Remember Harry Potter lookalike who won 2 golds in Salt Lake? He’s 1st winner in Vancouver

1st gold in Vancouver goes to 2002 double winner

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Apolo Anton Ohno glided around the ice with a U.S. flag tucked under an arm, flashing a handful of fingers plus one.

That makes six, as in matching Bonnie Blair as the most decorated Winter Olympian from the United States.

This one was a silver in the 1,500 meters, and it typified the wild world of short-track speedskating. Ohno was fourth going into the last turn when two of the three Koreans in front of him wiped out, giving him a clear stretch to the finish line behind Lee Jung-su of South Korea.

Being in the right place at the right time, Ohno put the United States on the medals stand for the first time at the Vancouver Games. Teammate J.R. Celski earned the bronze, and that pair of medals was enough to vault the Americans into an early tie atop the medals list.

There was a good chance that would grow in the final event Saturday night, women’s moguls. Hannah Kearney qualified first and Heather McPhie was third. Shannon Bahrke was sixth and Michelle Roark seventh.

Of course, the first day of competition was filled with Vancouver Olympics firsts, such as Swiss ski jumper Simon Ammann landing the first of 86 gold medals to be awarded and Dutch speedskater Sven Kramer setting the first Olympic record while winning the 5,000 meters.

It also was a day of continued mourning for the 21-year-old luger from the republic of Georgia who died Friday, and all sorts of fallout from it.

Competition began on a repaired, reconfigured track the day after a 21-year-old luger from the republic of Georgia died following a crash during a training run.

The men were pushed up 600 feet to the women’s start ramp, while women and doubles moved 800 feet to the junior start ramp.

The changes produced slower speeds, as intended. They also drew some backlash, with the Canadians saying they lost their home-ice advantage and a top American luge official saying, “The elite deserve to race from the hardest test.”

After practice in the morning, the race began at night with IOC president Jacques Rogge and Vancouver organizing chief John Furlong in attendance. A moment of silence was held in memory of 21-year-old Nodar Kumaritashvili, and his photo was displayed on the video scoreboard near the finish line.

The only other Georgian in the field, Levan Gureshidze, withdrew.