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VIENNA (AP)—Mathias Berthold was appointed coach of the Austrian men’s ski team Monday after leading the German women to three gold medals at the Vancouver Olympics.

The 44-year-old Berthold replaces Toni Giger and signed a contract until the 2013 world championships in Schladming, Austria.

Berthold had worked with the German federation for the past seven years, starting as a technical trainer before becoming head coach in 2006. The Austrian was previously a slalom specialist who competed on the World Cup circuit in the 1980s and 90s.

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BERN, Switzerland (AP)—Switzerland’s ski federation has fired Hugues Ansermoz as head coach of its women’s Alpine team because of poor results in slalom and giant slalom races.

Swiss Ski said Tuesday that Mauro Pini will replace Ansermoz after one season working with the men’s speed team.

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One horrific downhill crash two years ago in Kitzbuehel, Austria, altered the course of U.S. skier Scott Macartney’s career.

Still, the two-time Olympian is hoping he’s remembered for more than just that spill as he steps away from racing after 12 years with the national team.

“I don’t want Kitzbuehel to be a highlight,” the 32-year-old Macartney told The Associated Press on Thursday in a telephone interview. “I understand that it’s a crazy race, a crazy crash. But skiing shouldn’t be reduced to crashes. Skiing should stand on more than that.”

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Whistler (AFP) - Former skiing bad boy Bode Miller has won bronze, and now silver medals at the Vancouver Olympic Winter Games.

But ahead of his bid for a maiden Olympic gold, in the super-combined Sunday, the American has already buried the demons of his unexpectedly underwhelming performances at the last Olympic Games.

In Torino in 2006 the USA expected gold medals from Miller, who after winning two silver at the 2002 Games went on to achieve superstar status with his overall World Cup victory and downhill and super-G world titles in 2005.

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WHISTLER, British Columbia (AP)—Andrea Fischbacher got Austria’s “Wunderteam” back on track by winning gold in the Olympic super-G Saturday, denying Lindsey Vonn a sweep of the speed events.

Austria's Andrea Fischbacher reacts after finishing the Women's super-G at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Whistler, British Columbia, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2010.
(AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)
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WHISTLER (Reuters) - American Steven Holcomb calmed safety worries over the Whistler track on Thursday and set his sights on stopping Germany's Andre Lange pocketing all the gold in the Olympic bobsleigh events.

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"It depends on whether it becomes an issue of the track being built funky or whether it's just the drivers making mistakes," Holcomb, driver of the four-man bobsleigh dubbed the Night Train, told reporters after the first training runs for Saturday's two-man event were marred by eight crashes.

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Vancouver (AFP) - Olympic champion Jennifer Heil is set to take to the slopes Saturday strongly tipped to retain her women's moguls crown as she bids to make history by winning Canada's first gold on home soil.

But the in-form freestyle skier will be keeping a nervous eye on the heavy skies at Cypress Mountain amid growing fears over deteriorating weather at the venue, which has been plagued by rain and fog.

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Whistler (AFP) - Downhill skiing is undoubtedly one of the most dangerous sports to practise and the absence from the Olympic Winter Games of a number of top racers through injury has the sport's governing body worried.

In the speed events of the downhill and super-G in particular, the margin of error is tiny for skiers who put their trust into physical form and technical proficiency on the two skis strapped to their boot-clad feet.

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Paris (AFP) - An impressive nine World Cup wins so far means the 2010 season could already be classed as 'stellar' for American ski champion Lindsey Vonn, two months before the final races.

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