VANCOUVER — Boxed out by the South Koreans and with all hope of a medal appearing lost, Apolo Anton Ohno could only count on the freakishness of short- track speedskating to pull it out.
When two skaters ahead of him went sliding into the padding, Ohno skated across the line for Olympic medal No. 6.
The American who made the soul patch fashionable pulled out a silver in the 1,500-meter final Saturday when the two South Koreans took each other out on the final turn, allowing Ohno to tie Bonnie Blair for most medals won by a U.S. Winter Olympian.
The Koreans still got the gold, which went to Lee Jung-su. But Ohno had no complaints about being the runner-up, especially when he was fourth with just a few meters to go. It didn’t hurt to see 19-year-old American teammate J.R. Celski right behind him for the bronze in his first major event since a gruesome crash at the U.S. trials.
Ohno also moved past Eric Heiden as the most decorated American male at the Winter Games. He has three more events to pass Blair.
Blowout, Canadian style
VANCOUVER — Canada opened the women’s hockey tournament with the biggest blowout in Olympic history, beating Slovakia 18-0. Just 99 seconds into the game, Haley Irwin scored the Canadians’ first goal. Meghan Agosta and Jayna Hefford scored three goals apiece.
• Kim Martin made 16 saves in a strong start to her second Olympics, and Sweden beat Switzerland 3-0.
Durango’s Barnes 78th
WHISTLER, British Columbia — The biathlon podium had an odd look, and maybe Anastazia Kuzmina of Slovakia was the most puzzled of all. She won her country’s first gold medal at a Winter Olympics, capturing the 7.5-kilometer sprint.
“It’s a big surprise,” said Kuzmina, who is ranked 28th on the World Cup circuit. “After the one miss, I didn’t expect to win at all.”
The surprises did not end there: There was the silver medalist, Magdalena Neuner of Germany. And the bronze medalist, Marie Dorin of France. As for Sweden’s Helena Jonsson, the favorite and World Cup leader? She didn’t even crack the top 10, finishing 12th.
The top American was Sara Studebaker of Boise, Idaho. She finished 45th, more than two minutes off the pace. Lanny Barnes of Durango was 78th.
Footnotes.
With Vice President Joe Biden watching the ski jumping on the normal hill, none of the three U.S. jumpers made it to the final round. Peter Frenette and Nick Alexander tied for 41st, while Anders Johnson was 49th. The event was won by Switzerland’s Simon Ammann. Poland’s Adam Malysa took silver, and Austria’s Gregor Schlierenzauer earned bronze.
• The broadcast consortium said 13.3 million Canadians watched all of the three-hour opening ceremony Friday, eclipsing the record of 10.3 million for the gold medal hockey game at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics. About 23 million Canadians watched some part of the show. In the U.S., Friday’s broadcast had an average audience of 32.6 million viewers.
