PYEONGCHANG, South Korea (AP) — Fierce wind forced the Olympic men's downhill to be postponed Sunday, moving the marquee race from its traditional place opening the Alpine program.
The first race on an 11-event Alpine schedule was shelved three hours before the start time at the Jeongseon hill, and organizers said the downhill would be moved to Thursday.
"It's imperative with fair conditions and I applaud the decision. Thanks," Kjetil Jansrud of Norway, one of the gold medal favorites, wrote on Twitter .
The men's downhill will be run 11 a.m. (9 p.m. ET Wednesday), and the men's super-G will be Friday, at 11 a.m. (9 p.m. ET Thursday).
Racers risk being blown off a safe racing line when hitting speeds of about 125 kph (75 mph).
"Very strong winds, with gusts up to 72 kph (50 mph), that are forecast to continue all day have forced the jury together with (the Pyeongchang organizing committee) to postpone the event," the International Ski Federation (FIS) said.
"We kind of expected this downhill to be postponed due to wind, but at the same time the guys were charged up and ready to go," said Sacha Rearick, the USA's men's Alpine coach. "With this being an outdoor sport, it is not abnormal. The excitement, the energy on the team right now is fantastic. I couldn’t be prouder of the team. Now the key is to take that energy and harness it, stay relaxed, and then be able to ramp back up. This give us time to focus on slalom training for the combined, which is what we’ll do (Monday).”
On Monday, the women's giant slalom with Mikaela Shiffrin will now be the first Alpine medal race.
Race organizers said the only gondola lift carrying teams and officials up the mountain was closed early Sunday.
