Are: Kostelic ousted for equipment violation

Ivica Kostelic was ejected from the qualifying stage of the men's giant slalom race at the alpine World Championships Monday for an equipment infringement.

ARE, Sweden — Ivica Kostelic was ejected from the qualifying stage of the men's giant slalom race at the Alpine Skiing World Championships on Monday for an equipment infringement.
    Kostelic, the 2002 World Cup slalom champion, was forced to qualify for the GS title race because his rankings in the discipline had dropped in recent years.
    The Croatian posted the fastest time in the opening qualifying leg, but was later disqualified when it was discovered the distance between the base of his ski and the sole of his boot was above the limit of 55 millimeters (2.17 inches).   
    Skiers often put metal plates between the ski and the biding to raise the foot to give them better leverage in the turns. However, this also puts added pressure on the knees. The limit was introduced to prevent too much strain on the knee, ensuring greater safety.
    Kostelic, the slalom gold medalist at the 2003 worlds, was not allowed to run the second leg later Monday.
    ''It was only 1 millimeter [0.04 inches] too high,'' said Vedran Pavlek, the head of the Croatian Ski Federation. ''And it doesn't matter because he was only using this for training. Even if he had qualified for the race, he would not have raced the real race. He wants to prepare for slalom instead.''   
    The International Ski Federation representative responsible for equipment tests said the distance was 1.7 millimeters (0.07 inches) over the limit.
    Extreme temperatures can affect the metal plates between the ski and the bindings. Didier Defago of Switzerland was stripped of a World Cup victory in the super combi at Val d'Isere, France, two years ago for the same infraction.
    The giant slalom title race is on Wednesday. The men's slalom, the last individual race of the championships, is scheduled for Saturday.
    Urs Imboden, a Swiss skier who recently obtained Macedonian citizenship, had the fastest combined time after two legs, 2 minutes, 26.81 seconds. World Cup veteran Akira Sasaki of Japan was second in 2:27.54. Dalibor Samsal of Croatia was third in 2:27.74, followed by Danko Marinelli in 2:28.63.
    Skiers from Chile and Greece also qualified, but Kwame Nkrumah-Acheampong of Ghana, known as the ''Snow Leopard,'' was the last finisher, placing 66th. He was 1:17.19 off the leading pace, clocking 3:44.00.
    Twenty racers failed to complete the first leg and another nine did not finish the second run.
    It was the first time giant slalom competitors needed to go through a qualifying phase at an Alpine Skiing World Championship.
    The top 50 skiers in the World Cup Start List — rankings based on World Cup results over the last 365 days — who are entered in the championship race automatically qualified for the final. The rest were required to go through qualifying, with the best 25 advancing to the final. This means a maximum of 75 skiers will be entered for the gold medal race.
    The FIS decided to hold qualifying because more than 140 skiers entered the competition.

— The Associated Press

Men’s giant slalom qualifying results
ARE, Sweden — Results Monday from the men’s giant slalom qualifying race at the Alpine Skiing World Championships on the Olympia course:

1. Urs Imboden, Macedonia, 2 minutes, 26.81 seconds.
2. Akira Sasaki, Japan, 2:27.54.
3. Dalibor Samsal, Croatia, 2:27.74.
4. Danko Marinelli, Croatia, 2:28.63.
5. Jaroslav Babusiak, Slovakia, 2:28.78.
6. Stefan Georgiew, Bulgaria, 2:29.03.
7. Natko Zrncic-Dim, Croatia, 2:29.16.
8. Christophe Roux, Macedonia, 2:29.20.
9. Roger Vidosa, Andorra, 2:29.21.
10. Stephan Keppler, Germany, 2:29.22.
11. Guillen Capdevila, Spain, 2:29.48.
12. Alexandr Horoshilov, Russia, 2:29.73.
13. Ivan Heimschild, Slovakia, 2:29.76.
(tie) Maui Gayme, Chile, 2:29.76.
15. Anton Konovalov, Russia, 2:29.79.
16. Alexey Chaadayev, Russia, 2:29.80.
17. Konstantin Sats, Russia, 2:29.94.
18. Vassilis Dimitriadis, Greece, 2:30.26.
19. Ferran Terra, Spain, 2:30.36.
20. Demian Franzen, Australia, 2:30.64.
21. Bryce Stevens, Australia, 2:30.86.
22. Benjamin Griffin, New Zealand, 2:30.89.
23. Hugh Stevens, Australia, 2:31.22.
24. Sascha Gritsch, Macedonia, 2:32.17.
25. Peter Lubellan, Slovakia, 2:32.43.