Finnish cross-country skier captures gold

Japan's arctic conditions continued for a second day, forcing postponement of the women's snowboard giant slalom and the first run of the men's combined slalom.

The snowstorm in the Japanese Alps was expected to end later today, but it threatened to jumble the skiing schedule for the rest of the week.

The weather didn't bother Finnish cross-country skier Mika Myllylae, who survived the near-blizzard to take gold in the men's 30-kilometer classical race. Shut out in his Nagano debut was five-time gold medalist Bjorn Dahlie of Norway, the hometown hero of the Lillehammer Games, who needs one more gold to set a men's Winter Olympics record.

An overnight snowstorm dumped more than a foot of new snow on the run, where scores of Japanese soldiers wielded shovels in a fruitless effort to clear the course. Another five inches were expected on the slopes before today.

The men's downhill, with the debut of Austrian skiing sensation Herman Maier, was postponed three days until Wednesday by the wicked snowstorm.

With medals now awarded in four events, the Americans were still looking to collect their first.

In other action:

Men's cross country skiing: Dahlie disappeared into the snow at the 30-meter classical race, finishing 20th in his first Nagano effort. Myllylae - a silver medalist in the 50K four years ago - skied across the finish line with a Finnish flag clenched in his teeth. Dahlie's teammate, Erling Jevne, won the silver and Italy's Silvio Fauner took the bronze in the wintry conditions at Hakuba.

Curling: The strange combination of shuffleboard and housekeeping made its debut as an Olympic medal sport, with the Canadian women's team defeating the United States 7-6. Sweden beat Norway 8-2, Britain defeated Japan 7-5 and Denmark beat Germany 6-5 to round out the day.

Skating: A sloppy night of short program skating ended with two-time Olympic medalist Artur Dmitriev of Russia and his new partner, Oksana Kazakova, in the lead. Two-time American champions Kyoko Ina and Jason Dungjen stood fourth after the short, worth one-third of the total score. Jenni Meno and Todd Sand, the other U.S. pairs team, weresixth.

The pairs return to the ice tomorrow for the freestyle.

Luge: When the action resumes today, two-time defending Olympic gold medalist Georg Hackl remains the man to beat. Hackl, who survived a snow delay and a U.S. protest over his boots, set a track record in claiming the top spot after the first two of four runs.

The best U.S. hope for a medal, Wendel Suckow of Marquette, Mich., was in sixth place after day one.

Women's hockey: The U.S. women beat China, 5-0, to win their first Olympic hockey contest, outshooting their overmatched opponents 31-10. Veteran forward Cammi Granato, the team captain, opened the scoring with a power-play goal and knocked in a rebound for the last U.S. goal.

In men's action, Slovakia enhanced its chances of moving into the next round of the men's Olympic hockey tournament with a 4-3 victory over Italy, setting up a showdown with Kazakstan tomorrow. The winner clinches its bracket and advances to face the NHL stars arriving for the next round.

Italy, with its second loss in as many games, was eliminated. Kazakhstan and Austria tied 5-5 yesterday.

02-09-98