint finals took place in warm weather, around 50 degrees, some spectators were wearing short-sleeved shirts.
In the women’s event Caitlin Compton, formerly of Warren, and her teammate Kikkan Randall had a photo finish with the Canadian team, but in the end, the U.S. pulled off a 6th place finish.
In the men’s event, the U.S. team of Andy Newell of Shaftsbury and Torin Koos made it to the finals, and after a great race, they came in 9th place.
In the team ski jump yesterday, the U.S. team including Peter Frenette of Saranac Lake and Nick Alexander of Lebanon, New Hampshire pulled off an 11th place finish.
The event to watch today is the men’s giant slalom. Bode Miller will try to become the first man to win four Alpine skiing medals at a single Olympics. Miller has of course, already won a medal of every color at Vancouver.
Also today, the American team has legitimate medal aspirations in the Nordic combined. That event combines ski jumping and cross country skiing. Billy Demong of Vermontville, New York will be on the team with silver medalist Johnny Spillane. Demong earned 6th place in the individual event last week.
And in the biathlon, Haley Johnson of Lake Placid will take part in a relay, where each of the four team members skiing 6 kilometers.