Agony - Deseret News

DESERET NEWS, ThuRSDay, FEbRuaRy 25, 2010
outdoors/olympic special section
C3
► Ted Ligety’s disappointment
Park City’s Ted Ligety passes a gate
during the first run of the men’s
giant slalom. Ligety, one of the
favorites going in after winning a
gold medal in Torino four years ago,
finished ninth in the giant slalom
and has not yet medaled in 2010.
► Daron Rahlves crashes
Ted Piccard of France, left, and Daron Rahlves of the United
States crash during the men’s ski cross final at the Vancouver Olympics on Sunday. Rahlves didn’t get the medal he
had dreamed about, but he made some amazing memories.
Mark J. Terrill, ASSOCIATED PRESS
luca Bruno, ASSOCIATED PRESS
and the
►Noelle Pikus-Pace
Agony
With a titanium
rod in her leg,
Orem’s Noelle
Pikus-Pace
departed her
sport with a
fourth-place finish in the Olympic skeleton.
OLYMPICS
Continued from C2
Michael Sohn, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mark J. Terrill, ASSOCIATED PRESS
► Scott Lago
Scott Lago of the U.S.
wins the bronze in the
men’s halfpipe. He was
then sent home from
the 2010 Winter Olympics after racy photos
of him with his medal
emerged online.
Photo gallery
deseretnews.com
DARON RAHLVES shook off a dislocated hip
(three weeks ago) to compete in the first ski cross
competition at the Olympic Games. He didn’t get the
medal he dreamed about, but he made some amazing
memories.
“I never have regrets,” he said. “I’m out there having
fun. I still had fun today. The ultimate is just to love
what you do and go out there and give it a shot. It’s not
the way I wanted to end my ski cross career as far as
the competition side of things.”
THE U.S. CURLING TEAM didn’t just fail to
medal, it didn’t even live up to its own expectations.
The low point came Sunday when the team lost to
Great Britain and ended playoff hopes.
“I just threw it like crap. I’m not going to lie about it
and say it over-curled or anything,” said Jason Smith,
Cape Coral, Fla. “The guys played great in front of me. I
just needed to make more shots. I’ll take 100 percent of
the blame for that one. I was the slacker out there today.
I’m going hear my gramps say it anyway, so I may as
well say it out loud.”
NOELLE PIKUS-PACE might just be the most
gracious fourth-place finisher in the history of sport.
Just 0.1 of a second from a bronze medal in skeleton,
the Orem native said she was thrilled her story unfolded
as it did.
“It is a little bit disappointing being fourth, but I feel
like it was all I had,” she said. “I laid it out on the line.
I took some risks that I felt were necessary, and that’s
actually my best finish of the year.”
It might have been a bitter pill for some to swallow after she was injured in 2005, just four months before the
2006 Games when she was at the top of her game. But
Pikus-Pace said the ride, both literally and figuratively,
had been “incredible.”
“This was so worth the four-year wait,” she said as
tears brimmed her eyes and her smile widened. “The
anticipation of it was like a kid waiting for Disneyland
or Christmas. It’s been so worth it; I can’t even explain.”
TED LIGETY came into this year’s Games leading
the World Cup men’s giant slalom standings, and he was
the 2008 World Cup champion in the same specialty.
That success, coupled with his gold-medal showing in
the combined at the 2006 Olympics in Italy, put Ligety
on the short list of favorites for another medal in Vancouver.
But in Tuesday’s giant slalom, a slow second run
dropped the Park City skier to ninth place in the final
standings.
“It’s very disappointing,” he said. “Ninth place is never
my goal, and I felt like I had a very good chance at a
podium. It just didn’t work out that way.”
e-mail: adonaldson@desnews.com
►Andrew Weibrecht
►Chad Hedrick
Chad Hedrick of
the U.S. is disappointed after the
men’s 1,500-meter
speedskating race
at Richmond, British
Columbia. He was able
to capture the bronze
in the 1,000 meters.
kevin Frayer, ASSOCIATED PRESS
al Bello, GETTy ImAGES
► Anders Johnson
Park City’s Anders Johnson
soars off the long hill. He didn’t
perform up to his expectations
and wound up in 11th place.
► Lindsey Jacobellis
Andrew Weibrecht of the
U.S. loses control and
crashes as he comes into
the finish area of the
slalom portion of the
men’s super combined
event. He was hoping
for another medal after
winning a bronze in the
super-G.
charlie riedel, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Lindsey Jacobellis leaves
the finish area
after being
eliminated in
her semifinal
heat of the
women’s
snowboard
cross. In
Torino, she
lost the gold
medal when
she celebrated
early by grabbing her board
and crashing,
getting a silver
medal instead.
Mark J. Terrill, ASSOCIATED PRESS