U.S. wipes out

Americans shut out of snowboarding medals

Posted: Tue February 10, 1998 at 3:01 AM ET

By Kevin Sherrington

Karine Ruby of France won the women's snowboard giant slalom gold medal   AP

YAMANOUCHI, Japan (Knight-Ridder) -- Sondra Van Ert cried, but not because she fell, as three U.S. teammates did. There would be no U.S. medals in the new Olympic sport of snowboard giant slalom, women or men, and that unexpected shutout wasn't why the tears froze on her cheeks, either.

Van Ert cried, she said, because she was happy.

"There's nothing I'd treasure more than a gold medal," she said, "but I got to treasure the fact that I'm HERE."

She hesitated, her voice breaking.

"It's the neatest thing of my life just being here."

Van Ert, the U.S. women's best hope, made no excuses Tuesday (Monday night ET). All over snowy Nagano, athletes complained about conditions. But Van Ert said little about the poor visibility or the slick snow or the "death cookies," nature's icy speed bumps under the Mount Yakebitai run.

Van Ert knew better. It didn't hurt France's Karine Ruby, who won the gold. Winning medals is old stuff to the 20-year-old Ruby, World Cup champion the last two years. She has won six consecutive World Cup races this season and eight of the last 11.

"I got surprised a little," Ruby said of the course, but she didn't look it in either run.

Her combined time of 2:17.34 was nearly two seconds faster than Germany's Heidi Renoth, who won the silver. Austria's Brigitte Koeck took the bronze.

As for the Americans, they all fell down, and only Van Ert got up.

Tattooed Rosey Fletcher didn't even make it into view of the few fans who braved the icy roads and dreary scene.

"For a high-caliber event like this, the snow should be really good," Fletcher said. "That's not taking anything away from the other competition.

"It was a feat just to finish."

Betsy Shaw couldn't. Coming off three consecutive top five finishes in World Cup races, Shaw flailed about the course until she fell halfway down the run and slid, face-first, through a gate.

"I didn't feel my feet were under me the whole way down," Shaw said, "so I couldn't race."

Neither could teammate Lisa Kosglow, who fell next. That left only Van Ert, who, at 33, is the oldest member of the U.S. Snowboard team.

A former World Cup Alpine skier, Van Ert said it would have been nice Tuesday to have the balance that two skis afford. In the first run, she fell on the top half but righted herself to finish 16th.

She fell and did not finish the second run.

The performance means the closest the U.S. giant slalom specialists came to a medal was the men's Chris Klug, who was sixth. The medal chase now is up to the half-pipe team, which goes Thursday.

"We're not showing our true ability,' Shaw said, 'and that's unfortunate."

But not critical, apparently.

"I just cringe when someone comes through the Olympics and gets a silver medal," Van Ert said, "and someone says, 'Oh, I'm sorry you finished second.' That person is at the Olympics."

"It's so cool. I'm just loving it."

Kevin Sherrington writes for the Dallas Morning News.

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