BEIJING: Medals table after the third full day of competition at the Beijing Winter Olympics on Monday:
Gold Silver Bronze Total
Sweden 3 0 0 3
Russian Olympic Committee 2 3 2 7
Netherlands 2 2 1 5
China 2 2 0 4
Germany 2 1 0 3
Norway 2 0 2 4
Slovenia 2 0 1 3
Italy 1 3 1 5
Canada 1 1 4 6
Japan 1 1 2 4
Australia 1 0 1 2
Switzerland 1 0 1 2
New Zealand 1 0 0 1
France 0 3 0 3
United States 0 3 0 3
Austria 0 2 2 4
Hungary 0 0 2 2
Finland 0 0 1 1
Poland 0 0 1 1
Nina O’Brien badly injured:
Meanwhile, US skiing rallied around team-mate Nina O’Brien after she was badly injured in a nasty fall in Monday’s Beijing Olympics giant slalom.
The US Ski & Snowboard Team said the 24-year-old was responsive and with medical staff after seriously injuring her left leg and being towed away on a stretcher.
“We are so heartbroken for Nina,” tweeted two-time Olympic gold medallist Mikaela Shiffrin, who also failed to finish the giant slalom despite being one of the favourites to win it.
“She showed so much heart and fire in her skiing today and it all got shredded to pieces on the final turn.
“This sport… this sport is SO damn hard. It’s brutal and it hurts – far more often than it ever feels good.”
In the immediate aftermath, the US ski team said that O’Brien “crashed into the finish but she is alert and responsive”.
American skiing great Lindsey Vonn, a three-time Olympic medallist, also tweeted her support for the stricken O’Brien.
“Prayers go out to Nina,” the retired Vonn tweeted.
“Her crash was… difficult to watch to say the least.”
Luge queen Natalie Geisenberger:
Luge queen Natalie Geisenberger is on track to complete a hat-trick of Olympic golds in the women’s luge, but the overnight leader admits being unsettled by the tricky 13th bend on the Yanqing course.
Geisenberger, who turned 34 on Saturday, leads by 0.208 seconds ahead of German team-mate Anna Berreiter going into Tuesday’s two heats to decide the women’s singles medals at the Winter Games.
However, Geisenberger is worried about the problematic 13th curve.
“I was really nervous and could hardly eat,” admitted Geisenberger.
“I wasn’t nervous about the race — just about exiting that corner down there on the 13th.
“I hope it will be better tonight and I get some sleep, but it’s not easy.”
The 13th curve proved unlucky for other top names Monday.
Germany’s Laura Taubitz, this winter’s overall World Cup winner, crashed there in the second heat, dropping out of medal contention despite posting a new track record in the first run.
Earlier, Austria’s Madeleine Egle, who won five of the 12 World Cup races this winter, crashed on the same spot in the first heat.
Geisenberger also wiped out there during training Sunday, having also lost control in the exact same place in November’s Olympic test event.
“Of course it’s unsettling, I slept badly last night,” Geisenberger added.
“I’m glad that I did quite well with my two runs, but you can see how fast things change down there.”
If she holds her nerve, the 2014 and 2018 Olympic champion can complete the double for Germany after Johannes Ludwig’s victory in the men’s singles Sunday.
Geisenberger is already the most decorated female luge racer in Olympics history with four golds and a bronze.
If she finishes on the podium Tuesday, she will equal the record of six Olympic medals won by Italian luge legend Armin Zoeggeler, who retired in 2014.
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