Torino Diary: Fallen glory

With Great Britain aiming for their biggest medal haul ever after Shelley Rudman's bobsleigh silver, the dull thud of anticlimax generally associated with one of the weakest Northern European countries in wintersports is heard resonating around the nation, and Scotland in particular.

Scotland's most famous housewife Rhona Martin skipped the Brits to Olympic glory at Salt Lake City, but here in Turin their controversially-selected team fails to even make the semis after Canada sweep their way into the final slot.

"We were just not consistent enough in every game and you can't do that at this level of competition," the 39-year-old Martin says.

"I'm obviously gutted I am not going to be in the last four."

Enrico Fabris proves that one man's ignominy is another man's glory, and that sometimes the shame of two men can turn an unheralded 24-year-old into a national hero.

Chad Hedrick and Shani Davis, the two dead-favourites for the 1,500m event, are relegated to silver and bronze after a week of feuding over Davis' decision to opt out of the team event possibly cost one of them the gold.

"All eyes have been on Shani and I all the time and put a lot of pressure on us, but I think we didn't manage to meet our game plan today because we were so worried about beating each other," Hedrick tell reporters. "We fought each other and not the clock."

Benificiary, a golden Enrico Fabris. The 24-year-old goes from an anonymous European champion (Fabris had to phone Gazzetta dello Sport and ask for a story in the nation's biggest paper when he won that title) to the host nation's great Olympic hero (Gazzetta labelled Fabris "Man of the Games" after the victory).

Defending Olympic champions Canada came to Turin with $100 million worth of players on the plane and a conviction back home that another gold would be on the return trip.

Russia wreck the Canadian dream in the quarter-finals as the title-holders get shutout for the third time in four games. Canada ultimately score in one of their last 12 periods of play.

Compare that to a women's team, which outscored opponents 46 to 2 on their way to Olympic gold.

Canada's National Post did in a front page cartoon depicting a men's hockey team in Canada's all-black uniform listening dolefully to their captain.

"Play like girls," he tells them.

Sasha Cohen and Irina Slutskaya go into the women's figure skating finale in the top two spots with just 0.03 points separating the two.

With Cohen the surprise leader and clear favourite of the American camp, and Slutskaya looking to turn her Salt Lake City silver into a golden Russian figure skating sweep at Torino, it is either women's contest to lose.

And they both do.

First Cohen, skating fourth-from last, falls twice within the first thirty seconds of her programme, tumbling on her opening jumps.

Then Japan's Shizuka Arakawa, in third after the short programme, puts the pressure firmly on Slutskaya's shoulders with a brilliant free programme.

Slutskaya skates last. She skips some jumps, falls halfway through her free programme, and drops into the bronze medal position.

"It's a sport, it's ice and anything can happen," Slutskaya tells reporters afterwards.

"It's one night, four minutes and a piece of metal," Cohen says after picking up an Olympic silver thanks to a strong post-fall performance.

A few days later Cohen is less philosophical though.

"I've seen a couple pictures of me falling -- you know, in the interviews they like to replay that. That was hard for me."

Britain's men - so impressive in the round-robin and with a realistic sight of gold - also fall at the final hurdle, throwing away a six point lead to lose bronze to the USA.

Skip David Murdoch is "devastated but it was not meant to be",

"We really couldn't have done any more. We trained our hearts out and prepared as well as we could and came here and had some great performances and beat a lot of good teams but just never quite got the breaks."

Still, Murdoch is only 27 and there's always new pin-ups Rudman and impressive young downhill skier Chemmy Alcott to keep the Brits hoping in future games.

Without a single medal in the Winter Games' premier outdoor event, Italy goes into the final Alpine contest without a doubt in their mind; "Rocca gives us the gold" reads one of the many pro-Giorgio Rocca banners on the slopes of Sestriere.

Rocca is set to ski first of 97 racers in the first run of the slalom, an event in which he won the first five World Cup contests of the season.

His race lasts 34 seconds, the time it takes for Rocca to tangle his skis together and tumble to the snow in a pitiful heap.

Rocca reflects.

"I went wrong. It's my fault. I'm sorry, it's a pity. I made a mistake. I didn't even have time to realise what had happened to me because I already had my face in the snow.

Rival Ivica Kostelic, the silver medallist from the combined event, sums up Rocca's plight.

"There was great pressure on him," the Croatian said. "All of Italy is looking at him and going `Rocca! Rocca! Rocca!'."

Italian Alpine legend Alberto Tomba tries to offer encouragement.

"This can happen. Giorgio tried to push away from the gates during the race as I suggested to him but unfortunately he went wrong ... It shouldn't have happened."

But one fan, and Rocca has many in Sestriere, tells the story.

"We're sad because he was the one we most counted on," says 15-year-old Marco Perozzo.