The Latest: Vonn fastest in Olympic downhill practice
PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) The Latest on the Pyeongchang Olympics (all times local):
2:15 p.m.
Lindsey Vonn has returned to the Olympic Alpine speed race course, where she was fastest in a practice run for Wednesday’s downhill race.
One day after placing sixth in the super-G at Jeongseon, Vonn clocked 1 minute, 41.03 seconds on the 1 }-mile (2.8-kilometer) downhill course.
The American star was 0.18 seconds faster than Ramona Siebenhofer, with the Austrian’s time recorded despite missing a gate.
Alice McKennis of the United States was third-fastest, 0.53 behind Vonn.
Sunday’s practice was the first of three official training days before Vonn tries to regain the Olympic title she won in 2010.
The surprise super-G gold medalist, Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic, did not take part in the practice. Ledecka is also due to compete in snowboard parallel giant slalom this week.
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1:30 p.m.
Russian officials have a store of uniforms ready if their team is formally reinstated for the Pyeongchang Olympics closing ceremony.
The head of the delegation of ”Olympic Athletes from Russia” Stanislav Pozdnyakov, wouldn’t say where the uniforms are being stored, but says ”as regards the closing ceremony, we’re ready for any development, including with extra uniforms.”
Russian athletes in Pyeongchang have been required to compete under the Olympic flag in neutral uniforms as punishment for Russian doping at the 2014 Games in Sochi.
The International Olympic Committee says it could allow them to attend the closing ceremony in Team Russia uniforms under the Russian flag if the team keeps to its IOC-mandated status during the competitions. A decision is expected Saturday, the day before the ceremony.
Pozdnyakov declines to say where the equipment is being kept, but says ”if we need them, they’ll arrive on time. For the ceremony, all the athletes will have them.”
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1 p.m.
Pyeongchang Olympics organizers say the Korean man who died after being found unresponsive at a media village was a 53-year-old interpreter working for a consortium of Japanese broadcasters.
Organizing committee spokesman Sung Baik-you says the man had cardiac arrest.
The man was not responsive when he was found Friday in his room by a co-worker. He was pronounced dead on arrival at a nearby hospital.
Sung says organizers will not release the man’s name out of respect for the man’s family.
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12:40 p.m.
How do Olympians celebrate winning gold medals? If you’re Ester Ledecka of the Czech Republic, you go to KFC.
Ledecka had a surprise victory Saturday in the super-G at the Pyeongchang Olympics. She’s also a snowboarder, and that was supposed to be her best chance for a medal.
Associated Press reporters ran into her later that night at the KFC not far from the snowboard course, where she’ll compete Thursday in qualifying for the parallel giant slalom.
She said she still couldn’t really believe she’d won. Clearly, she hadn’t made plans for a big celebration.
She ate quietly, basically unnoticed, with three other members of the Czech contingent.
As she stood up to leave, she casually picked up her gold medal and draped it around her neck. The people at the next table clapped.
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11:40 a.m.
Ole Einar Bjoerndalen, the ”king of the biathlon,” says he’s anxious to see Norway cross-country skier Marit Bjoergen surpass his record of 13 medals and become the most decorated athlete in the history of the Winter Games.
Bjoergen won her 13th medal Saturday, taking home gold in the women’s relay.
Bjoerndalen thinks Bjoergen will break the record before the games are over. There are two more women’s cross-country events – the team sprint relay on Wednesday and the mass start on Sunday.
Bjoergen, who is 37, says she won’t allow herself to think about the record. She’s just focused on the next race.
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11:20 a.m.
Marcel Hirscher of Austria has taken a big first-run lead in the Olympic men’s giant slalom and is well positioned for his second gold medal of the Pyeongchang Games.
Hirscher was 0.63 seconds faster than Alexis Pinturault of France. They finished 1-2 in the Alpine combined on Tuesday.
A Norwegian is third, but it isn’t Henrik Kristoffersen, who is Hirscher’s main rival in the World Cup.
Leif Kristian Nestvold-Haugen has 0.66 to make up on Hirscher in the second run this afternoon. Kristoffersen was 1.31 back in 10th place.
American Ted Ligety is struggling to retain his Olympic, trailing by 2.44 and out of the top 15.
North Koreans Choe Myong Gwang and Kang Song Il are scheduled to start wearing the last two bibs, Nos. 109 and 110.
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10:45 a.m.
Two top racers have had crashing falls though the finish line in the Olympic men’s giant slalom.
Both Luca de Aliprandini of Italy and Manuel Feller of Austria lost balance approaching the next-to-last gate and were disqualified.
De Aliprandini was set for the second-fastest time behind leader Marcel Hirscher of Austria when he went across the course into safety nets. He appeared to hurt his left leg.
Feller was turned around and slid backwards on his back. The race started under blue skies on a clear, cold day at Yongpyong Alpine Center.
Hirscher, who already won gold in Alpine combined, was fastest by 0.63 seconds after 10 skiers had started.
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10:15 a.m.
The world’s best male Alpine skier, Marcel Hirscher, will compete for his second gold medal of the Pyeongchang Olympics.
Hirscher starts as the favorite in the giant slalom Sunday at Yongpyong Alpine Center. He’s already got a gold medal from his first event, the Alpine combined.
The 28-year-old Austrian is expected to duel with his main rival in World Cup races, Henrik Kristoffersen of Norway. American Ted Ligety will try to defend the title he won at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.
Also Sunday, there are men’s preliminary-round hockey games between Canada and Korea and between Finland and Sweden, among others. In women’s hockey, Switzerland will play Korea and Sweden will play Japan, though none is a medal contender.
And the bobsled competition kicks off with the first heats for the men’s two-man teams, with medals to be awarded Monday.
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More AP Olympic coverage: https://wintergames.ap.org