Goodwill Games

February 20, 2000

Gottwald, Stecher Take Leisurely Ski to Nordic Combined Winter Goodwill Games Gold Medal

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. - Felix Gottwald and Mario Stecher of Austria built a huge lead after the 120-meter ski jumping and cruised to an easy victory in the Winter Goodwill Games Team Nordic Combined event Sunday afternoon at the MacKenzie-Intervale Ski Jumping Complex.

Gottwald, the gold-medal winner in the individual race, and Stecher, who won the silver medal, landed four jumps between 123 and 125.5 meters to make the 15-kilometer race a mere formality.

"It was an easy race to keep the advantage in," said Stecher, seconds after he crossed the finish line to lock up the victory. "So, it was not the fastest race for us, but it was good enough."

Still, their time of 39:42.0 was the third-fastest of the day.

David Kreiner and Michael Gruber finished 2:23.8 behind to make it an Austrian sweep of the to two spots. They started 1:17 behind their countrymen.

Germany-2 (Sven Koch and Sebastien Haseney) raced from fifth place to a bronze medal with a time of 39:07.0 in the cross-country portion. Their 15-kilometer run was the second-best of the day.

The United States-2 team of Carl Van Loan (Webster, N.H.) and Todd Lodwick (Steamboat Springs, CO.) posted the best time of the day, 38:43.9, to move from eighth to fourth, 7.9 seconds out of the medals and 3:01.9 behind the winners. They began the race four minutes behind. Ultimately, poor jumping dashed the American's medal hopes.

"Carl and I skied well this afternoon," Lodwick said. "But the medals in this event are won on the jumping hill, and we didn't jump nearly well enough."

The competitors each took two jumps from the 120-meter hill. Their scores were added to give the teams a start time for the cross-country race. The racers skied five 1.5-kilometer legs, tagging off after each loop.

The Goodwill Games were founded by Time Warner Vice Chairman R.E. Turner in 1986 to ensure that the world's best athletes have the opportunity to compete in world class competition. The four previous Goodwill Games have alternated between the United States and Russia; however, future Games will be staged in countries around the world in both winter and summer formats. In addition to the Winter Goodwill Games, plans are underway for the 2001 Goodwill Games in Brisbane, Australia. TNT is the host network for both events. Goodwill Games, Inc., is a division of Turner Sports, the sports programming and production business unit of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

CONTACTS:

Jeff Pomeroy

Goodwill Games

404-827-4786

Amy Phillips

Goodwill Games

404-827-4696

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