Leading Off

Mountain Do
On the final run for the top men's downhill racers on Sunday in Sestriere, Antoine Deneriaz of France skied the race of his life, then wallowed in his victory (inset). The 29-year-old defeated Austria's Michael Walchhofer by .72 of a second, as U.S. skiers Bode Miller and Daron Rahlves failed to win medals (page 45).

Norse Power
Norway's Kari Traa put the finishing touches on her qualifying run in the moguls at Sauze d'Oulx last Saturday. In the finals World Cup champion Jennifer Heil of Canada (inset) took gold; Traa added the silver medal to her gold from 2002 and her bronze from 1998. The U.S.'s best finisher, Shannon Bahrke, was 10th.

Teter of the Absurd
In an unearthly performance, 19-year-old Hannah Teter of Belmont, Vt., soared to a gold medal in the halfpipe on Monday and marked her banner run with a star-spangled celebration (inset). Teter beat teammate Gretchen Bleiler by three points, but Norway's Kjersti Buaas edged 2002 champ Kelly Clark to thwart a U.S. sweep (page 36).

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