Norway and the United States have added to their medal totals with strong skiing performances at the Vancouver Olympics.
Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway won the men's super-G ski title Friday in Whistler, British Columbia. Svindal hurtled down a tough, icy course in one minute, 30.34 seconds. He followed a strong run by Bode Miller, denying the American his first Olympic gold medal. Miller took silver, 0.28 seconds behind (1:30.62). Andrew Weibrecht of the United States claimed bronze (1:30.65). Miller's fourth career Olympic medal makes him the most decorated American Alpine skier ever.
Marit Bjoergen of Norway won her second gold medal at the Vancouver Olympics, this time topping the field in the women's 15-kilometer pursuit cross-country ski race. Bjoergen pulled away from her rivals midway through the freestyle portion of the race. Anna Haag of Sweden won a three-way sprint for the silver medal, finishing 8.9 seconds behind Bjoergen. Pre-race favorite Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland claimed the bronze.
The final two medal events of the day were in women's and men's skeleton.
Amy Williams became the first British athlete in 30 years to win an individual Winter Olympic gold medal. She finished four runs at the Whistler Sliding Center in a combined time of three minutes, 35.64 seconds. Germany filled out the rest of the podium. Kerstin Szymkowiak won the silver (3:36.20). Anja Huber took the bronze (3:36.36).
Host Canada picked up its fourth gold medal thanks to Jon Montgomery. He won the men's skeleton race, completing his four runs in three minutes, 29.73 seconds. Favorite Martins Dukurs of Latvia bumped the wall after the final curve and ended up with the silver medal (3:29.80). Russian Alexander Tretyakov placed third (3:30.75) to claim bronze.
The United States leads the medals table with 20, made of six gold, six silver and eight bronze. Norway has five gold, three silver and two bronze. Germany's four gold medals lead its total of 13.
Highlighting non-medal action Friday, the ice dancing competition began with World champions Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin of Russia winning the compulsory portion. Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada are in second place ahead of Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States. Noriaki Kasai of Japan had the best qualifying score in men's ski jumping off the large hill. Round robin games continued in men's and women's curling.
On Saturday, athletes will have the chance to win medals in six events, highlighted by the women's Super-G race in Alpine skiing. Men soar off the large hill in ski jumping. Men also compete in cross-country skiing pursuit and 1,500 meter speedskating, where 1,000 meter champion Shani Davis and American compatriot Chad Hedrick meet again on the ice. Women speedskaters take to the short track at the 1,500 meter distance while the men race across 1,000 meters.
Women's ice hockey goes to the semifinal round with the United States and Canada dominating the tournament, and on a collision course to meet in the gold medal game.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
