Ammann of Olympic caliber

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – Ski jumper Simon Ammann created Olympic history in Vancouver on Saturday by winning the large hill competition to claim his fourth individual gold medal.

The 28-year-old Swiss shrugged off an Austrian protest over his ski bindings to win both the normal and large hill events for the second time at an Olympics, eight years after dual victories at Salt Lake City, and become the first ski jumper to win four individual gold medals.

Andrea Fischbacher ended Austria’s anxious wait for its first Alpine title here and brushed aside Lindsey Vonn’s bid for a second gold with her victory in the women’s super-G on the slopes at Whistler.

Marcus Hellner pulled away from a trio of rivals to win 30-kilometer cross-country pursuit in 1 hour, 15 minutes, 11.4 seconds, ending a three-day wait for Sweden for its third gold medal.

And while Ammann became the first dual gold medalist among the male competitors in Vancouver, American speedskater Shani Davis missed his chance to add the 1,500 title to his victory in the 1,000.

Racing in the last pairing at the Richmond Olympic Oval, Davis was unable to match the time of 1:45.57 set by Mark Tuitert of the Netherlands and had to settle for silver.

Ammann posted the leading score after soaring 144 meters with his first jump and focused on a good landing in the final jump of the competition, nailing the landing on a 138-meter effort for a total of 283.6 points. Poland’s Adam Malysz had 269.4 points for silver and 20-year-old Austrian Gregor Schlierenzauer had 262.2 for the bronze – a repeat of the podium from the normal hill.

“I was so nervous up there. This is all very nerve-racking,” Ammann said. “I always have this magical force to jump far here and that is amazing. This is truly amazing.”

The Austrian complaint that Ammann’s equipment bindings gave him an aerodynamic advantage was rejected by the international ski federation.

In short track, Lee Jung-su of South Korea won the gold medal in the 1,000-meter final, and Apolo Anton Ohno of the United States won the bronze, making him the most decorated US Winter Olympian with seven medals. He has also won the most medals of any short-track skater. (AP)