TORINO: Day 2 preview: Lodwick fired up; women tear up the moguls

TORINO: Day 2 preview: Lodwick fired up; women tear up the moguls{mosimage}XX Olympic Winter Games
Day 2, Saturday, Feb. 11

WHAT YOU’LL SEE: Nordic combined kicks off the competition at the XX Winter Games, although biathlon has the distinction of handing out the first medals.

American Todd Lodwick enters his fourth Olympics as the most successful U.S. nordic combined skier in history. A new dad, Lodwick hopes to retire with an Olympic medal, and with some top 10s to his credit this winter, he’s a strong contender. Lodwick takes shot No. 1. in Saturday’s normal-hill 15 km individual.

Ski jumpers hit the normal hill for qualification, too, with medals awarded after Sunday’s finals.

Women’s moguls skiers battle in qualifying action during the day Saturday and finals at night at Sauze d’Oulx. Olympic champ Kari Traa of Norway, Canadian standout Jennifer Heil and Americans Hannah Kearney and Michelle Roark are top contenders.

Also Saturday, American alpiners Marco Sullivan and Scott Macartney vie for the last start spot on the final day of men’s downhill training. Daron Rahlves, Bode Miller and Steve Nyman already have spots secured for the big race on Sunday.

WHAT YOU WON’T SEE: Women’s alpine skiers. Both genders in all other sports will hit the playing field before the alpine skiing women, who have to wait until Wednesday, Feb. 15 for the women’s downhill before they hit the global stage.

HERO WORSHIP: Day 2’s top performer could be a North American, with Lodwick in nordic combined and a number of Americans and Canadians standing as threats in moguls. But the smart money is on Finnish powerhouse Hannu Manninen, who has already clinched the season nordic combined overall title.

THE PLACE TO BE: Sauze d’Oulx will be happenin’ for women’s moguls finals. Deer Valley’s 2002 moguls display was a dazzler. On TV or in person, the sights should be spectacular.

FRIDAY FORECAST: Mostly sunny over the whole Olympic region. Decreasing minimum temperatures on the plains, steady in the mountains. Steady maximum temperatures. Steady or slightly increasing freezing level. Light northern winds in the mountains. Light varying winds on the plains. Temperatures ranging from -5 Celsius (23 F) to 2 C (36 F) in Sauze d’Oulz.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “This guy is pissing ice cubes; he’s that cool. I hope it works out for him, but second place is good too.”
– Marco Buechel, Liechtenstein alpine star, on USA’s Daron Rahlves, who sat out DH training Friday