Roundup: Hot-dogging costs Lindsey Jacobellis gold medal

BY KEVIN FEE

Knight Ridder Newspapers

TURIN, Italy - Lindsey Jacobellis went from gold to silver in one moment she won't want bronzed.

The star of the Visa check-card commercial made a costly mistake near the end of the snowboard cross final, doing a showy toe-grab, and wiped out. She got up and finished in time to cross in second place, but she was left to wonder what might have been.

Tanja Frieden of Switzerland was the beneficiary of Jacobellis' late mishap, moving past her to finish with the gold. Canadian Dominique Maltais recovered from a crash to win the bronze medal.

In figure skating, Emily Hughes feels she has gained inside information while watching from the outside regarding the hype and competition in the Olympic Games.

Hughes was there, high in the stands in Salt Lake City in 2002, when her sister, Sarah, won a gold medal.

Now, after a whirlwind week in which Michelle Kwan pulled out of the Games because of a groin injury, Emily Hughes is preparing for her own Olympic skate. She is here after being elevated from alternate to the U.S. competitive team after Kwan's departure.

The 17-year-old Hughes, who's from Green Neck, N.Y., arrived Thursday afternoon. She spent time later in the day receiving her credentials and Olympic team apparel. At noon Friday in Turin, she met with the media.

"In Salt Lake, my whole family was there to cheer for Sarah," Hughes said. "We were really high in the third tier. ... I think that experience on the outside helped me coming to this Olympics."

She is pleased to get the late call after placing third in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

"The Olympics are such an unexpected competition," Hughes said. "You never know what can happen."

Her sister is a good example of that. She surprised everybody by winning the gold medal in Salt Lake City.

"My whole family is so supportive, including Sarah," Hughes said. "They're all going to be here watching. ... Sarah said to have fun and just enjoy. That's what I've been doing since I got here."

Also Friday, one skier made it down a shortened downhill course in the first leg of the Olympic women's Alpine combined event before officials postponed the race due to high winds.

Croatia's Nika Fleiss crashed on the course's first jump. Though Fleiss was able to ski down, race officials huddled and decided to postpone the downhill.

The second part of the race, two slalom legs in the evening, was scheduled to go off as planned.

The combined race features one downhill run and two slalom legs.

World Cup overall leader Janica Kostelic and top U.S. Alpine skier Lindsey Kildow have said they will race in the combined.

Kostelic, who pulled out of the downhill race because she wasn't feeling well, has won the last six combined races she's entered, including gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and the past two world championships.