TORINO: Alpine: Women's combined downhill canceled due to wind

TORINO: Alpine: Women’s combined downhill canceled due to windSAN SICARIO, Italy – Adverse weather conditions forced postponement of the women’s combined downhill Friday after the first competitor, Croatian Nika Fleiss, went down the course but not without falling on the first jump. Click here to see pictures of the snowy day.

Fleiss, who started about 1:15 p.m., had to pole hard to pick up any speed at the start. When she came to the first jump, it appeared that she was blown off balance and pushed backward. Landing on one ski, she slid down the slope, throwing up a large cloud of snow. She recovered and, having lost a pole, continued to finish the course.

Within a minute of her fall, FIS referee Atle Skaardal was on the radio and canceled the race. Overnight, about 5 inches of snow fell on the Fraitieve Olympique course, but as the storm cleared, the wind picked up, causing officials to move the start down to the women’s super G start.

“The visibility is OK, but on the jump it was so windy and that is why I fell,” Fleiss said, adding that she had some back pain but was going to be OK.

“It was a lot of wind, It pushed me back and lifted up my skis,” she added.

The race is tentatively scheduled to be run Saturday afternoon following the men’s super G, but exact time has not been announced. According to previous announcements, the slalom will begin in Sestriere Colle as scheduled Friday, with the first run at 5 p.m. CET (11 am EST).