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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Winter Olympics: Men’s super-combined postponed because of snow


By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer

WHISTLER, British Columbia — An overnight snowstorm forced ski officials to postpone Tuesday’s Olympic men’s super-combined race and call off women’s downhill training, the latest events to fall victim to the problematic weather at the games.

The storm, along with soft conditions on the lower section of the course, caused the changes.
No new date was immediately set for the men’s super-combined, although officials had indicated on Monday that the race would be moved to Friday if it had to be delayed.
The men’s super-combined is the third race that has been postponed following the mix of warm temperatures, snow, rain and fog that wreaked havoc with the Alpine schedule last week.
Of the four Alpine races scheduled so far, only one has gone off — the men’s downhill won Monday by Didier Defago of Switzerland.
Dry weather is forecast for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
The women have managed to get in only one official training run, a split session Monday. The women’s downhill race is scheduled for Wednesday and the women’s super-combined has been moved to Thursday.
The cancellation of downhill training Tuesday wasn’t expected to have much of an impact on the Alpine calendar, because the women already had a full training session Monday. That means their downhill race can go off as planned. Rules require one complete practice run before a downhill can be held.
Under a tentative plan discussed at a team captains’ meeting Monday night, if the men’s super-combined is shifted to Friday, that day’s race — the men’s super-G — would move to Sunday, and the men’s giant slalom would be pushed back to Feb. 23.
The women’s super-G is supposed to be Saturday.