LEADING OFF

Board Of the Rings

Snowboarder Johnny Lyall got some big airtime during the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics last Friday at BC Place in Vancouver. Lyall, a 23-year-old Vancouver native, successfully landed the jump to begin the night's proceedings, which were watched by about 32.6 million people in the U.S.

Snow Buddies

Johnny Spillane (bottom) of the U.S. got a congratulatory hug from teammate Todd Lodwick on Sunday after Spillane earned the silver medal in Nordic combined at Whistler Olympic Park. Spillane led a strong showing by the Americans (Lodwick was fourth and Bill Demong sixth) and ended an 86-year Olympic medal drought by the U.S. in the sport (page 38).

Mount Rush

Luger Samuel Edney of Canada sped through The Whistler Sliding Centre on Sunday, finishing seventh in the men's singles, which was the best result ever by a Canadian. Two days earlier the venue was the site of tragedy when Nodar Kumaritashvili, a 21-year-old from the Republic of Georgia, was killed during a training run (page 37).

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Photograph by Al Tielemans

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Photograph by Simon Bruty

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Photograph by Nancie Battaglia