A few of Norway’s top athletes felt both the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat over the weekend, on the golf course and the ski slopes. For the skiers, it was a disappointing start to the alpine season.
Neither slalom star Aksel Lund Svindal nor his younger teammate, Kjetil Jansrud, performed as expected during the World Cup opener in Sölden. Svindal was one of seven skiers who ran off course and fell in heavy snowfall, winding up with a stiff neck, a black-and-blue hip and zero points in the grand slalom event, where Ted Ligety of the US dominated.
Jansrud made it down the mountain but said he couldn’t see a thing and wasn’t willing to take many chances. He wound up in 15th place in the first big race of the season.
On the other side of the world and in much warmer climes, in Taiwan, Norway’s star golfer Suzann Pettersen won her second LPGA tournament for the second week in a row. Pettersen is in the midst of a major comeback and characterized her playing as “fantastic” herself, with scores well under par of 69, 65, 66 and 69.
Now, however, she’s taking a break from the tour. While the others move on to Japan, Pettersen said she’s heading home to Orlando, Florida for a week, telling newspaper Aftenposten that “I feel like my body needs a rest.” She’s now ranked seventh in the world, and intends to play in Mexico after her break.
newsinenglish.no staff
