Olympic Notebook -- Jamaican Sled Overweight

LILLEHAMMER, Norway - No one can accuse Jamaican bobsledders of taking the Olympics lightly.

The two-man team of Dudley Stokes and Wayne Thomas was disqualified after yesterday's final two medal race heats because Thomas had put on too much weight and their sled was 7.9 pounds overweight.

"We screwed up," said Leo Campbell, head of the Jamaican bobsled federation and the country's Olympic delegation.

Yesterday, the Jamaicans were 25th of 43 before being wiped off the list.

"It's still a credible performance in terms of where we stand," Campbell said.

He said the team is concentrating on the four-man race next weekend.

"We're here for the four-man. The two-man is not a major part of our program as in some European countries."

Austrians 0 for 12

RINGEBU, Norway - The Austrians have the deepest alpine ski team in the world. And it is 0 for 12 in medals after four races.

Herwig Demschar, the Austrian coach, blames the performance on the death of downhiller Ulrike Maier last month.

"Imagine if one of your close friends suddenly died," Demschar said. "You cannot help being affected by an experience like that."

The Austrians were no-shows yesterday. Anita Wachter, leader in World Cup standings in the giant slalom, was ill and did not race in the combined downhill.

`Gold Room' good to U.S. skiers

RINGEBU, Norway - It's called the "Gold Room," with a flash of silver as well.

Picabo Street became the latest U.S. alpine medalist who slept in the room at the athletes' village when she took the silver in the women's downhill Saturday.

U.S. team officials said all the U.S. alpine medalists - Tommy Moe, who won the men's downhill and won a silver in the men's super-giant slalom; women's super-G winner Diann Roffe-Steinrotter, and Street - all have been assigned to the room at one time or another.

Notes

-- Tim Tetrault, a U.S. nordic combined skier who finished 30th Saturday, slipped on ice and broke his left leg later that night in downtown Lillehammer. He wasn't alone. The Olympic Hospital at Smestad reported treating 27 people for broken bones Saturday.

-- A Canadian television network reported that targets malfunctioned in the biathlon competition, costing Svetlana Paramygina of Belarus the gold medal in the 15-kilometer race. Friday's competition was won by Canada's Myriam Bedard.