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Inconsistent winds bump the K90 combined event to Saturday
By Jason Swensen
Deseret News Olympic specialist
UTAH OLYMPIC PARK — Lee Fox became a reluctant ticket broker Thursday when inconsistent winds forced officials here to postpone the jumping segment of the nordic combined team competition.
Fox had traveled from his St. Louis home to Salt Lake City to spend time with family and attend several Olympic events, including Thursday's nordic combined and Saturday's freestyle aerials. Now he has to make a choice. The nordic combined K90 jumping competition was rescheduled for Saturday about the same time as the aerials.
"Wanna buy a ticket?" Fox asked, laughing.
For the second time during the Games, wind-related conditions foiled the jumping schedule. Last Friday's qualification round for K90 ski jumping had to be postponed when winds exceeding 50 mph made jumping impossible.
Thursday, officials ruled that wind conditions were safe for jumping — but not fair. Five or 10 minutes would pass on the jump hill with little wind, only to be replaced by 15 to 20 mph gusts blowing in from different directions. The ever-changing winds meant jumpers would be facing uneven conditions yielding unfair results.
Thursday's jumping event was rescheduled for Saturday at 8 a.m. at Utah Olympic Park. The jumping change meant officials also had to reschedule the cross country segment of the nordic combined team event. The 4x5-kilometer team relay, which was originally scheduled for today at 1:30 p.m. at Soldier Hollow, will now take place on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Soldier Hollow.
Tickets for the jumping segment will be honored for the rescheduled event, but ticket-holders for the Soldier Hollow event originally set today will not be able to see the nordic combined cross country segment. There will no refunds. Information can also be found at www.saltlake2002.com.
Thursday's competition was scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. but was postponed until 1 p.m. due to inconsistent winds. Several athletes made afternoon trial jumps but were soon pulled off the K90 hill when conditions remained unstable. Team USA, which is expected to contend for a medal in the team event, had no gripes with the decision to hold the jumps.
"They had no choice if (officials) wanted it to be a fair competition, they had to cancel today," said coach Tom Steitz. "The winds were just too inconsistent for these guys to get the same conditions for each jump. In the Olympic spirit, it was the right decision to postpone today's jumps."
The team's top athlete, Todd Lodwick, said the delay won't affect their focus.
"We knew we weren't jumping today, but this team also knows that it's ready to jump whenever the time comes . . . we'll be ready like we were today," Lodwick said.
Despite the delays and eventual postponement, spectators at Thursday's event seemed understanding.
"There's nothing you can do about (the weather)," said Dave Stokes of Bountiful. Stokes and three family members left their Bountiful home Thursday just after 4 a.m., arriving at Utah Olympic Park 90 minutes later. While they saw little ski jumping, the Stokeses kept busy snapping photos with Olympic mascots, watching people and staying warm.
"Finally, after nine hours, we visited the bathroom," said Stokes' wife, Sharon, adding the family will be back in their seats Saturday morning.
E-mail: jswensen@desnews.com
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February 15, 2002
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