NORDIC COMBINED: Team USA's best shot at its first-ever Olympic medal in nordic combined may be in the team event beginning Thursday at 8:30 a.m. with K90 jumping at the Utah Olympic Park.
The competition then moves to Soldier Hollow on Friday at 1:30 p.m. for the four-man cross country relay.
Nordic combined powers Finland, Germany and Austria will be the medal favorites — although the Americans could swipe a space on the podium if they can land strong jumps Thursday.
SKI JUMPING: Ski jumping may seem better suited for the X-games to TV watchers.
The extreme camera angles occasionally enlisted to broadcast the jumping events at Utah Olympic Park make athletes appear to be leaping off the edge of Summit County.
But ski jumpers insist theirs is a controlled, even safe sport. Serious accidents are uncommon.
"We're not just crazy kids doing something weird," said American ski jumper Tommy Schwall.
BOBSLED: Members of the 2002 Jamaican Bobsled Team, immortalized in the film "Cool Runnings," will be making a pre-competition visit to the Winter Sports ViewFest this week, just one highlight in the free 17-day festival of family fun.
The Jamaican bobsledders, led by Devon Harris — a member of the original 1988 Jamaican Olympic bobsled team — will be on hand Friday, Feb. 15, 6 to 9 p.m. at the Cricket SuperScreen at Jordan Commons (9400 S. State). The team, which trains in Evanston, Wyo., will compete the following day.
Free tickets remain available, on a night-by-night basis, for the Winter Sports ViewFest, taking place at Jordan Commons throughout the 2002 Winter Olympics. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis at Cricket stores along the Wasatch Front, as well as at Larry H. Miller Chrysler Jeep or Larry H. Miller Chrysler Dodge (both located at the Utah AutoMall) and the Simmons Radio Group's "Airwaves" Cafe (on the ground floor of Trolley Corners, at 700 East and 500 South).
