Once upon a time, it was a way station for caravans between Europe and the Middle East.
Now it's the meeting ground for people from all four points of the compass.
It's Sarajevo.
ABC Sports presents the 14th Winter Olympics from Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.
Today you'll see the mile-a-minute action of men and women flying down an icy run on the thin edge of control in the first day of competition in Luz.
That'll come from the run at Mount Tropevich.
Luz.
You'll see speed on the flat from the speed skating rink.
Anki, an East German girl, a one-time figure skater, in fact, could pull an Eric Hyden and sweep all the gold medals available in women's skating at these games.
At Zetra Arena, a young American hockey team has its back to the wall as it faces Czechoslovakia.
The victory tonight is a virtual must if the USA is to reach the medal round.
And we'll have our first meeting of the game with the three American female figure skating stars, world champion Roslyn Sumners, Elaine Zayak and Tiffany Chin.
It's the first day of varied action in the 14th Winter Olympics.
Good evening. I'm Jim McKay reporting to you live from Sarajevo, Yugoslavia.
Well, tonight we have action for you from the mountains and from the city itself.
Up in the mountains, you'll be seeing cross-country skiing and Luz.
Down in the city, you'll be seeing highlights of the critical ice hockey game between the United States and Czechoslovakia and a remarkable speed skating performance by Karen Anki of East Germany.
Now, since I'm reporting to you live, it's just after two o'clock in the morning here in Sarajevo, obviously all of the events have been concluded earlier for tonight.
So I could tell you the results of all the events right now.
But we don't want to spoil the anticipation for the many of you, truly, who have told us through the years that you go to great lengths not to hear the results in advance of a delayed broadcast.
I hope those of you who do want to know the results before we begin will understand.
Now, one other thing we have to report, and that is that you will not be seeing the men's downhill ski race.
The reason? Nature intervened.
There were 90-mile-an-hour winds up on the mountain, along with fog, and they canceled it very early in the day.
That has been rescheduled for tomorrow.
And as far as our program tonight is concerned, we're going to be two hours instead of three, followed by a special edition of ABC's 2020.
So that kind of sets the mood for us here, and the basic facts will be rolling along.
This portion of ABC's coverage of the 14th Winter Olympic Games is brought to you by General Electric.
At GE, we bring good things to life.
By Chevrolet, official U.S. cars and trucks of the 14th Olympic Winter Games. Chevrolet and you, taking charge.
By Aetna Life and Casualty, America's largest investor-owned insurance and financial service company.
And by Apple Computer, the makers of Macintosh, a business computer so advanced you already know how to use it.
Well, there was no question after the disturbing opening day lost to Canada in ice hockey that tonight's game between the United States and Czechoslovakia really was a critical one for the young Americans.
We're going to start our coverage with that.
But as we join Al Michaels, he has Michael Ruzioni with him, the captain of the 1980 team, and they're talking to the coach of that team, Herb Brooks in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Well, we're in Sarajevo, of course, and Herb Brooks in St. Paul, nearly halfway around the globe.
But I know, Herb, you're following the fortunes of this team very, very closely.
What is the best course for a coach to take under these circumstances now coming into a critical game like tonight's against Czechoslovakia?
Well, Al, I think the, you know, after the opening day lost against Canada, I think that Lou Vero and his staff probably brought their team into the reality of the importance of this game against Czechoslovakia.
Not to put so much pressure on them, they're not able to function, but to put the necessary pressure that they are able to sort of play their game and not get caught up into another team's style, another team's game, and what have you.
What do you feel on the ice tonight will be the key to a U.S. victory?
What do they have to do?
Well, I think tonight, the United States, when they play the Czechs, and Lou Vero is very familiar with the Czech style, but they're sort of, if I may draw a parallel between a boxer, they're sort of a counterpunching type of team.
They make a very quick transition from their defense to offense, and at that point is sometimes where the U.S. is really going to have to check very well.
Because if they're not sharp in that little aspect of the game, they're going to find themselves at some numerical disadvantages, so the Czechs, I would say they're sort of a counterpunch type of an organization, and they have to approach it from that standpoint.
Herb, one of the reasons I feel that they were not successful in the first game was they did not play with the emotion.
Now, they're a young hockey team coming off an emotional Olympics in 1980. Does that surprise you in a way that they came out in that first game without that emotion and really tense?
No, it doesn't, Michael. I think if you go back to 1980 when we were playing, and I sort of pulled a little temper tantrum after the first period that sort of shocked us or brought us into a game reality.
You might recall on that, but it didn't surprise me because we did the same thing in 1980, and it's normal, and it can happen.
So in other words, then it's up to the coach or to some type of a situation that has to happen to break them out of that?
Well, that's true, but I think that by now, getting ready for the second game against Czech Slovakia, the coaching staff has made the necessary psychological adjustments, and I think the U.S. is going to play very, very well today.
How important a factor, Herb, is goaltending? You got a tremendous performance from Jim Craig, of course, four years ago. Is that the key?
Well, I think in any playoff hockey, it starts from the goal out, and I think the goalkeeping is very important today, whether they choose Mason or—
It'll be barren tonight.
It will be barren. Well, I think either of the young athletes would be capable, but I think that's first and foremost.
I think you're going to have to win any type of playoff hockey, and especially the Olympic hockey where it's just one game.
You have to win it in your defensive zone, and then everything outside of that will take care of itself.
Finally, Herb, you know we don't get the local papers here. You guys still in first place?
Well, we're tied with the New York Islanders. We played tonight against the Minnesota North Stars. We're making a run out of it, and it's really exciting to be in a race.
Keep it up. Good luck, Herb.
Thank you.
Now we're ready for the faceoff. The referee tonight, Doc Olson. He is from Sweden. The two linesmen are from the Soviet Union and Austria.
The United States team in white, Texas, Milwaukee in red. This is David A. Jensen coming in over the blue line, but Lafontaine is offside.
So a faceoff outside the blue line. The referee, Doc Olson, from Sweden.
Again, for those of you, and there are many, who only watch hockey during the Olympics, offside is when the man with the puck is preceded over the blue line by a teammate, as was the case there.
Jensen had the puck, but Lafontaine came into the zone ahead of him, and another case right there.
So the U.S. twice offside, and right off the bat, a little altercation in the corner that's quickly broken up.
Of course, as we said before, really all eyes are going to be on the U.S. team right at the start.
They played a game on Tuesday night against Canada, where they seemed really paralyzed for almost the last half of the game. They've got to get their skating legs. They've got to get moving.
Ed Olchek, who's 17 years old, on the faceoff for the U.S., from the Chicago area.
This is Chris Chalios.
He's been drafted by the Montreal Canadiens. He's expected to join them following the Olympics.
This is Korbala for Czechoslovakia, in over the blue line. Lafontaine riding with him.
Checks him into the boards. Hershey's there, and it's pinned against the boards for a faceoff.
34 seconds into the game.
Mike, some initial thoughts.
Well, right away, a change in the U.S. plans. They had Ed Olchek centering that line.
Instead of Lafontaine, they had Lafontaine on the wing, and it looked like Lafontaine and Jensen were interchanging quite a bit.
So they're really trying to get some skating and some movement right away.
That's something they've experimented with from time to time during the course of the pre-Olympic schedule.
This team formed on the 4th of July at the National Sports Festival.
Right now, the line featuring Bill Rocota, number 8 for the U.S., and one of the two veterans.
The other, number 23, is John Harrington, also playing in the same line.
The two holdovers from 1980. Average age of this team is 21.4.
Shot is deflected into the corner. This is Rocota trying to clear it out of the zone.
And finally, the U.S. able to gain control.
Not the center ice, though. John lets into Lukacs.
He had the hat trick the other day. Barron makes a great save.
The rebound is blocked in front, and the Americans are able to clear the zone.
Back they come, with Brooks having his pass intercepted, but picked up in the corner by Corey Miller, the smallest of the Americans.
And then he has it taken away, and back come the Czechoslovakians.
This is Rusnak. Drop pass to number 11, Igor Liva. He'll be a man to watch tonight.
Number 11, Liva banning on the shot out in front.
Back toward the blue line, and knocking down the shot is Corey Millen, as the Americans come back the other way.
John Harrington on the right wing, number 23, shooting it in right on Schindl, who covers up for the faceoff.
So he played a minute and a half.
The United States against Czechoslovakia at the Zechra Arena. No score.
We have eight and a half minutes remaining in the first period.
The U.S. and Czechoslovakia no score. The teams right now skating at equal strength.
Czechoslovakia coming in for the victory. No losses thus far.
And again, we'll reiterate, Canada has already won today, defeating Austria.
Finland defeated Norway earlier today. Thus, those two teams in the same division with a record of 2-0.
Only the top two teams advance to the medal round as Fusco gets taken down, and that'll be a penalty against the Czech team.
Once again, it was a defenseman moving up from the back, causing a problem for the Czech defense, forcing them to take the penalty.
Number 26, Jaroslav Korbila goes to the penalty box.
Here you can see Fusco breaking through the middle, getting a step on Korbila, and then being hooked down.
So that's the second penalty against Czechoslovakia. We'll take another look at it right now.
Two-minute advantage coming up for the U.S.
And Korbila goes into the penalty box at the 12-0-1 mark of the first period.
Czechoslovakia finishing second in last year's World Championship Tournament at Munich, West Germany.
During that tournament, they tied the Soviets 1-1. It was the only blemish on the Soviet record during the tournament.
The shot is saved by Schindel, the rebound by Fusco, another save, and the Czechs are able to clear it.
So the best opportunity thus far for the United States.
And it was a good opportunity. Not only the original shot, but there were two U.S. players standing in front of the net.
Good save by Schindel.
And a shot goes in by Igor Liva, number 11, as the Czechoslovakian team scores shorthanded.
So not only do they take the pressure off, Liva gets a pass out in front.
And with the man in the penalty box, the Czechs lead 1-0.
And just like that, we've got a power failure at the Zetra.
As you look at the freeze frame on the replay, most of the lights have just gone off in the arena.
You never know what's going to happen at the Olympics. That power failure actually lasted for 28 minutes.
And when the game resumed, Tom Hirsch of the United States received a two-minute penalty for interference.
That put the teams at even strength as the game resumed.
Let's go back to Al Michaels.
So in the first period now, as we have gotten things back underway, the lights back on at the Zetra arena.
They have six minutes and 53 seconds remaining in the first period.
And they'll stop at the end of this first period, resurface the ice, and then play 20-20.
Al Michaels along with Ken Dryden and Mike Arruzzione, Czechoslovakia leading 1-0.
A shorthanded goal just prior to the power outage by Igor Liva.
Right now, the team's standing at equal strength, but in 30 seconds, the Czechs will begin a 44-second man advantage situation.
Back of the net, Czernik gets it out in front of Ruschak, and a great save by Barron.
And the shot is wide.
Awkwarram is thick.
Another wide shot by Kondlač, and the puck comes out past the blue line.
Czernik has to vacate the net and has to cover up.
He almost lost control of the puck with Harrington bearing down on him.
European goalies are usually less adept outside their crease because in their game,
there's much less of shooting the puck and forcing the goalie to come out and make the play.
Here was a very nice save from a high angle by Mark Barron as he kicked out the puck with his right leg.
Mark Barron has played very steadily tonight.
He's giving the right message to his team now.
He's saying to them that he is ready.
He's ready to play an outstanding game.
Barron from the University of Wisconsin.
Helps guide the team to a couple of NCAA championships.
And the Czech is the lock-in man, exits the penalty box, and Czernik comes out.
Now 37 seconds remaining in the penalty to Hersch.
So the Czechs on a power play here as the Americans take control of the puck.
Long pass.
He eludes Sampson, but kept in by Fusco.
Sampson trying to deflect it in.
20 seconds now remaining in the penalty.
And Kumpel has it on a break.
He scores!
Mark Kumpel picks up the loose puck and the Americans tie the game.
So both teams score shorthanded and the U.S. ties it.
And a little bit of deja vu here, four years ago the Czechoslovakian team led 1-0
and Michael Ruzioni scored a goal to tie it 1-1 as the U.S. went on to win it 7-3.
Mark Kumpel scoring for the U.S.
The Czech team was in good shape moving up the ice.
The last man decided to make a back pass, assuming one of his teammates was there,
creating the breakaway for Mark Kumpel.
You see, coming in, waiting for Schindel to move across a little bit, opening his legs,
shooting the puck between his legs for the goal.
Here we see it again, wide, wide open.
Watch, opens his legs, right through.
Channel 4, your Winter Olympic Station.
Well, penalties were getting to be a problem for the Americans as we rejoined the highlights of the game,
David H. Jensen.
Remember there are two David Jensens on the team, David A. and David H.
David H. was in the penalty box.
Paul Michaels.
Samson on the faceoff for the United States as the U.S. tries to kill off this penalty
and get off to a good start by clearing it into the check end.
Each goal has come shorthanded.
Leba for Czechoslovakia.
Kumpel for the United States.
A minute 45 remaining in the penalty.
And it's shot back into the check end.
Czechoslovakia passing it over to Svoboda.
Now Ulvira has it taken away at the blue line.
Here's Kumpel who scored the goal.
Shooting it, back of the net, Schindel comes out.
Left in the corner now as Jelio scraps for the puck.
Jelio's looking for Harrington, but has it taken away by Ulvira.
The U.S. team again is forcing way up on this disadvantage.
They even have their defenseman behind the net.
Jelio spent many seconds behind the net forcing the play.
Harrington going down.
We have less than a minute now remaining in the penalty.
David H. Jensen in the box, a nice pass.
Rusnik coming in, backhander.
And he just missed.
Hit the post.
So a big break for the U.S. there.
Again Rusnik with the puck.
What a move.
Comes in through the crease and they score.
As he gets it over to Lukacs, number 29.
Vincent Lukacs was scoring three goals the other day when
Norway was defended by Czechoslovakia.
Gets another one here with 34 seconds.
It came with 34 seconds remaining in the penalty.
A great play by Rusnik.
Sweeping it around the fallen U.S. defenseman.
Finding Lukacs wide open.
Again the U.S. was forcing the play while being a man down
but they were getting themselves into trouble.
They were taking too many chances.
Here's the play again.
Rusnik sweeping by a sprawling Mark Fusco.
And the pass over to the corner of the crease for Lukacs.
Well that was all the scoring in the first period of play
in the game between the United States and Czechoslovakia.
If you just joined us we would like to tell you,
as we told the other people earlier,
that our program tonight will be just two hours long
followed by a special edition of ABC News 2020.
Now let's take a look at another sport.
It's one of the wildest sport in the Olympic Games
with a deceptively soft sounding name, luge.
For our report on it, here's Sam Posey.
This is an older section of Sarajevo.
As you see it from the top of the luge course on Mount Trebevich.
There are mosques down there built when this land was ruled by the Turks centuries ago.
Today however our attention is on a different sort of architecture.
A building called the start house.
Here the competitors wait their turns through a solitary plunge down the mountain.
Inside the racers change into their special clothes.
The atmosphere appears convivial because luge as a sport
recycling is very much a part of the game.
You must never let your opponents know your doubts.
But these are not casual moments.
They say you'll remember years later the exact spot you sat in the start house.
The sleds wait in the room below.
Each of their curving steel runners laboriously hand polish.
Because weight translates into speed
the rules provide a handicapping system
allowing lighter riders to balance themselves with a vest weighted with lead.
Suits are made of thin plastic coated nylon
and the tighter they fit the better.
It means less aerodynamic drag.
But the need to cheat the wind restricts you
to the most minimal padding and protective equipment.
Narrow treadless boots again for aerodynamics
although they might be more appropriate at a ballet.
Oddly incongruous are the spiked gloves that Spartacus might have worn
therefore pushing off at the start.
Finally the visor is cleaned with an anti-fogging solution.
A last chance to concentrate.
Eyes closed you imagine the track turn by turn
programming yourself for the perfect run.
Downstairs now your heart pounding.
Danger and the possibility of a crash has been thrust from your mind.
In a minute your rivals still waiting their turn upstairs
will hear your times, know what you've done
but you don't think of that now.
At the green light using every ounce of strength
you hurl yourself forward and are alone on the ice.
Hundreds of feet below is the finish line
drawing you toward it now like a magnet.
Go, go.
Sport of luge.
It's still relatively unknown in the United States
where there are fewer than 300 participants
but it's very popular in East Germany,
West Germany, Austria, Northern Italy
and most recently it's become popular in the Soviet Union.
Hi, I'm Sam Posey and we're just moments to go now
before the start of the men's singles competition.
The format is very simple really.
Each competitor will make one run per day for four days
and the winner will be the man with the lowest elapsed time
for those four runs.
Working with me today as our expert on the sport of luging
is Jeff Tucker.
Jeff is a former national champion
and was the highest placed American on the American luge team
in the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid four years ago.
Now Jeff, the first man down the hill today
is going to be an American, Frank Maisley.
And less than 24 hours ago,
Frank was carrying the flag in the opening ceremonies
for the Olympics, obviously an incredible moment for him.
Now as a former Olympian yourself,
can you give us some idea what he must be going through
as he tries to readjust from the excitement of that moment
to what he has to do here?
Well, walking into an opening ceremony
as a member of the U.S. Olympic team
is just an incredible experience.
Carrying the flag, well, that's just fabulous.
That's something Frank will carry with him
for the rest of his life.
What he's got to do now though is carry over the enthusiasm,
the excitement into this race,
but he's also got to put some of that behind him.
He's got to focus his attention and concentrate on the four runs
he has over four days.
He's really got to apply himself.
Do you think he has any chance?
Well, Frank's done very well in international competition.
He's risen through the ranks.
He's had some good finishes.
But, as you know, the competition here is going to be
between the very strong Russian team
of Yuri Harchenko and Sergei Danilin
and the Italians, Paul Hildegardner and Ernst Hausbinger.
It's going to be an exciting race.
They've been neck and neck in training,
trading off the fastest run.
I think we're going to have a great race soon.
The face you see, Frank Masley,
four-time national lose champion in the United States,
six feet, one inch tall, 185 pounds.
He's from Newark, Delaware.
You know, he's a true amateur
and in every way embodies the spirit of the Olympics.
We had a chance to talk to him about a moment
that was very special in his life yesterday
when he carried the flag in the opening ceremony.
I never expected to have this honor, to carry the flag.
My fellow athletes gave me the position to carry the flag.
It's a big day for Luge, I think, also a sport of Luge.
We've never carried the flag before.
My athletes put me in there.
My fellow Luge athletes picked me.
The whole American team picked me
and I'm just so happy and I'm proud to be an American.
On the right of your screen with Frank Masley,
there's Sven Rumstad,
the very young, just 23-year-old coach of the U.S. Luge team.
Frank Masley, obviously a very hot prospect for this year
and for the Calgary Games beyond.
Now, Frank had a personal best time down the run, Jeff.
A couple of days ago, there's just one second off the track record
set by Paul Hillgartner.
So this could be very, very important.
Of course, this is the moment he's waited for for so long,
trained for, for four years.
There's been so much publicity, so much anticipation.
Now he must put it on the line.
Well, that's right, Sam. It's showtime for Frank.
And he knows that. He's a seasoned competitor.
He seems to rise to the occasion.
I think we're going to see a very good run from him.
Of course, it's the first man down.
We haven't seen anybody else yet come down,
but great start for him, Sam.
Very nice start for him, right back into the position.
Super aerodynamic position there.
Head all the way back, toes pointed.
Let's see his first splits coming up.
Right, the upper part of the track.
Very important before they really gather a lot of speed,
not to make any mistakes, not to hit the walls at all,
because you scrub off so much speed before you really build up
that rush of energy later in the course.
There's the first split time, 21.3.
We'll be watching those as the competition develops.
But Frank now coming onto the long straightaway where speed
for about 70 miles an hour will be hit here.
He looks great, Sam.
He nailed this straightaway right down the middle.
The tough turn nine and into the labyrinth.
It's a tricky section from the men's start.
There are the labyrinth turns, right, left, right,
and now he's out onto the last turn of the track, the finish turn.
It's a terrific run for him, Sam.
A 46.89 with the snow on the track.
That's really a fabulous run for Frank.
He's got to be very pleased with that.
It was clean all the way down.
He drove good lines, maintained a good position.
In the start, Sergei Danilin of the Soviet Union.
He dominated early season racing, and he's been awfully fast.
He's got to be Yuri Harchenko, his teammate who's currently in first.
Let's see how he does.
He's never won on this track, Jeff,
but he's won everything else over the last few months.
If there is anybody coming into this competition
that could be described as hot, it's Danilin right here.
24 years old, the best man the Russians have, as we understand it.
That's true, but Harchenko will also give a run for the money.
That's the classic Danilin start right there.
Quick off the handles, few quick paddles, right down to position.
He's smooth up the top.
He's loose on the sled, and the aerodynamics are absolutely perfect.
Some people think that you just coast down here, but in fact, they're steering.
They're steering all the way down the track,
and that's tough, Sam, because there are big G-turns in these curves.
Their bodies are getting pressed, their legs are getting pushed in the ice,
their heads are getting pushed down.
Okay, it's a new record-split time off the top.
Sergei Danilin has just gone faster over the early part of the track
than his teammate, Harchenko, so he is making an excellent run
as he works through that ninth turn there and starts into the latter.
And that's just perfect luge form right there.
Whoa, he was high there.
All right, we see him at the finish.
No, he does not take the lead, Jeff.
That is where the mistake was made, right there in the labyrinth.
He got too high. Am I correct?
You're absolutely correct, and that's very uncharacteristic of Sergei Danilin.
He usually comes down like he's on rails.
He's lucky he didn't crash there, Sam.
He is lucky he didn't go over and blow it all.
He made a good recovery, and he's in second place, but still a surprise.
Well, they're going to take a moment to sweep the snow out of the run.
Earlier, with the help of Carl Rupke,
Jeff demonstrated just how a luge is steered.
A luge sled steers with absolute precision.
If Carl wanted to make this sled go to the right,
what he'd do is he'd push in with his left leg
and at the same time down with his right shoulder,
turning his head to facilitate the turn and the pushing down of the shoulder.
If he wanted to go in the opposite direction, to the left,
he'd do the opposite thing.
He'd push in with his right leg and down with his left shoulder.
Now, a luge sled's steering is very subtle.
It doesn't take a lot to make it turn.
Carl, show us a hard turn to the right.
In with the left leg, down with the right shoulder.
It doesn't look like he's doing much,
but this sled will steer, dive to the right.
The machine really steers well.
And now steering in action as Olympic team alternate,
Paul Dondaro takes us for a run down the luge track.
He pulls off and builds speed quickly,
probably 15 miles an hour by that first turn.
And you see he's already steering, pushing in with the left leg,
going around that right-hand turn.
And now a left-hand turn.
He pushes in with the right leg, steering all the way.
Coming up, the first big turn he hits, turn five.
You see the vibration building already,
and you get the sense of speed.
It builds up quickly.
Now he rolls his head, goes with the turn into six,
a quick transition into the big turn seven.
Very difficult to get out of there well,
and into a long straightaway, 75 yards long.
He's probably going 75 miles an hour here.
Turn eight, the biggest turn on the track,
fighting the Gs all the way around,
and he's thrown right into turn nine,
a very sharp turn which sets him up for the very difficult labyrinth
where there's been a lot of crashes.
You can see it's fast.
One curve right after another.
Quick steering, quick body movements.
He's through.
He's into the finish curve, another big curve,
but he can relax here just a little bit
because you know the finish line's right there,
and you hope you've had a good one.
At the top of the course now,
the man many consider, Jeff, to be the favorite in this event,
Paul Hillgarten, 31 years old,
certainly not the youngest man on the track,
but arguably the most experienced.
That's absolutely correct, Sam.
He won a gold medal in 72 in doubles,
took the silver in Lake Placid in 1980.
He's a veteran.
He's a cool, calm, collected competitor.
He set the track record here.
He's been consistently the fastest in training
and a great start.
All right, well, now we're going to be watching him
over the early part of the track
where he has to beat a split time
set by the Russian Sergei Danilin of 21.0
in the early part of the running.
His form, Jeff, is absolutely perfect.
It's absolutely beautiful.
I just hope that the snow that's coming down
isn't going to be to his detriment.
Okay, he's working that turn five,
the first turn where they really slammed down on their sleds,
and there's the split time,
a little disappointing for Hill Gardner.
It really is.
Hopefully he can make it up at the bottom of the track.
He's got a great, great straightaway,
and he looks very smooth.
He did a big turn eight,
and into the hard turn nine,
Labyrinth coming up.
He'll make it through there.
He'll be home free,
and he's riding it on rails, Sam.
Smooth as can be.
His first gold medal,
Sarajevo in 1972.
Here it comes up to the finish,
and he's taken the lead!
Unbelievable!
He overcame that early deficit
of almost a tenth of a second,
and now Paul Hill Gardner has taken the lead
from Yuri Harshenko.
He knows it.
Look at him give that salute.
He is gritting.
He sees the time ahead of him.
They have timing just ahead
so he can see what's going on there.
What a magnificent run
from the man from Northern Italy,
Paul Hill Gardner.
All right, at the top of the course,
Hurston Gurlitzer from East Germany,
and, Jeff, the wind is starting to blow
all of a sudden very hard here.
It really is,
but that shouldn't affect the riders too much.
They're down low to the ground.
There's walls on either side of them,
and unless it gets out of control,
it shouldn't have too much of effect.
Gurlitzer looking very good coming down the track, Sam.
Fairly inexperienced,
and he really shows the depth
of the East German luge program.
Really only seen in international competition
a couple of times before the Olympics,
and here he is sliding very well.
A couple of tenths of a second
off the fastest split time so far on the top,
which belongs, of course, to Sergei Danilin.
He looks sharp. He looks good.
He really does.
And coming up into that labyrinth section,
very smooth through there, Sam.
No problem whatsoever.
He's had minimal amount of training on this track.
It's kind of a surprise he's here.
All right, Gary makes the finish,
and if the clocks can be believed,
he has taken the lead.
Torsten Gurlitzer, this seems almost impossible.
He was two tenths of a second off in the upper part,
but they have him taking the lead.
This is a complete upset, Jeff.
It's really a surprise.
He just wasn't in the top men in training.
He came out here and popped one off.
I was wondering what he was doing here.
He wasn't seen in international competition.
He literally came from nowhere.
Now he's in first place ahead of the greats
like Hilda Gardner, Hartchenko, and Danilin.
What a surprise.
KG East Germans show up and grab first place now.
Ernst Haasbinger at the top of the run, heavy snow falling.
Jeff, here's somebody you know.
Ernst Haasbinger, a big disappointment in 1980.
He's been waiting four years for this moment.
He crashed on the fourth run with 100 yards to go to the finish,
all he had to do to pick up a gold medal.
I think this man's here for revenge, Sam.
Boy, he looks powerful as he pulls out of those hands.
A good start for him, and he's been quick in training.
He's had the fastest run in a couple of days,
and he's been saving this one up for four years.
I expect a really good run out of him.
Ernst Haasbinger from northern Italy.
He and Paul Hill-Gartner, who had such a good run earlier,
virtually neighbors.
Haasbinger, a little bit younger, 28 years old,
a very determined man as he hits the fifth turn there.
The big G-force is pressing into the banking.
He looks very good, Sam, very smooth.
21.096 was his split.
I think that's the second...
That's the fastest.
That is the fastest split.
That's the fastest by two one-thousandths of a second.
Ernst Haasbinger now working the fastest run of the day so far.
If you wonder why they have to time this sport to the thousandth of a second,
you just see the example of it there.
All right, there he is through the finish turn.
Ernst Haasbinger, and he has taken the lead.
Ernst Haasbinger, unbelievable.
The last two riders down the track have both improved
on the earlier fast times.
Ernst Haasbinger has moved into the lead with a brilliant run.
So at the conclusion of the first of four runs
in the men's single competition in Luz,
in a driving snowstorm here on Mount Trebevich,
four men have fought to a virtual tie,
less than five one-hundredths of a second,
separating the first four places.
In first, Ernst Haasbinger of Italy.
In second, Torsten Gerlitzer of East Germany.
A real surprise there.
And in third place, Paul Hilgartner, the Italian veteran.
In fourth, Michael Walder, the East German.
The American Frank Masley is back in 15th,
but encouragingly he's only seven-tenths of a second
out of the lead.
Three more days of that competition yet to go.
Well, you know the old line about the best laid plans
of mice and men.
I don't know how the mice made out today,
but the men have had a tough time.
Earlier you saw the power failure at the hockey game,
and the men's downhill race was postponed.
Report on that, Frank Gifford and Bob Beattie.
Frank Gifford and Bob Beattie standing at the finish line.
They have canceled today's scheduled downhill.
There's wind, there's snow, just about everything you want.
Good decision, Bob.
Oh, it was definitely the right decision.
The snow is not even the major problem.
It's snowing lightly, but there's fog up there,
and there's about 90-mile-an-hour winds.
I'll tell you, every kind of weather in the world
has hit this mountain.
I tell you, it wasn't even a decision.
No one can even get up there.
As a matter of fact, they have stopped the chair lifts.
The snowcats can't get up there, but before they did,
we've got a pretty great cameraman, Gary Danatelli.
Sir Edmund Danatelli somehow got up there,
and let's take a look at some of the pictures
from the top of Vila Schnitzel on a really wild day.
As a matter of fact, the only other person we have seen up there
through Gary's camera has been this mountain climber
who's standing right at the start house.
That's where the racers leave to start the downhill,
and I'll tell you, it's bad.
This is where the racers come in to prepare
to move into the starting position,
and, Bob, it's almost a whiteout.
Well, it really is bad.
You know, the thing that's amazing, Frank, is that
when we get up in the morning in Sarajevo,
I thought it looked pretty good today,
and all of a sudden we get right up over the knoll here
coming in, and look what we've got.
This is amazing.
And this is what happens up here, Vila Schnitzel.
Again, the wind's reported at 90 miles per hour up on the top.
You can see it would be impossible to race today.
Well, there are going to be some big drifts on the course, too,
with all this wind and snow.
And here's our mountain climber again,
and that's Gary trying to clear off his lens,
and there he is, our hero for the day, Gary Danatelli.
Bob, Gary thought working the sidelines
on a Monday night football game was tough.
Well, he finds out that we're downhill laughing about it.
I'll tell you, I'm glad he's up there and we're not.
Great guy.
Bob, what is this going to do now to the chances
for young Bill Johnson tomorrow?
This course is going to change dramatically.
Well, it could change some with all the new snow,
but you know, a few days ago we got about 8 inches of snow,
and the 350 soldiers came out,
they shoveled all the snow off the course.
They're going to do the same thing through the night
and tomorrow morning, and I think they'll have it
in pretty good shape, and very frankly,
I think this really kind of helps his chances
because he's good in soft snow.
You know, when you realize that the best we've ever done
in downhill in the United States
is two fifth place finishes in the downhill,
I think really that Bill's got a chance to win a medal.
You know, he thinks he's going to get a gold medal.
I think he knows he's going to get a gold medal.
He really is something, but we also know
the Europeans are not going to let him run away with it.
Let's take a look at some of the competition
and see what happens.
This is Urs Reber of Switzerland,
big, strong veteran of the Swiss team,
who is the only double winner thus far
on the World Cup downhill circuit,
and he leads the World Cup in downhill points.
Well, Frank, he's the most consistent downhiller
on the circuit right now.
He's on it like a fullback on skis.
He's big and strong, and the thing that's good about that
on this course is it gives him some weight
for these flats down here.
And Canada presents Steve Podborski.
Steve hasn't trained that well here,
which is sort of surprising, because this course
is made to order for him.
He rides a very, very strong, fast ski.
And Franz Klammer
is literally everyone's favorite.
He has 25 downhill victories
and will be looking for an unprecedented
second downhill gold medal here at Sarajevo.
And Frank, earlier in training this week,
he broke his favorite pair of skis
when he took that really bad fall
when he broke his favorite pair of skis
when he took that really bad fall.
The Austrian has been madly testing to find
a pair of skis that were as fast as the old ones,
but he hasn't found them yet. He's concerned.
Another member of the Swiss team,
the Piramund Zürbrücken,
perhaps the best all-around skier in the competition,
hasn't run that much downhill in his
brief career, but he seems to get better
each time he goes out, Bob.
Well, Frank, he's only 21 years old,
and I think if you watch his skiing right here,
you can see the tremendous feel he has for the snow.
He's going to be the bright new star
of the future, I'm sure of it.
And Todd Brooker from Canada.
Todd fell at the Honincom at Kitzbuehl
a few weeks ago. He missed the last two
downhills, but he's improved
with each training run here in Sarajevo.
And sometimes those skis of his will fly
all over the place, but the one thing
that they do do is go straight down the mountain
and fast. He's very fast on his skis.
He'll be a big threat to you, I think,
particularly when this race finally gets to be held.
The boy of the Swiss strong, Peter Muller,
three times the World Cup downhill champion.
This veteran has never won an Olympic
or a World Championship medal.
Good course for the big Swiss, Bob.
Well, last year in the pre-Olympic race, he took a
very bad fall on some bumps that have since been taken out.
Also, he was sick earlier in the season,
but he told me the other day,
hey, I feel really good about this downhill,
and I'm feeling great physically for the first time
in really a long time. He's also going to be a tough one.
And again from Austria,
Erwin Reisch, second to Rayburn.
World Cup downhill points into these Olympics
has won once this year, but has been in the
top ten in six of eight
downhills that they've run this year.
Well, you know, in talking to the Austrian coaches,
they say that this guy is the strongest man they have
on the team. He just trains and trains and trains.
And he's going to be particularly strong
on the bottom of the courses, where conditioning's important.
And our boy Billy Johnson
of the United States came from nowhere
as far as the Europeans
were concerned to win at Fingen. They didn't like it
and he didn't care. He certainly doesn't
care, because he's fast on his skis,
and his results in the training runs really have proven that.
He could give the U.S. his first
Alpine medal in the downhill.
Well, in a minute you're going to meet young Bill Johnson
and we'll also re-equate you with
Franz Klommer, he of the famous
victory in 1976.
Could be a Cinderella story in these
Olympics. A month or so ago, most people
had never even heard the name of Bill Johnson.
Now he's an authentic challenger
for a possible medal in that men's downhill
race, now scheduled for tomorrow morning.
He came into our studios this afternoon to look at his
training runs, said he had learned something.
He watched the training run in our control room
with Donna DeVarona.
I'm standing here
in ABC's Nerve Center, the
control room, and with me, a special
guest, our best hope for a medal
in the men's downhill, Bill Johnson.
Welcome.
Thank you. We've got monitors
behind us, and I know that you'd like
to see your last run. Can you take us
through it? Sure. Take a look at it.
Right here is the start,
you come out of the restaurant, a couple
good pushes, and then
a hard left-hander,
then hit a hard right-hander here,
then get in your
tuck and try to get as much speed
for this, you've got
a steep pitch coming up.
So, and then there's a little
bump here, take a little bit of air,
get back down in your tuck,
then you come by the midway station,
this is about a
15-20 second flat right
here, so you really got to hold your position.
And this is the tough
part of the course coming up here.
I've been having trouble getting
through this section without losing time.
I think this run I take,
I go out really wide here,
and lose probably about a
second there. Is that the scariest part of the
course for you? Yeah, probably the most
technical and scary,
I'd say.
And then you come down here
on a couple turns on the flats,
and then
right down here is where I've been
winning most of the races
of the week,
or doing well in training anyway.
I've been way in front down
this bottom section,
just letting the skis roll
pretty much right now.
A little bump here, and then
you come down, and you think about
the two finish bumps
which are coming up, and try to
hold your tuck as long as you can
into them, and then break it right at the last
moment. And then
hopefully you don't take too much air
right back in your tuck, and then
prepare for the next jump.
Get out of
position a little bit, and then
just tuck it to the finish.
How about that new snow?
You mentioned that you knew how to ski
the new snow. What does that mean?
Well, in the new snow,
there's going to be a lot of loose stuff
on the course sometimes.
So,
you just have to be careful of the
new snow, and hope that your foot
doesn't get caught in the rut or something,
otherwise it could take your ski
right away from you, and then
you'd certainly crash.
Well, if the conditions are right tomorrow,
if the sun's out, there's going to be new snow.
How are you dealing with that?
Right now, I think
the weather conditions, the
reports say that it's going to be the same as today.
Right now,
I think it's snowing out there, so
the army will be out there early in the morning
trying to get rid of all the new snow, so
the course will be in
good shape tomorrow, I think.
Bill, coming into this Olympic competition,
you've brought a lot of momentum with you.
You were the first American man to ever win
a World Cup downhill, and then in the training
you've had the best overall performance,
and now it's a weight. How do you deal
with that? Well, I
try to keep it toned down.
I try to not
create so much pressure on myself.
I try to
go into each race
and prepare myself the same,
as if this were only
a divisional race, I'd prepare the same way,
because you have to have
the same concentration level.
You've been saying
it's just another race. Do you really feel that way?
You know, that's
the way I have to go into it.
Well, good luck. Thank you.
A bit later in the day,
we caught up with the well-remembered victor of
Innsbruck, Franz Klommer.
Fabiatti caught him at Austria House.
Franz,
we're sitting in the Austrian House, and of course
this was supposed to be the night after the
downhill, so everybody is having a good time
anyway, but let me ask you
what does a delay mean to you? Is that
going to be a problem?
It's not really a problem, I think
it's
not good.
I prepared myself, my body
and my mind for this day,
and now we have a delay,
so I have to
prepare
myself tomorrow
again, and
hopefully it's the race tomorrow.
Of course, being from the United States,
there's a lot of interest in Bill Johnson.
He's been doing very well in training here.
What do you think about his chances?
Oh, I think he's one of the
biggest favorites, but
if he
wants to win, he has to ski very well.
But he has really a good chance
to do it. What's the most difficult
part? The most
difficult part is the ass
right after the
middle stage.
There was a rumor in the newspaper before we
came over to Europe this year that maybe
you and Johnson had had some
problems. Do you have any problem with him?
No, I never had a problem
with Johnson, but
his ski well, he's one of the
best glider in the world, what I have
ever seen.
He has to learn something in the turns,
and then he will be one of
the best in the world.
Now let me ask you, you had a fall the other day
and you broke your ski.
Has that been a problem? Have you been able to find
another fast pair?
It's a little problem, but
we tested a lot of skis
every day, and fortunately
we find a good pair.
Hopefully it's a really good one.
Well, Franz, I never thought I'd be sitting
at the Austrian house with the Umpau band
in the background and everybody drinking a lot of wine
the night before a downhill.
Let's hope we're here for a celebration
with you. Good luck tomorrow. Thank you very much.
Franz
Klammer, the oldest skier on the World Cup circuit
at the age of 30, but a real challenger
in that downhill race tomorrow.
Coming up, a remarkable performance in women's speed skating.
Right now, an ABC
business brief, followed by a word
from your local station.
This is the facility called Zetra
in Sarajevo, the ice arena and
speed skating oval, all part of one unit.
Very well done. Located near the center of the city.
Seating capacity about 5,000
and skaters call it a fast
track.
Hello, everybody. I'm Keith Jackson.
In 1980, at Lake Placid,
the personality, the dramatist persona
was one Eric Heiden, with that
remarkable performance in winning five gold medals.
In 1984, here in Sarajevo,
the most dramatic personality
could well be Karen Enke of East
Germany. She could win
all four gold medals available
to the women. There's
something that goes with that, and let's discuss
it with the man who took five
gold medals home with him at Lake Placid,
Eric Heiden, who is our expert commentator
and analyst. Eric, tell me, what
happens when you come to the Olympics,
which is enough pressure under itself,
but you come and you're
expected to win everything?
Well, there's a lot of expectations, not only from
the public, but from the press.
The nice thing with Enke is that
she's been the world champion at both the sprints
and the all-arounds for the past few years,
and she comes out here with the confidence
because she knows she has the ability
to beat everyone, and having that confidence
is a big plus. The thing is, being in the Olympics
may be a little bit more burdensome with the
pressure, but I think she can handle it.
The women's 1500 meters, the
opening speed skating event, three
and three-quarter times around the 400
meter oval. The lanes are four
meters wide. The world record
for this distance, 20404
Nachalya Petrosheva of the Soviet
Union. The Olympic record is
21095 Annie Borkink Holland
set it in Lake Placid, 1980.
Now a look at the current world record
holder for 1500 meters for women,
Natalya Petrosheva, Soviet Union.
Ivan
Funginip-Holland in the dark
suit, 20 years of age.
Petrosheva
starting on the inner lane.
And we get a
good start. I should point
out here and emphasize the fact
though we have two skaters on the ice,
they are not racing each other,
they are simply fighting the clock,
going as fast as they can
for 1500 meters.
The key to Olympic style skating is that
you really, you do want to beat your pair
but you also want to post the fastest
possible time that you can skate and then
take your skates off and you let everybody take a shot
at that time. But once you get in front of your pair
then you just forget about it.
Well the key to Olympic style skating is
that you really don't ever want to pay attention to your pair.
You want to know what your abilities are
and that's what's important about a 1500
meters. You want to go out there, you and your coach
decide what kind of pace you can set for yourself.
Natalia Petrusova,
well out in front now of the young woman from Holland,
Petrusova, 28 years of age,
married, a seven year old son.
Now we have seen middle distance and
distance runners in track, for
example, get stronger and stronger
as they get up to that 28, 29, 30
age bracket. What about
speed skating? Is that likely to happen?
Well, the Europeans
in general are a lot older than the Americans.
You see a lot of the good long distance
European skaters in the upper 20s
but the sprinters are generally in their lower
20s. Now we're coming toward the
1100 meter split and that's
going to tell us a lot about the pace
of Natalia Petrusova because
once you go into that final lap, once you
heard the bell ring behind you,
you really have to reach inside
yourself and dig because
now you're starting to hurt some.
Petrusova still holding her form
quite well.
Her 1100 meter split was
130.89 that puts her
on a 203 which what Schirner
was on and Schirner was really at a disadvantage
because she was the first pair out there
and now everybody knows that the ice is fast
and Petrusova is really shooting for
that time. The time to beat is
205.29 set by Andrea Schirner
of East Germany. That is a new
Olympic record and it's in
sight of Natalia Petrusova now
as she turns down toward
the finish line.
Watch the time tick away at the bottom
of your picture, 205.29
the time to beat.
Didn't do it, 205.78
for Natalia Petrusova.
The second
fastest time posted so far.
Watch Petrusova's
arm swing. When it comes up in
front of her, it raises way above her head
and that'll obstruct her vision plus
it's also a wasted effort. You want that arm
to reach out in front of you and to really pull you
down the straightaway.
205.78 for her, meantime
the great Karen Enke, getting ready for her
race. Let's go back to 1980 and remember
a tough moment for Eric Hyden in the
1500.
Music
But he held his composure and
stormed to this finish.
The bell
124.11
the 1100 meter
slip. Let's watch it again.
That's it!
A surge of encouragement from
his coach, Diane Hollow.
As Eric Hyden is on the
inner plane, coming down
off the final turn. Slip there a moment
ago. This time he handles it very
well.
Here's the
drive. Watch the time!
Well, you can see it. He just
missed his world record despite
the slip in the turn.
Eric Hyden puts a
155.44
on top
of the board.
Music
The world knows that Eric Hyden
won five gold medals in 1980 at
Lake Placid. That young woman on the left, Karen
Anka, East Germany, trying to win four
gold medals in 1984.
Women only raced four times.
Her pair, Annette Carlin,
Stockholm, Sweden. What's the power
of Karen Anka of East Germany?
As she thunders off the line,
drives it all the way
into the turn and through the
turn before she really sets up
her gliding stride, Eric.
Well, Karen Anka knows how important the first
300 meters is. You can see both arms
down until she hit that home stretch.
Now she's starting to settle back.
She's going to relax this next lap, pushing
hard the entire time, but holding
back a little bit because a 1500
meters is a race where you can't sprint the entire time.
26.35 for 300
meters. That's far and away the fastest
so far of the day. December of last
year, Karen Anka turned in a
two minute, 0-3-4-0
second time
for 1500. That is the
fastest ever, but it has not been
certified, as yet at least, as a world
record.
Like Shuna, Anka's
arm, again, is off her back.
And that's a really, that's a waste of effort.
She should have it sitting on a smaller back
and be relaxed. She tightens up
and that's nothing. That's what you do not want
at 1500 meters. At 700
meters, she is quite a bit faster
than anybody else today at
57.10. The time to beat
posted by Anders Shuna of East
Germany. Two minutes, 5.29
205.29
the best time so far. That's
the gold medal time.
She's tentatively on a 2-0-3
schedule, which Petra Sheva and
Shuna have been on. We'll have to see whether she can
hold it through the 1100 meters in the last
lap. Anka
the 1984 all-around
champion at the Worlds. Look at that 1100
meter time. Far and away the
fastest so far today.
Right now, that puts her on a 2-0-2
which is way below the world record.
Can she
maintain the pace? Can she
hold her form? 205.29
Andris Shuna's earlier
new Olympic record. The time
to beat the world record. 2-0-4-0-4
held by Natalia
Petra Sheva. She's closing
in on it. She's got it!
She nailed it!
With the strongest finish we have seen
all day. New world
record 1500 meters
2-0-3-4-2.
A sterling performance
by Anka. Everybody knew that the ice
was fast, but I don't think anybody thought it
was this fast. And despite Anka's
flaw in her having her left
arm dangle off to the side
as she does, she shows
what kind of strength she has. Here
a little bit tired, starting to come up
a little bit, an upper body bobbling
but she just powers her way in
to a new world record in the 1500
meters. 2-0-3-4-2
Listen to this.
That's seven and a half
seconds under
the old Olympic record.
Here are your final standings then for
the medals. Karen Anka
wins the gold, East Germany.
Andris Shuna wins the silver,
East Germany. Natalia Petra Sheva, Soviet
Union, makes the bronze.
New world record
for Karen Anka. The Americans married
Dr. 14th, Jen Goldman 17th.