Thursday, February 18, 1988/The Battalion/Page 9
Sports
lympic underdogs are memorable
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Sports viewpoint
Mention
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nth their
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pint and
srill at be
ing in the
lames. They probably won’t be set-
ng any world or Olympic records
Mt they may be remembered more
han the silver medalists.
|0ne oi these Olympians has al-
â– eadv caught my eye.
Sunday afternoon the 70-meter
ski-jumping competion took place.
The 70-meter event was to be the
one-man-show of Finland’s flamboy
ant Matti Nykanen.
Nykanen is the darling of ski-
jumping and was a sure thing for the
70-meter gold medal. He didn’t let
anyone down and easily came away
with the gold.
He effortlessly flew 89.5 meters
on both jumps to blow away his com
petition.
But on that Sunday in my eyes
and in those of many other people
around the world, there was another
more memorable ski-jumper.
Michael “Eddie” Edwards, the
lone and first ever ski-jumper from
Great Britain, also was jumping in
the 70-meter event.
Edwards was not the best or even
the second best jumper that day.
In fact, Edwards finished dead
last in a field of 58 jumpers.
The important thing was not
where Edwards finished but that he
competed at all.
Edwards who has been ski-jump
ing for two years was far more excit
ing than the Finnish primadonna
Nykanen. After being asked who his
coach was Edwards replied, “every
body”.
“Everybody coaches me, mostly
the Canadians and the Americans
because we don’t have a language
barrier,” he grinned.
ABC televised the waiting room
for the ski-jumpers and Edwards
was jumping around practicing his
take-off. All the other competitors
were lounging about eyeing him
strangely.
Before the competition, Edwards
signed autographs and chatted to
fans wearing “I Love Eddie Ed
wards” shirts.
I was jealous because I wanted an
“I Love Eddie Edwards” shirt, too.
While waiting to go down the
jump, Edwards waved at the camera
with a big grin plastered across his
face and then put his goggles down
over his glasses.
Edwards’ crash helmet was la
beled with the word “Eagle”.
He did look like an eagle with his
arms slightly flapping in the air.
His form was shaky but he made it
down all the same.
Edwards completed both jumps to
a deafening roar of applause and the
whopping distance of 55.0 meters.
During his jumps even the tele
vision commentators got into the ex
citement by screaming that he may
have hit the 60.0 meter mark.
Some of Edwards’ behavior may
sound arrogant but it was just the
opposite. He was a sincere guy with
an infectious enthusiasm for his
sport.
His presence in the 70-meter
event added something for the com
mon man.
He was just a regular guy not the
usual world-class athlete.
That’s swell.
In Olympic days to come more
unlikely Olympians will get a share
of the spot light.
For the first time ever, Jamaica
will have a bobsled team.
The men and their sled dubbed
“Ragamuffin” will compete with the
Soviets, the East Germans and West
Germans among other snowbound
teams.
It is very doubtful they will be
medal winners.
The Jamaican bobsled team may
match the thrill of the “Eddie Ed
wards” story and in this way, they
can’t lose.
on
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n there, h
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Soviets too strong for upstart US hockey team
lALGARY, Alberta (AP) — The
[.hockey team ran out of miracles
nnesday night, losing 7-5 to the
let Union in their first Winter
Inipic meeting since the stunning
[erican victory at the 1980 Lake
lid Games.
this one fell just short for the
lilted States, which rallied from a
6-2 deficit to 6-5 hut couldn’t get
Evtn, despite outshooting the high-
ered Soviets 12-4 in the final pe-
HOCKEY
the losis left the Americans on the
hk of elimination from making
he medals round, with a 1-2 record
ml having to beat Norway and West
mmany to even have a chance. The
Narcotifl | ending gold medalist Soviets are
led a min-
countinf
[end of tin
e robbers'
Graphic by Susan C. Akin
now 3-0 and virtually assured a spot
in the medals round.
The top three teams from each of
the two pools make the medals
round.
With Vaicheslev Fetisov, their all-
star defenseman from their main
Red Army club, leading the way with
two goals and three assists, the Sovi
ets continued the domination of
Americans in international play.
The victory was the sixth in eight
meetings with the United States in
Olympic play since the Soviets
played their first Olympic game in
1956. The only time the Americans
have beaten the Soviets in the Olym
pics came in the gold-medal winning
years of 1960 and 1980, the last time
a dramatic 4-3 victory that was
coined the “Miracle on Ice” at Lake
Placid, N.Y.
The Soviets have never lost to the
Americans at the World Champion
ships, holding a 22-0 advantage.
The Soviets looked every bit the
team that U.S. Coach Dave Peterson
called the strongest in the Winter
Olympics.
Fetisov set up Sergei Makarov at
7:23 and then Alexei Kasatonov at
9:41 to help the Soviets grab a 2-0
lead after one period.
Fetisov also set up Kasatonov’s
second goal at 8:58 of the second pe
riod and later scored himself at
18:46 to give the Soviets a 6-2 lead
after two periods. Both of Kasato
nov’s goals and the one by Fetisov
came on the power play.
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Tuesday, February 23,
Texas A & M
Rudder Tower
Room 701
Interviews Scheduled -
1988
Please bring your resume and a copy of your transcript or a list of courses.
TALK TO TTS MAJOR
PRODUCT & SERVICE
GROUPS.
TI’s technical managers want to
see you. They want to tell you
about the job opportunities in the
many technologies which make
Texas Instruments a leader in
electronics.
That’s why TI is having a Job
Fair on the Texas A <St M campus
February 23 through 25. It gives
the company three days to bring
in key engineers and managers to
meet you. TlieyTl come from TI
labs and sites to describe programs,
answer questions, and schedule
interviews.
If you’re a top student, partic
ularly in EE or Computer Science,
this is an event you won’t want
to miss.
SIGN UP FOR
INTERVIEWS IF YOU
ARE GRADUATING
WITH THESE
DEGREES:
Bachelor’s, Master’s or PhD
degrees in:
• Electrical Engineering
• Computer Science
• Mechanical Engineering
• Industrial Engineering
• Phsyics (Engineering and
Solid-State)
• MBA with technical under
graduate degree
• Business Analysis
Briefings and sign-ups for
interviews: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
February 23, Rixmti 701, Rudder
Tower.
Interviews (by appointment):
February 24 and 25 in the Annex.
For more infbrmatk>n,
please contact the Texas A & M
Placement Service.
Art Equal Opportunity
Employer M/F/V/H
Texas ^
Instruments
Creating useful products
and services for you.
2nd gold medal slips
away from Swiss skier
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) —
Pirmin Zurbriggen lost his shot at
a second gold medal in a tangle of
skis and poles.
Unrelenting winds that
reached 50 mph wrought havoc
on the Olympic schedule, de
laying the double-gold quest of
Matti Nykanen, the “Flying
Finn.” Nykanen was going after
an unprecedented second victory
in ski jumping when the 90-meter
team event was postponed until
Thursday.
The final two runs of the wom
en’s luge also were postponed.
The Soviet Union picked up
two more medals — a silver and
bronze from its women’s cross
country team — to run its count
to nine. That’s six more than Fin
land, Switzerland and the Ne
therlands.
The United States still has just
one medal, a pairs figure skating
bronze by Jill Watson and Peter
Oppegard that could have been a
silver except for Watson’s costly
pratfall. Speed skater Eric Flaim
almost got the United States its
second medal in the 5,000-meter
speed skating event. He missed
the bronze by 1.17 seconds, fin
ishing fourth.
Zurbriggen had only to finish
the second run of a slalom race,
and he would have earned his
second gold, in a new Olympic
event called the combined, a
downhill-slalom hybrid. Instead,
he fell when he hooked a gate
with his right ski, and that ended
any talk of an Alpine sweep.
“I felt I was skiing well, and I
was very surprised to see the
gates between my skis,” the 25-
year-old Swiss said. “I am disap
pointed, but the downhill was my
main goal.”
Zurbriggen, one of the most
versatile skiers in the world, won
the traditional downhill gold
medal on Monday, then finished
first in the combined downhill
Tuesday. And talk was: Is this the
next Jean-CIaude Killy? Gan Zur
briggen sweep all the Alpine
events, as Killy did in 1968 and as
Toni Sailer did in 1956?
He provided the answer
Wednesday, but with the addition
of two more Alpine events, Zur
briggen still could win four golds,
one more than either Killy or
Sailer. Standing in his way will be
the Italian, Alberto Tomba, the
best slalom skier in the world and
the man battling Zurbriggen for
the World Cup title.
Zurbriggen was tied for sixth
after the first run of the slalom,
and that would have been plenty
to win the combined gold. He
passed the midway point of the
second run with the fifth-best
time, but with 25 seconds gone in
the run, he hooked his right ski
around a gate.
His left leg slid out as he ca
reened through another gate. De-
sparately trying to regain his bal
ance, he fell, crashed through
several more gates and rolled
over on his back. He got up al
most immediately, bent over
against his poles and stared at the
ground, beaten not by the compe
tition but by the mountain.
Marjo Matikainen of Finland
and Vida Ventsene of the Soviet
Union became the Games’ first
double medalists.
Matikainen, a bronze medalist
at 10 kilometers, won the wom
en’s 5-kilometer cross-country
race, beating Tamara Tokhonova
of the Soviet Union by a 1.3 sec
onds. Ventsene, who won the 10
kilometers, was third.
At the speed skating oval, To
mas Gustafson of Sweden won
the gold medal at 5,000 meters.
Leo Visser of the Netherlands
was second, and countryman Ge
rard Kemkers won the bronze.
TRAFFIC TICKET DISMISSAL
Ramada Inn
Mon.-Tues. 6-10 p.m.
Saturday 8 a.m.-4 p.m.
NO LECTURING
774-4069
Now at
Greenfield
Hair Designs
846-4150
Elise Baker
Elise, a hairstylist with 10 years expe
rience, specializes in long-hair perms,
haircuts and styling.
She invites all her customers to call
her at 846-41 50.
Greenfield Hair Designs
1800 Greenfield
(1 block south of Bryan High School)
Tau Beta Pi, The National
Engineering Honor Society,
Presents
Government
V. S.
Technology
Is too much regulation killing our industries?
Is industry destroying our environment?
Come Decide For Yourself
Monday, February 22 7:30 p.m. Rudder 601
A panel discussion of experts including Dr. Fran Phillips of the
E. P. A. and Dr. Karen Schewbart of Dow Chemical
Tuesday, February 23 7:30 p.m. Rudder 601
Dr. H. Livesay of the History Department