Windy city
Strong winds and heavy mist forced the Salt Lake City organisers to postpone the first event of the Winter Olympics and to cancel training for both the men's and women's downhill skiing.
The Games were set to begin with qualifying for the normal hill individual ski jumping event, originally scheduled to take place ahead of the formal opening ceremony.
High winds at the Utah Olympic Park led to a two-hour delay before the organisers finally decided to postpone qualifying until Sunday.
Training at the Snowbasin ski resort was also called off due to cloud and swirling snowstorms on the upper part of the downhill course.
Forecasts for the rest of the weekend are more encouraging, with more sunshine, less wind and temperatures of around zero degrees expected.
Aebischer in-form
While Switzerland’s skiers and ski jumpers were forced to change their plans, Swiss ice hockey star David Aebischer was busy enjoying a successful warm-up in far-off Minnesota.
The Swiss goaltender, who is due to join up with the national team just in time for Switzerland’s opening game on Sunday, celebrated a shut-out on Friday as his Colorado Avalanche team cruised to a 6-0 win over the Minnesota Wild.
The Fribourg-born player, Switzerland’s only current representative in the North American NHL league, kept out 24 shots to make sure of his second clean sheet of the season.
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