TORINO: Day 1 preview: Will Tomba ignite the Games?

TORINO: Day 1 preview: Will Tomba ignite the Games?{mosimage}XX Olympic Winter Games
Day 1, Friday, Feb. 10

WHAT YOU’LL SEE: The XX Olympic Winter Games kick off in Torino, Italy, with an 8 p.m. Opening Ceremony that could feature the greatest Italian alpiner of all-time.

Alberto Tomba, left out of the Olympic torch-carrying parade, is a prime candidate to ignite the Olympic cauldron at Stadio Olimpico. Stefania Belmondo, a retired two-time Olympic champion in cross-country skiing, has also earned prime consideration as a cauldron lighter.

The Opening Ceremony will also feature Italian supermodel and singer Carla Bruni, opera star Luciano Pavarotti, Giorgio Armani-designed costumes and the traditional parade of nations.

Also Friday, check out the second of three men’s downhill training runs at the Sestriere speed course. American Daron Rahlves was fastest in Thursday’s training. Friday is a bigger day for Americans Steve Nyman, Scott Macartney and Marco Sullivan, who will compete among themselves for two of the remaining American start spots in the event.

Friday is also the last gut check for the women’s moguls athletes, who gun for gold on Saturday, and nordic athletes. Nordic combined kicks off Olympic competition Saturday morning, with ski jumping later in the day.

WHAT YOU WON’T SEE: Ice. The warm Torino climate led organizers to scrap the idea of using real ice as part of the Opening Ceremony, as most Winter Games have.

HERO WORSHIP: Day 1’s top performer will be Alberto Tomba, the man with 50 World Cup wins to his credit, and more pizazz than most national teams combined.

THE PLACE TO BE: The Olympic stadium. If it’s anything like Salt Lake’s show from four years ago, the Opening Ceremony will be memorable.

FRIDAY FORECAST: Mostly sunny over the whole Olympic region. Decreasing temperatures. Moderate northwestern winds in the mountains with strong gusts weaken in the late morning. Light northerlies on the plains. Temperatures peaking at 7 Celsius (45 F) in Torino.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “While limited in duration and scope, the Olympic Truce can offer a neutral point of consensus, a window of time to open a dialogue, a pause to provide relief to a suffering population.”
– Kofi Annan, United Nations secretary general