17 février 2006

Terry Jones

No hug yet.

"I have had many, many e-mails from Canada through our federation," says Sara Renner's valentine, Bjornar Haakensmoen of Norway.

Haakensmoen is the coach who handed Renner his ski pole when hers broke in the cross-country relay. Renner and Beckie Scott went on to win silver for Canada while Norway ended up fourth.

"I understand Canada is very satisfied with me," he said. "I understand it is a big issue in Canada, but it wasn't a big issue to me. It's sportsmanship. It's what I like to do. I was happy to do it. But I still don't have my hug from Sara."

Renner said she'd hug him if she could find him.

"I don't know what he looks like," she said. "I sent him a bottle of wine."

"I got the bottle of wine," Haakensmoen said. "She left it with our waxing people.

"But no hug. I want my hug.

"I said hello to her this morning but I think she doesn't know me. I'm still ready for my hug."

Renner would have hugged everybody at the cross-country venue yesterday if she'd held the lead in the 10-km race.

For the longest time, Renner was first and Canadians were coming out of their seats in the rain watching the event. She ended up eighth.

"For her to ski eighth is really overachieving for her," Canadian coach Dave Wood said.

"What she did was phenomenal."

Renner, who sees herself more of a sprinter than a middle distance skier, was leading at the halfway mark. First at 2.6- and 6.2-km intervals, she dropped to seventh by the 8.8-km mark and held on to eighth, 41.6 seconds back of winner Kristina Smigun of Estonia. Haakensmoen's Norway skiers, Marit Bjorgen and Hilde Pedersen, won the silver and bronze.

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