Vancouver, Canada (GenevaLunch) - Canada celebrated a famous victory as they beat the USA 3-2 in the final to take gold. Canada scored once in the first period. In the second period the Americans could not take advantage of their first powerplay advantage and conceded a second goal shortly afterwards. Ryan Kesler scored for the USA with seven minutes left of the second period. Canada twice hit the frame early in the third period and dominated most of the play but were kept out by US goalie Ryan Miller.
Vancouver, Canada (GenevaLunch) - Canada started the Vancouver Olympics with an unfortunate record: the only country to have hosted the Olympics without winning a gold medal. The 2010 team have changed all that, currently heading the gold medal table with 13, ahead of Germany’s ten and nine for the USA. Switzerland lies sixth with six gold and three bronze medals. In a fit of political correctness the Vancouver 2010 site lists countries firstly by the total number of medals, implying all are equal, and puts the USA at the top.
Vancouver, Canada (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss hockey team ended their Olympic adventure with another narrow defeat to the USA. They were one goal down going into the final few minutes but then conceded a second after taking off their goaltender while searching for an equalizer. The US team now enter the semi-finals.
Links to other sites: TSR (Fre), Vancouver 2010
Whistler, Canada (GenevaLunch) - Carlo Janka swept to victory in the giant slalom, comfortably winning the first run and then managing to maintain his lead in the second. Norwegians Kjetil Jansrud and Aksel Svindal took silver and bronze. Janka, a 23-year-old from Graubunden, is considered the rising star of Swiss skiing but had appeared out of form this Olympics. Earlier in the season he scored a rare triple, winning the downhill, giant and super combined the same weekend at Beaver Creek.
Switzerland then qualified for the quarter-finals of the ice hockey by beating Belorussia on penalties after being held 2-2 in the match. The Swiss will play the USA in the knockout game.
Switzerland now has six gold medals, only one behind Germany and the USA. Norway and Canada also have six.
Links to other sites:Vancouver 2010, tsrsport
Whistler, Canada (GenevaLunch) - Swiss star Simon Ammann achieved a unique double when he won both ski jumping gold medals eight years after doing the same thing at the Salt Lake City Olympics. He added the large hill medal by beating Poland’s Adam Malysz and Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer. Austrian jumpers also took the next two spots and look like clear favourites for the team medal.
Links to other sites: Vancouver 2010, TSR (Fre)
Whistler, Canada (GenevaLunch) - Andrea Fischbacher brought the Austrians their first gold medal in Alpine skiing of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics on a tough track which saw eight of the top thirty skiers fail to finish. The first to master the course was American Lindsey Vonn, in search of a second gold after dominating the downhill. Fischbacher beat her time by 0.74 of a second and then Tina Maze slipped in to take the silver for Slovenia.
Links to other sites: Vancouver 2010
© Chappatte, distributed by Globe Cartoon. More cartoons on Chappatte’s web site. Geneva-based Patrick Chappatte works for the International Herald Tribune, for Geneva newspaper Le Temps, and for NZZ am Sonntag. All cartoons reproduced with permission.
Whistler, Canada (GenevaLunch) - Amy Williams gave Great Britain its first individual gold medal in a winter Olympics since Robin Cousins won the figure skating in 1980. It was the first individual gold in a non-skating event. The 27-year-old slider, who started her athletics career as a 400 metre runner, beat out two Germans who took silver and bronze. Canadian Jon Montgomery won the men’s event.
The USA heads the medal table with 20 medals and six gold, followed by Norway with five gold.
Links to other sites: The Times, Vancouver 2010
Vancouver, BC, Canada (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss curling team beat the British team 4-3 in a tense match. The British skip was not pleased, blaming “the usual negative Swiss tactics” as his team was beaten despite being ahead going into the last end. The Swiss then lost their fourth match 7-4 against Norway to give up their unbeaten record. Canada beat Sweden 7-3.
Links to other sites: BBC, Vancouver Winter Games results
Vancouver, Canada (GenvaLunch) - The Swiss men’s curling team beat the USA 7-6 in a closely fought match. The Swiss team quickly moved into a 4-0 lead but then lost six points in a row before coming back to tie the match at 6-6 and force an extra end. The Americans had the advantage of the last stone but failed to use it.
Hockey fever is mounting in Canada as their team prepare to take on the Swiss team on Thursday 18 February. The Canadians thrashed Norway 8-0 in their opening game and are keen to forget the embarrassing loss to the Swiss in the Turin Olympics of 2006.
Links to other sites: Le Matin, Vancouver 2010
Didier Cuche, ranked number one in Men's skiing
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Swiss Ski has announced the list of athletes who will be heading for Vancouver for the Winter Olympic Games. Among them is Didier Cuche, the world’s number one-ranked skier in Men’s events, who plans to train in a few days despite a broken thumb from Friday 30 January. The complete list of skiers rounds out announcements of teams in several other sports, made in the past few days. Details about the sports, dates, selections and the area where Swiss athletes will be competing are part of the wealth of information provided by Swiss Olympic (Fre).
Barbara Ann Scott, a diminutive 81-year-old with a girlish smile, carried the large Olympic torch into Canada’s Houses of Parliament in Ottawa Thursday 10 December, to warm applause. Scott was Canada’s sweetheart when she won the Olympic figure skating gold medal in St Moritz, Switzerland in 1948. The torch is wending its way to Vancouver for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.
Links to other sites: The Globe & Mail, Olympics Vancouver 2010
Torchbearer, Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games
Lausanne, Switzerland / Athens, Greece (GenevaLunch) – The Olympic torch has been lit in Athens for the 2010 Winter Games that open in January in Vancouver, Canada. The torch will fly to Victoria, British Colombia in Canada 29 October and from there it will begin its trek around Canada’s 13 provinces and territories, a voyage of 45,000 km with 12,000 torchbearers. The national relay is the longest in Olympic history.
The torch relay begins just days after the UN General Assembly adopted the Olympic Truce Resolution for the Vancouver Games.
