International Roundup: Koznick, Nykaenen, Schleper, Cavegn, Gaddis, Faldo, Greene
International Roundup: Koznick, Nykaenen, Schleper, Cavegn, Gaddis, Faldo, Greene
Alpine teams are on snow in the European Alps. The U.S. women’s tech team is in Austria, while the speed squads will train in Switzerland. The Austrian men will be in Soelden, Austria, this week. The American men’s speed crew is wrapping things up in Chile. Kristina Koznick trained last week with the Swedish women’s team at the popular training site at Saas Fee (a diary entry and photos are up at her website). According to Team Koz coach Roger Bay, who took the photo to the right, Saas Fee is a ‘beautiful place when it’s not raining.’
More trouble for Matti Nykaenen. The former ski jumping superstar from Finland has been arrested again, just days after being released from prison for an attempted-murder conviction. This time, Nykaenen is suspected of domestic abuse.
The World Anti-Doping Agency has published an updated version of the prohibited substances list. Click here for the pdf version. The International Olympic Committee has also reminded teams that authorities use of beta-2 agonists will require permission.
The Olympic village at Bardonecchia, site of the snowboarding competitions next February, is complete, and work is still ongoing at the Sestriere village.
Sarah Schleper, who won the final slalom of the 2004-2005 season at Lenzerheide, was the subject of a recent story in the Vail Daily.
Franco Cavegn, the 34-year-old veteran of the Swiss ski team, has retired from the sport, citing persistent pain associated with knee injuries. Cavegn, who raced in three world championships and three Olympics, plans to spend the next half year visiting the United States.
Jim Gaddis, a former All-American, Snow Cup winner and founder of the Park City Racing Team, was inducted into the Intermountain Ski Hall of Fame recently, along with several others.Click here for more.
“Jump Like a Girl,” a new film about women’s ski jumping, was recently written up in an interesting article in the local Park City newspaper.
Nick Faldo analyzes Bode Miller’s golf swing here.
Cities that are bidding to host the 2014 Olympic Winter Games met in Lausanne, Switzerland, recently for an informational session.
Rossignol is building a new worldwide headquarters in Isere, France, near Voiron, according to a news release.
The Canadian alpine ski team has been racking up sponsorship agreements, including deals with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Oberson Sports, Inniskillin wines and Mt. Kirby. In other Canadian news, ski coach Terry Greene has been expelled for life from the Canadian Ski Coaches Federation for a code of conduct violation.
About the Author: Pete Rugh
