Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 18, 1992 TAG: 9202180136
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ALBERTVILLE, FRANCE LENGTH: Long
SEX, VIOLENCE ON ICE HEAT OLYMPICS UP
Sex and violence ruled the ice Monday night at the Winter Olympics.At the same time that Russians Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko put on a sensual, graceful exhibition to win the gold in ice dancing, the unbeaten U.S. hockey team fought a bloody duel against world champion Sweden.
The Americans barely salvaged a 3-3 tie after Sweden scored three times in the third period, the last goal coming with 21 seconds left off a U.S. skate. The stormy game at Meribel was a stark contrast to the steamy dance down below in the Tarentaise valley.
Klimova lay on top of Ponomarenko as they began their routine and ended in a passionate caress and kiss after whirling, hugging and spinning tenderly around the ice with numerous unique lifts.
The blend of fiery romance and skating agility won a string of 5.9s from the judges for artistry and clinched the gold over French favorites Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay, who won the silver.
The U.S. hockey team enhanced its chance of its first medal since the gold of 1980. By avoiding a loss to Sweden, the Americans enter the medal round Tuesday as the top seed in their group, facing 2-3 France, rather than 4-1 Czechoslovakia.
It was a brutal game, more like the NHL than the Olympics. There was bad blood between the teams from the start, following complaints by the Swedes of U.S. bullying in the Americans' 3-2 victory in a tune-up just before the Games.
"Any time you get a chance to stick those guys, you stick them," said American Clark Donatelli, who screamed obscenities and threatened one Swedish player in the penalty box.
Sweden's Mats Naslund, a rarely penalized player who won an NHL trophy for gentlemanly behavior, was ejected after bloodying the face of U.S. defenseman Greg Brown and giving him a concussion with a vicious check in the first period.
The dancing and hockey capped a day of grand moments and big complaints.
Lousy food, a nasty flu and foul weather played unkind tricks on the Games, though none of it thwarted Russia's old lady of skiing from trudging into Olympic history.
Healthy and still skimming over the snow was Raisa Smetanina, who captured a record 10th Olympic medal and fourth gold 12 days shy of her 40th birthday as the Unified Team won the women's cross-country relay.
Smetanina, from Siberia, is believed to be the oldest woman to win gold in the Winter Games.
"It's a hard battle for an Olympic medal and it gets harder with the years. You all saw how difficult it was for me today," said Smetanina, who won two golds and a silver in 1976 - the first of her five Olympics.
The newest medal in her collection gave her one more than the nine won by Swedish cross-country star Sixten Jernberg in his three Olympics from 1956 to 1964.
The French launched an investigation worthy of Inspector Clouseau to find out the true tale of the tainted fish Eric Flaim said he ate Saturday, the day before he finished 24th in 1,500-meter speed skating.
Taking his complaints of "atrocious" meals very seriously, health officials probed the kitchens in the athletes village and studied food samples under microscopes.
In this country of haute cuisine, the athletes say they're getting the dregs.
"If it isn't eaten the first night, it comes back as a loaf," Flaim said. "One night they had veal and fish. The next day it was veal loaf and fish loaf."
Laurence Van Domel, a spokeswoman for the French organizing committee, COJO, said the food served at the cafeteria that feeds some 1,200 athletes is prepared to strict specifications and closely monitored.
She said samples of the fish Flaim ate will be tested, with results expected Wednesday.
The chief medical officer scoffed at another rumor - a flu epidemic - and blamed isolated incidents of the illness for knocking out two German speed skaters, double gold medalist Uwe-Jens Mey and Olaf Zinke, and Dutch gold medalist Yvonne van Gennip. Speed skaters Ewa Wasilewska of Poland and Jaana Kivipelto of Finland were also sick.
The absence of Mey and Zinke from today's 1,000 meters could bode well for the medal hopes of Dan Jansen and Flaim. Jansen finished fourth behind Mey in the 500, and Flaim considers the 1,000 his best race.
Lyubov Egorova, already a winner of two individual golds, anchored the Unified Team and added her third gold medal of the Winter Games. She also has a silver, making her the most successful athlete so far in these Olympics.
Heavy snow didn't stop the intrepid cross-country skiers, but it forced the first major postponement of the Games in the women's super giant slalom.
Fifteen inches of snow fell Sunday night and Monday morning on the Iron Rock course already softened by rain.
"It bums me out," said Hilary Lindh, the downhill silver medalist. "I'm ready to go home."
The women now will have races on three consecutive days: the super-G today, the giant slalom Wednesday and the slalom Thursday.
Germany's Gunda Niemann dodged the flu to win the women's 5,000-meter speed skating by more than six seconds, her second gold medal and third overall. She won the 3,000 and finished second in the 1,500.
Germany also claimed second and third in the 5,000, giving it 21 medals in these Games, eight of them gold. The Unified Team moved into second with 17 medals, followed by Austria with 16. The United States still has six.