Golden girl with spirit of a champ

Ian Chadband13 April 2012

They all loved Regine Cavagnoud. As a world skiing Super-G champion and the cheery life and soul of the French squad, her team-mates would always look to her for guidance and inspiration, delighted that she had been chosen as the country's flag-bearer for the Salt Lake City Olympics.

Tragically, it never happened. In October, just days after the season had begun, Cavagnoud was on a routine training run in Austria when she had a freak high-speed collision with a German trainer. She suffered brain injuries and died. She was just 31.

Her team-mates were so crestfallen, it felt difficult for them to carry on and the thought of the Games seemed completely irrelevant.

Yet one woman, above all, kept them going. Carole Montillet took on the mantle of team leader, telling them all they should adopt a new attitude to the sport.

"From now on, we'll live what we're doing with more intensity," said Montillet, and, here in Salt Lake, she led by extraordinary example, paying her ultimate tribute to her old friend by producing the race of her life on the treacherous Wildflower piste to earn the Olympic downhill title that many had once thought would be won by Cavagnoud.

Until yesterday, Montillet had never threatened to win a World or Olympic championship medal and, ironically, with only one World Cup win to her name she was constantly compared unfavourably with Cavagnoud. Yet the 28-year-old dark horse reckoned the thought of honouring Cavagnoud was in her heart throughout the run.

"Nobody expected that, not even me," she said with emotion afterwards, having improbably demolished the field by almost half-a-second. "I think Regine must be very proud of me from where she is."

Her team management could hardly credit it, either. "This is great for the girls after all they've been through, especially for Carole, who has been magnificent," French ski team director Gerard Rougier said, after watching Montillet emulate Jean-Luc Cretier, the equally unexpected winner of the men's downhill in the Nagano Games.

At least, in skiing, there can be no arguments about the winner - but as familiar controversy rumbled on here about the result of Monday's figure skating pairs competition, there were plenty of voices to be heard suggesting it's time to ditch events from Olympics which depend entirely on someone's opinion.

As the International Skating Union promised an enquiry into the judging of the event - an enquiry which most cynics here believe will turn up nothing anyway - Canada was still beside itself with fury that the gold was narrowly awarded to Russia's Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze at the expense of their pair of Jamie Sale and David Pelletier.

America booed, Canadian papers screamed "Robbed!" and "Fool's Gold", Pelletier was so disgusted he is considering retirement and the country's chef de mission also insisted the "wrong pair" topped the podium.

For what it's worth, I thought the far more artistically gifted Russians had deserved victory but, anyway, it had all calmed down by last night and there were no arguments about the plight of world champion Yevgeny Plushenko, who crashed during his short routine and was left in only fourth place. His Russian compatriot Alexei Yagudin led deservedly.

As for judgement on the British performance here? Er, it can only remain fairly damning.

At the end of another day of underperforming, highlighted by a second straight defeat, 7-2, for the men's curlers at the hands of world champions Sweden, their women counterparts at least managed their second win in three games, thrashing Japan 9-1. Let rejoicing be unconfined.

WINTER OLYMPICS GUIDE

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