Ammann wins 2d ski-jump gold

Swiss ski-jumper Simon Ammann is no longer the boy wonder who looked so much like Harry Potter in Salt Lake City.

He's still a wizard on the jump hill, though - and the first ski jumper to win four individual Olympic titles.

Strapping on his disputed bindings again, Ammann flew past his main rivals yesterday for his second gold medal of these Games, putting down the best jump in both rounds in the large-hill event and staving off four Austrians who weren't happy about his equipment.

Polish veteran Adam Malysz won the silver, and Austrian 20-year-old Gregor Schlierenzauer took the bronze - the same finish as in the normal-hill jump a week earlier.

Now 28 years old - and no longer looking as if he's about to ride off on a broom - Ammann bounced back from a disappointing Turin Games to repeat the sweep he posted in Salt Lake City in 2002 and surpass Finnish great Matti Nykanen's record of three individual golds.

"Maybe it is just because of the magic here in North America," Ammann said. "The other places haven't been that powerful to me."

The Austrians argue the sorcery is in Ammann's bindings, which they say unfairly helps him improve his aerodynamics. The International Ski Federation on Friday dismissed Austrian complaints, however, that the Swiss sensation's bindings violated regulations and gave him an unfair edge.

"I must say that I'm rather surprised that it's taken so long for this binding to be discovered and that there's so much noise about it," said Ammann, who tested the bindings last summer and broke them out for the last World Cup event before the Winter Games.

"It has helped me," Ammann acknowledged, "and it's a twofold advantage, both physical and mental."

Normal bindings use an elastic strap at the back to keep the boot in place. In the Swiss version, the boot is attached to a curved iron stick that bends forward as the jumper leans his body almost parallel to his skis.

The Americans are rallying in curling.

After the men's and women's teams dropped a combined seven matches, the two teams now have won a combined four straight.

Debbie McCormick's U.S. team beat Britain, 6-5, in an extra 11th end yesterday.

That followed up the men's 8-7 victory over Sweden earlier in the day. Had the men lost another, their hopes for a medal would have likely been dashed.

Marcus Hellner of Sweden won the men's 30-kilometer pursuit, pulling away from three rivals after entering the ski stadium and building enough of a lead to sprint alone to the finish.

He was timed in 1 hour, 15 minutes, 11.4 seconds. Germany's Tobias Angerer finished 2.1 seconds behind for the silver medal. Sweden's Johan Olsson took the bronze, 2.8 back.

No American had advanced past qualifying in freestyle aerials since 1998. This time, three made it to Wednesday's final: Emily Cook, Lacy Schnoor, and 16-year-old Ashley Caldwell.

However, the finals will be missing defending champion Evelyn Leu of Switzerland. Leu fell on her second of two jumps in the qualifying round and did not make the final 12.

Alla Tsuper of Belarus won the qualifying, followed by China's Li Nina, the 2006 silver medalist.

Switzerland's Stefanie Marty scored four goals, Florence Schelling made 21 saves, and the Swiss beat China, 6-0, in a classification game at the Olympic women's hockey tournament.

Captain Kathrin Lehmann had a goal and three assists, and Lucrece Nussbaum also scored for the Swiss, who were eliminated from medal contention after opening the tournament with consecutive losses to Sweden and Canada. They've rebounded with victories over Slovakia and the Chinese by a combined 11-2.

Chinese goalie Shi Yao threw her stick at the bench in anger when coach Hannu Saintula pulled her after she gave up two goals in a 51-second span of the first period. Jia Dandan made 39 saves in relief for China, which is 0-4 in the tournament.

Three crashes marred the opening heat of the two-man bobsled competition, involving sleds from Liechtenstein, Britain, and Australia. No serious injuries were reported, and all six sliders walked away.