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The seventeenth episode of the novel, Olympic characterized by dramatic stories with a happy ending but Dan Jansen and Nancy Kerrigan and the extraordinary haul of 20 medals collected from Italy''
Monday 3 February 2014 24 minutes reading time
In 1986, the International Olympic Committee, in Lausanne 91st session it had designated as the seat of the Albertville Games in 1992 whites, voted in favor of the decision to stagger the dates of the Winter Olympics than the Summer: Games of snow and ice would henceforth even years and non-leap years every four years, but the first edition of "staggered" with respect to her older sister was scheduled for summer 1994, just two years after the previous edition, which is unique in Olympic history apart Summer Games "unofficial" Athens 1906. And so, on 15 September 1988, the CIO must choose among four candidates for the 17th edition of the Winter Olympics. In the first round the Norwegian Lillehammer get 25 votes, the Anchorage U.S. 23, the Swedish Östersund 19, immediately eliminated 17 Sofia, who was the fiercest opponent of Albertville for the Games of 1992. Second round: 33 in Östersund preferences, Lillehammer 30, Anchorage eliminated with 22. Nothing absolute majority and you go to the ballot with Lillehammer who won the Olympics by beating Östersund 45 to 39.
Never decision of the members of the IOC was most apt: Games White returned to Norway 42 years after Oslo to Lillehammer in 1952 and was by all accounts the best Winter Olympics ever, for this writer was also the most beautiful of all Olympics including summer. Everything was magical: from the spectacular opening ceremony where in the midst of pixies and other mythological characters is telling the story and not racing in Norway, followed by races, impeccably organized, the warmth of the people and the local fans, but many Sporting up to capacity, there were dramatic and moving stories that had a happy ending ... In short, if there was a place where the Olympic spirit is embodied to perfection this was just Lillehammer. Moreover, since Norway has always been the parent company of white sports, could not go this way. In addition, and everything does not hurt in the memory of our home fans, were the greatest Olympics ever for a winter expedition in five circles Italian.
But more about that later, first of all look at the program: there are and there will be no demonstration sports and official events increased from 57 to 61. Freestyle in the news are the two aerials (jumps) male and female, ranging respectively the Swiss Andreas Schönbächler, a little 'surprise lines up three Canadians, and Lina Cheryazova, which, however, was the favorite and still is the only winter Olympic gold medal of Uzbekistan, in the moguls successes of Canadian Jean-Luc Brassard and Norwegian Stine Lise Hattestad. There are also two new distances of short track, the men's 500 meters, going to the South Korean Chae Ji-hoon, and 1000 women, won by his compatriot Chun Lee-kyung, the other two distances, the 1000 male and 500 female, see the reaffirmation of the samples of Albertville, the South Korean director Kim Ki-hoon and U.S. Cathy Turner, South Korea won the women's relay. In long track speed skating resounding reaffirmation of the U.S. twin Bonnie Blair as two years before he won the 500 and 1000 to reach a total of five individual Olympic gold medals, the first U.S. athlete ever to reach this milestone. The 1500 prevails Emese Hunyady, Hungarian-born Austrian citizenship and adoption, which is about 3000 second, beaten by Russia's Svetlana Bazhanova, the 5000 the young German Claudia Pechstein takes a little more than half a second the most reliable fellow as well as reigning champion Gunda Niemann.
In the 500 men the American Dan Jansen, in his fourth Olympics, is already superfavorito distance as in the previous two editions, in Sarajevo after 1984 very young, was fourth. But in 1988, just before the race, he receives the news that his sister Jane died of leukemia, Dan is destroyed and falls on both the 500 and the 1000. In 1992 he was again disappointed with fourth and this time, unlike when he got the same placing in Sarajevo, in Lillehammer is 28 years old and the last chance of a medal but on the shortest distance stumbles and comes only eighth, if the title takes the Russian Aleksandr Golubev. Shall remain 1000, Jansen distance over which it has always been less strong compared to 500, yet it is precisely here that Dan guesses the race of life going to win the much awaited Olympic gold with a lot of new world records. In the 1500, 5000 and 10000 triumphs with three world records and detachments incredible trimmed to the Norwegian Johann Olav Koss opponents, former champion of 1500, which became the idol of an entire nation, not only for his skills on the ice but also for his altruism is and will in the future also very active in the field of humanitarian aid, especially those for children, much to donate $ 30,000 to the project Olympic Aid for the Children of Sarajevo, the city , Olympic ten years ago now tormented by the war.
If the incredible success story of Dan Jansen is very little known in Italy, is rather famous in our country the story involving the two figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding, who was also a happy ending for the more deserving of the two protagonists. A little over a month before the Games a big guy hits just above the knee Nancy who is training for the national championships. And 'soon became clear that this is a conspiracy and investigators go back to her husband to Tonya as principal of the attack, and he, who, however, is being separated from her, he says he did it for love Tonya, envious of the most beautiful and more good teammate. Not being able to establish beyond a shadow of a doubt that Harding is the true instigator she is allowed to participate in the Games along with Kerrigan, who has since recovered. In the Olympic short program, to the delight of all the Member States, Tonya and Nancy is the first tithe due to a flood of errors. In the Ukrainian Oksana Baiul free only ruin the party to the United States by blowing a gold in anything that Nancy is still fantastic silver, a step better than in Albertville, media and becomes the heroine of his country, as opposed to Tonya is the eighth and which is then radiated from the competitions.
This women's race is the return of Germany's Katarina Witt but, after all captivated in 1984 and 1988, is no longer able to fight for the title and seventh ends, arrive at the medal instead of the British Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who won the bronze medal 10 years after the triumph of Sarajevo, the gold goes to the Russians Oksana Grischuk and Evgeny Platov. In the six years after the artistic couples Calgary rivincono the title Russians Evgenya Gordeyeva and Sergei Grinkov, in the men's race the Russian Aleksei Urmanov complete a clean sweep of the former Soviet Union in figure skating triumphing definitely a surprise. In the women's biathlon amazing double the Canadian Myriam Bédard that is imposed in both the sprint is in the individual, Russia won the women's relay, and the two men's time trial, the sprint and the individual with Chepikov Sergey Sergey Tarasov, is , instead of the German relay reserved for men. In the Nordic combined triumph of Norwegian Fred Lundberg Børre in individual Gundersen and confirmation of Japan in the team. It 'also the small trampoline in the Norwegian ski jumping thanks to Espen Bredesen while Jens Weissflog, ten years after the title in the small trampoline, makes her one of the large trampoline and then drag to the success of Germany in the team competition. In ice hockey tournament after the dissolution of the Soviet Union thrilling final between Sweden and Canada with the Scandinavians who Olympic participation in the sixteenth finally win the title, the seventh decisive shootout goal by Peter Forsberg and Paul Kariya error.
It 's time to celebrate the triumphs of Italy in these Olympics. 7 gold, 5 silver and 8 bronze medals, this is the incredible booty shipment blue in Lillehammer that ranks fourth in the medal in front of the superpowers winter par excellence, Russia, Norway and Germany. Our mattatrice is Manuela Di Centa, who triumphs now in the 15 km skate, then silver in the 5km in alternating and in the 10 km freestyle pursuit in which Stefania Belmondo, fourth in the 15 km, dating back to the bronze with a best time part after the twelfth place in the 5km. The two rivals are blue bronze in the relay along with Bice Vanzetta and Gabriella Paruzzi just like two years ago, finally Manu also triumphed in the 30 km classic technique deserted by Stefy. Five medals in five races so for the Friulian Paluzza, one more than the Russian Lyubov Egorova but has a more gold having won 5 km, 10 km and relay.
In the men it begins with the 30km skating in which the 43-year old Maurilio De Zolt is fifth, dominates the front of fellow Norwegian Thomas Alsgaard Bjørn Dæhlie who triumphs in the 10 km classic and here is the bronze Marco Albarello, in the 15 km pursuit of a skating Dæhlie and there is another blue on the bottom step of the podium, Silvio Fauner, moved up from eighth position. On 22 February, the day of the men's relay and Italy house in the first fraction surprise that De Zolt, equally surprisingly holds well up to speed over a distance, 10 km, and a technique, the alternating which are not exactly his favorite. It gives you the change Albarello that goes along with Norway and Finland, then there's Giorgio Vanzetta, so in the end it's up to Fauner fraction. Dæhlie off the Finn Jari Isometsä, Fauner resists, you get to the final sprint in which the blue prevails over the one who is already the sacred monster of the Norwegian fund silencing tens of thousands of people come to see Birkebeineren Stadium to win the stadium. A momentous triumph for Italy remains the 50 km classic that is won by the Kazakh Vladimir Smirnov, Dæhlie is off the podium, fourth, De Zolt and Vanzetta are seventh and eighth.
Alpine Skiing: Women's super-G in the incredible success of the U.S. Diann Roffe, ever winner in the specialty, and equally amazing bronze for the 18 year-old Gardena Isolde Kostner, long second with bib number 35 until the Russian Svetlana Gladisheva does not remove the silver. "Isis" is repeated with another lower step of the podium in downhill behind the German Katja Seizinger, gold, and the U.S. Picabo Street, silver. In the giant arrives on the day of revenge for Deborah Compagnoni that with the same bib number, 14, with whom he was hurt two years earlier triumphs for posting winning his second Olympic title after the super-G in Meribel. The slalom, six years after that of Calgary, won the Swiss Vreni Schneider, the combo is dell'olimpionica giant in Albertville, Sweden's Pernilla Wiberg. Among men the only medal of the blue is usually Alberto Tomba that after the first run is the twelfth to 1 "84 by Thomas Stanggassinger but in the second bolognese is unleashed making a comeback even more amazing than that of two years earlier, for him it is just another silver 15 cents by the Austrian who almost threw away a victory already mortgaged after the first fraction. The American Tommy Moe enters the gallery of the big surprises in the Olympic downhill mocking Kjetil Andre Aamodt local favorite, which will be combined in silver behind compatriot Lasse Kjus and bronze in super-G won by German Markus Wasmeier considered in the declining phase of his career and instead adds the title of the resulting giant male character of alpine skiing in these Games.
Two golds in blue toboggan with Wilfried Huber in doubles along with Kurt Brugger takes Norbert brother who competes with Hansjörg Raffl while in the women's singles triumphs Gerda Weissensteiner, who affectionately nicknamed "Max" his sleigh. In the men's race, in which the German Georg Hackl and his rival Austrian Markus Prock are repeated as two years before in the same order on the first two steps of the podium, winning the bronze a 20 year-old South Tyrolean name Armin Zöggeler. Another of the four brothers Huber, Günther, is bronze with Stefano Ticci in the two-man bobsleigh won by the Swiss Gustav Weder while the German Harald Czudaj to establish themselves in the race to four. Finally, we also find large in the short track mainly thanks to Mirko Vuillermin that silver is about 500 meters mocked for just 2 cents from Chae winner after leading for the entire race, and then with Maurizio Carnino, Horace Fagone and Hugo Herrnhof triumphs in the relay. Unfortunately careers Fagone and Vuillermin will break in the same way three years later when a few days after two separate motorcycle accidents against a truck will leave them both in a wheelchair.
Finally, other notable achievements Italy: Werner PERATHONER is fifth in the super-G, Norman Bergamelli sixth in the giant slalom in eighth Angelo Weiss, Morena Gallizio is fourth in the combined fifth and ninth in slalom in super-G, Lara Gizzards seventh in the giant slalom as Roberta Serra, Andreas Zingerle is sixth in the individual and Nathalie Santer seventh in the sprint biathlon, Silvia Marciandi is tenth in the freestyle moguls, the fourth brother Huber, Arnold, is fourth in the individual sledging Norbert sixth and Natalie Obkircher fifth in the women's race, last but not least the beautiful Elena Belci for fourth place on 5000, still Italy's best result in the women's speed skating.
Summary
17th edition of the Olympic Winter Games
Host city and date of the Lillehammer (Norway), 12-27 February 1994
Athletes participating: 1738 (1216 men, 522 women)
Participating countries: 67
Italian participants: 104 (78 men, 26 women)
Italian flag-bearer: Deborah Compagnoni (Alpine skiing)
Securities allotted: 61 in 12 sports
Official opening: King Harald V
Olympic athletes' oath: Vegard Ulvang (cross country)
Olympic Oath of Judges: Kari Karing
Last torchbearer: Prince Haakon Magnus
The medal
Russia: 11 gold 8 silver 4 bronze
Norway: 10 gold 11 silver 5 bronze medals
Germany: 9 gold 8 silver 7 bronze
Italy: 7 gold 5 silver 8 bronze
United States: 6 gold 5 silver 2 bronze
South Korea: 4 gold 1 silver 1 bronze
Canada: 3 gold 6 silver 4 bronze
Switzerland: 3 gold 4 silver 2 bronze
Austria: 2 gold 3 silver 4 bronze
Sweden: 2 gold 1 silver
Japan: 1 gold 2 silver 2 bronze
Kazakhstan: 1 gold 2 silver
Ukraine: 1 gold 1 bronze
Uzbekistan: 1 gold
Belarus: 2 silver
Finland: 1 silver 5 bronze medals
France: 1 silver 4 bronze
Netherlands: 1 silver 3 bronze
China: 1 silver 2 bronze
Slovenia: 3 bronze
Britain: 2 bronze
Australia: 1 bronze
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