Sunday, February 26, 2006

Close Call


There was an incredible display of athletic prowess on display in Torino last Thursday when Norwegian bobsledder Andrus Halvorsen narrowly avoided running down Austrian cross-country skier Klaudia Bernhard. The one man sled being driven by Halvorsen at a speed approaching 90 mph (or 144 kmh) jumped the bank and spun wildly out of control down the mountain slope. Bernhard, who was traversing the mountain laterally, was concentrating so hard on her own performance, she didn't notice the bobsled until it was too late. Halvorsen managed to straighten his vehicle at the last second and, throwing all of his weight into it, steered hard right, the direction the skier had come from. Unfortunately, it dawned on Ms. Bernhard a split second earlier that she had dropped her glove and so turned back to recover it. Halvorsen saw this in an amount of time so miniscule as to baffle non-bobsledders, and reacted accordingly, turning sharply back to the left. In that instant, Bernhard realized her glove was still on her hand, and proceeded to turn back in the direction she was originally heading. It now appeared there was no way an abrupt and violent crash could be avoided. Fortunately for both athletes, their families, the city of Torino (or Turin), Italy, Europe, the Olympic Committee and the entire world watching the games on television, listening to the games on radio, receiving pictures of the games on cell phones or just imagining the games in their heads as they drove to work, the bobsled hit a dry spot in the snow and came to an abrupt stop just inches (or centimeters) from young Klaudia Bernhard. You should have seen it, because it really was incredible.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ha! I DID see it, and it was rubbish. Barnhard Itaxia, my nerfbloom! Why, it didn't even make the sniggle cut! And you call yourself a mososaur. BAH!
And while were on the subject, why in hell do I have to be able to read those strange letters to post a lousy comment? If I'da knowed there was to be a quiz, I'd have ditched. Oh, sorry, looks like I have.

Jay King said...

I never called myself a mososaur and those "strange letters" are there for your own protection, just like all the restroom cameras.
Honestly, I need a better quality commenter.