USA skeleton competitor Zach Lund poses for a portrait during the USOC Media Summit in Chicago. Lund was suspended for a year and booted from the 2006 Turin Olympics because of a hair-growth product that at the time contained a banned substance. He's now aiming for gold in Vancouver, and kicked his training into high gear. (The Associated Press)

Zach Lund cleared an important hurdle in his quest to reach the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, qualifying for the national skeleton team at the Utah Olympic Park on Saturday.

But it didn't come without a cost.

The Salt Lake City native severely aggravated his hamstring injury while finishing second in the final trials race Saturday, putting him in jeopardy of not being ready for the start of the World Cup season next month at the Olympic Park. He had applied for the lone available injury waiver to skip the qualifying races, but the U.S. Bobsled & Skeleton Federation gave it instead to Eric Bernotas, based on his faster time in the first trials race.

"It's a relief to be on the team, and I'm glad I made it through this challenge," Lund said. "But my hamstring is really, really bad right now. ... If we had to go again tomorrow, I'd be through."

Lund will join Orem's Noelle Pikus-Pace on the national team, and both will have the chance to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team with their performances on the World Cup circuit. Bobsled drivers Steve Holcomb of Park City and Shauna Rohbock of Orem already were assured of making the team, based on their world championship success last season.

Michael C. Lewis

Women's World Cup

Tanja Poutiainen of Finland won the opening race of the ski season, edging Kathrin Zettel of Austria by 0.01 second in the giant slalom on the Rettenbach glacier in Soelden, Austria.

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Poutiainen was trailing Zettel at the final checkpoint but made up time on the flatter bottom section, clocking a two-run combined time of 2 minutes, 24.96 seconds for her ninth career victory.

Opening-run leader Denise Karbon finished third, 0.32 back, and Manuela Moelgg, who stood second after the morning leg, fell in her second trip down.

Two-time defending overall World Cup champion Lindsey Vonn of Park City placed ninth. American teammate Julia Mancuso, the Olympic giant slalom champion, fell shortly into her second run after placing 21st in the opening leg.

 

Speedskating trials

Two races. Four miles. Dead even.

Chad Hedrick got back at rival Shani Davis, setting a new track record to win the 1,500 meters at the U.S. speedskating trials in Milwaukee.

Hedrick beat Davis by two-hundredths of a second -- the same margin that Davis nipped Hedrick in the 5,000 two days earlier. So, it's one victory apiece -- and the exact same cumulative time -- going into their final head-to-head meeting of the trials, the grueling 10,000 today.

Hedrick won with a time of 1 minute, 44.47 seconds, beating the Pettit National Ice Center record that Davis set almost a year ago, 1:44.48. Davis was just off the old record, finishing in 1:44.49.

Twenty-year-old Trevor Mariscano finished third in 1:46.96.

All three claimed spots on the World Cup team, along with fourth-place Jonathan Kuck (1:47.51) and fifth-place Brian Hansen (1:47.61).