New Downhill Course Approved for Olympics

This may well have been the hardest-fought 279 feet in Olympic history.

After a five-year dispute over where to start the men’s downhill, organizers of the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan finally agreed to back down--or, in this case, up.

Under a new plan announced Monday in Tokyo and criticized by environmental groups, the starting point of the downhill course on Mount Karamatsu, a rugged peak in the central Japan Alps, will be raised to an altitude of 5,791 feet.

Organizers had originally set the start at 5,512 feet, making for the shortest downhill in Olympic history. That did not sit well with the International Ski Federation, which wanted the start at 5,906 feet.

FIS Secretary General Gian Franco Kasper, speaking from his group’s headquarters in Oberhofen, Switzerland, described the new downhill as a “compromise” but a “good solution” for one of the glamour events of the Olympics, which begin Feb. 7.

“It’s a good improvement in the quality of the downhill,” he said. “It may not be as long as we wanted, but it should add 15 or 16 seconds and adds a new jump where the old starting line was . . . It’s still a short one, but sufficiently long.”

Environmental groups accused Nagano organizers of reneging on their commitment to making these games the most environmentally friendly.

Nagano organizers initially said they could not change the course because they did not want to infringe on land protected under national park zoning laws.

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U.S. figure skating star Michelle Kwan returned to practice in Lake Arrowhead after a three-week layoff because of a stress fracture of a toe on her left foot.

Kwan, the 1996 U.S. and world champion and a favorite for the Winter Olympics, had a cast taken off Wednesday. She will wear a removable cast for the next two weeks but will be able to practice.

Kwan is eligible for the Champions Series Final at Munich, Germany, Dec. 19-21, but is uncertain if she will compete there. She expects to be healthy for the Olympic trials, to be held at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Philadelphia Jan. 4-11.

Jurisprudence

Former NHL Players Association chief Alan Eagleson was ordered to stand trial by a judge on fraud and theft charges in Toronto after waiving a preliminary hearing on allegations he stole more than $200,000 from Hockey Canada, the NHL and the union.

The charges stem from allegations Eagleson defrauded the hockey organizations of more than $100,000 during the 1984 Canada Cup tournament. He’s also charged with stealing $100,000 from Hockey Canada between 1982 and 1985.

Soccer

The United States will find out today in Marseille, France if it is a No. 3 seed for the World Cup draw, and England will learn if it’s one of the eight top-seeded teams.

Defending champion Brazil and host France are guaranteed two of the eight No. 1 seeds, and Germany, Italy and Argentina appear assured of top seeds under any system the World Cup organizing committee adopts.

FIFA will split the 32 World Cup qualifiers into eight four-team groups during Thursday’s draw. To prepare for the draw, the organizing committee will assign each nation to one of four “pools”--for No. 1, 2, 3 and 4 seeds.

Soccer fans set fires and clashed at Olympic Stadium in Athens, the second time in a little more than a week violence disrupted a first-division game.

Fans from the country’s two biggest rivals, Panathinaikos Athens and Olympiakos Piraeus, began hurling fireworks and seats at each other at the start of the second half. Olympiakos led, 1-0, at halftime.

Many fans set fire to some of the 80,000 plastic seats, which had been renovated for last summer’s world championships in track and field.

Police reported at least six arrests and two officers injured.

On Nov. 23, five people and two players were injured during clashes between spectators of Olympiakos and Ionikos Nikea.