Olympic Briefs -- Cuche Wins at Alpine Worlds; UCI Official Resigns

Cuche Wins Super G Gold at Worlds

Didier Cuche of Switzerland won the men’s Super G, on the second day of the FIS World Alpine Skiing Championships in Val d’Isere, France on Wednesday. He becomes the oldest alpine skiing world champion at age 34, surpassing Austrian Stephan Eberharter, who won the Super G title at age 33 in St. Moritz, Switzerland in 2003.

With a time of 1:19.41, Cuche finished ahead of silver medal winner Peter Fill of Italy (1:20.40) and bronze medalist Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway (1:20.43) on the Bellevarde Mountain course.

“I’ve finally skied an almost perfect race and I was so happy by what I had done, I forgot to look at my time,” Cuche said. “I really enjoyed skiing today.”

UCI Director General Steps Down

International Cycling Union (UCI) director general Dieter Schellenberg is resigning, effective immediately, as part of a restructuring at the federation.

Schellenberg will be replaced by Jean-Pierre Strebel, the UCI financial director, on an interim basis.

UCI President Pat McQuaid said Schellenberg, who was approaching retirement, would “step back, act as a consultant to us and allow an eventual, new, younger DG to bring the UCI forward.”

The departure of Schellenberg is the latest personnel move in the federation, with marketing manager Alexandre Baudin leaving his post in December, less than a year after his appointment.

The restructuring, according to McQuaid, is “taking place within UCI in order that we may be in a better position to deal with current and future market positions.”

Iran: No Visas for U.S. Women’s Badminton Team

Iran has decided not to issue visas for a U.S. women’s badminton team that was to play in a tournament in Tehran. The decision was due to the team’s late application, the country’s foreign ministry stated today.

Iranian spokesman Hasan Qashqavi said the team won’t “participate in the competition” due to a “lack of enough time to process” its visas.

The 12-member team, consisting of eight players and four coaches and managers representing USA Badminton, was due to participate in the Iran Fajr International Badminton Tournament, beginning on Friday.

It’s uncertain when Iran had invited the Americans or when the U.S. team applied for visas, which usually takes a long time, especially for U.S. citizens, due to the lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The team’s participation in the tournament was to be the first U.S.-Iranian exchange under the Obama administration and is a part of an American plan to establish a relationship with Iran.

USA Gymnastics Names 2009 Hall of Fame Class

Carly Patterson, the 2004 Olympic all-around gold medalist, is among the most prominent names, along with 2004 Olympian Mary Sanders, 2000 Olympian Steve McCain and 1996 Olympian John Macready, selected to the 2009 class of inductees for the USA Gymnastics Hall of Fame.

Also included in the 2009 class are two-time world acrobatic gymnastics champions Shenea Booth and Arthur Davis, trampoline and tumbling coach and judge, Pat Wilson Henderson, Temple University head coach Fred Turoff, trampolinist James Younge and the 1999 gold medal-winning men’s double mini-trampoline world championships team.

“We are proud to recognize the 2009 inductees for their accomplishments and contributions to gymnastics,” USA Gymnastics President Steve Penny said. “The rich history of USA Gymnastics is reflected by those inducted into this prestigious group. Congratulations to each and every one of our honorees.”

The 2009 Hall of Fame class will be inducted in a ceremony on Aug. 14 in Dallas.

Briefs…

… Olympic gold medal sprinter Veronica Campbell Brown has published a book on her experiences in both her life and athletic career. The book, titled “A Better You, Inspirations for Life’s Journey,” also includes inspirational material from the Jamaican sprinter, who won the women’s 200-meter dash at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

…ESPN will televise a documentary on Olympic sprinters John Carlos and Tommy Smith called “Return to Mexico City.” Forty years ago, the duo garnered international attention after their memorable black power salute on the awards podium at the 1968 Summer Games. The documentary will air on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 4 p.m.

…The University of Illinois-Chicago has agreed to let Chicago use five campus venues for the Olympics if the city wins the 2016 Summer Games. University trustees approved a deal on Tuesday that gives Chicago use of the UIC Pavilion, Flames Athletic Center, the Physical Education Building, the South Field Complex and Flames Field and the Student Recreation Facility. According to the deal, the Pavilion would host boxing and paralympic volleyball.

Written by Greg Oshust.