Goaltender Sarah Tueting was trying hard to stay calm. All through the women's hockey game between the U.S. and Canada last week, she had fiercely blocked shot after shot from the Canadians. Her team was winning, 2-1. Could the dream of defeating Canada for an Olympic gold medal really be coming true?
Then U.S. forward Sandra Whyte scored a third goal with just 8 seconds left in the game. Tueting lost her cool. The game was over! She began to jump and dance. Her teammates tossed their sticks and gloves into the air. They rushed to the ice to tackle Tueting in celebration. The U.S. had won the first Olympic gold medal ever in women's hockey. "It's beginning to sink in," said Tueting after the medals ceremony. "My cheeks hurt from smiling so much."
But on Friday night, figure skater Tara Lipinski wore the biggest grin of all. Lipinski, 15, leaped past Michelle Kwan to win the gold medal. She is the youngest Olympic figure-skating champion ever.
"I had that feeling of pure joy," said Lipinski after her dazzling performance. "I had a feeling I knew what the Olympics were about."
Mountains Of Gold
No city as far south as Nagano had ever played host to the Winter Olympics. Before the Games, some folks were worried that there wouldn't be enough snow. Whoops! There was too much snow! Heavy snowstorms delayed a lot of events. One day, skier Picabo Street cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled into the driving snow, "We've got enough now, thank you!"
Street won an Olympic silver medal in the women's downhill in 1994. A year ago, she smashed her knee in a bad fall. This year she was aiming for a comeback. Street streaked to gold in the super-giant slalom race, which is not even her best event! She won by a hundredth of a second. "It's unbelievable!" she said.
Austrian skier Hermann Maier also made a great comeback. He was favored to win the men's downhill, but took one of the most spectacular spills in skiing history. He tumbled through the air like a rag doll, spraining his knee and bruising his shoulder. To everyone's amazement, he came back to earn gold medals in the next two ski races. "I am not a hero," said Maier. "I am happy."
Some skiers were tumbling through the air, not down the mountain. In aerials competitions, skiers twist and flip after soaring off a steep jump. Acrobatic Americans Nikki Stone and Eric Bergoust (burr-gust) each won a gold medal in the daring sport.
Bergoust taught himself aerials at age 15 by leaping off the chimney of his house into a pile of mattresses. (He warns kids not to try this at home!) "I just loved to jump," says Bergoust. "I had faith I would figure it out someday." His two somersaulting jumps set a world record for the highest score.
Swifter, Higher, Stronger
Athletes all around Nagano set new records and stunned fans with
breathtaking performances. Two American teams won the first ever U.S. luge (loozh) medals. Speed skaters whizzed around the M-Wave rink at amazing speeds. They broke at least 6 world records and 12 Olympic records! The new clap skates--named for the sound they make when the boot and blade clap together on each step--helped skaters go faster than ever.
Most Olympians dream of one medal. Last week, cross-country skier Bjorn Dahlie (be-orn daily) of Norway became the most winning athlete in Winter Olympic history. He won his 7th Olympic medal last Wednesday. That brought his medal total to 11 (in three Games)--the most awarded to any Winter Olympian.
Tough Times In Nagano
While some Olympians were busy blowing away records, others were busy battling bad colds. A flu-like illness spread through Nagano, and many sick athletes had to struggle through their
performances or even drop out.
"This flu is brutal," said Canadian figure skater Elvis Stojko (Stoy-ko), who won a silver. "I've seen tons of people walking around the village coughing their brain out."
In men's hockey, the U.S. "dream team" expected to win gold for the U.S. for the first time in 18 years. All the players were stars from the National Hockey League. But NHL pros also played on teams from Russia, Canada and other countries. The dream team turned into a nightmare. The U.S. lost three games and failed to bring home a medal. The players left, angry and ashamed. "We let people down," said coach Ron Wilson. "But more than anything, we let ourselves down."
The U.S. expected to win big in snowboarding, a new Olympic sport. Americans Ross Powers and Shannon Dunn each won a bronze for their moves in the halfpipe event. But many of the best riders fell on icy slopes. "We had high hopes," said U.S. snowboarder Betsy Shaw. "But I was just hanging on for dear life."
Olympic Souvenirs
Last Sunday, the sound of 2,000 drums brought the 18th Winter Games to a close. The beating of the drums bid sayonara, Japanese for goodbye, to 16 thrilling days and 2,500 outstanding Olympians from 72 countries.
As they headed home, some 200 athletes clutched a round, shiny badge of triumph. Others carried feelings of disappointment. Many packed Japanese souvenirs of Snowlet mascots and paper fans. Nearly everyone had memories to last a lifetime.
Four years ago, Japanese ski jumper Masahiko Harada just missed a gold medal from the Winter Games in Lillehammer, Norway. This time he was determined to make his country and his children proud: "They told me, 'Daddy, do your best.'"
Soaring through the air last week, Harada won two medals--one bronze, one gold. Finally, his moment of glory had arrived.
"Daddy did it!" he said. "I want to engrave this in my heart and remember it forever."