Winter Olympic Notebook -- Countdown To Nagano: 34 Days -- February 7-22 -- Snow Falls, And Silence Speaks For A Serenity

Four years ago on the white rolling hills of Norway, a member of the Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee marveled at the abundant snowfall in and around Lillehammer during the Winter Games.

His observations didn't exactly quell speculation about Central Japan's ability to play host to the 1998 Winter Olympics, which begin Feb. 7 in Nagano.

But no one could have predicted the impact of El Nino, the weather phenomenon that is expected to produce a lean year of snow for the region. Already apprehensive ski officials had become panicky.

Japanese organizers tried to calm nerves by announcing they would import snow if it came to that. The Japanese self-defense corps has been on standby, ready to dump truckloads of snow on the barren cross-country course, which needs at least 14 inches of cover to hold Olympic races.

It appears the corps can relax.

It started snowing in Nagano last week, a day after officials prayed to Shinto gods for deliverance. Nobuyuki Fukushima, mayor of Hakuba, the resort village site for alpine skiing, ski-jumping and cross-country events, participated with 50 other officials in the prayer service.

"In troubled times we pray to the gods," the mayor said.

It is Japanese tradition to go to Buddhist temples on New Year's Eve to pray for prosperity in the coming year, and the shrine in Nagano is one of the country's most sacred.

Perhaps other ski resorts should try it. A lack of snow has disrupted World Cup racing in Europe and Whistler, B.C., this season.

Like other ski operators, the Japanese also use scientific methods to prepare for the worst. The Nagano Olympic Organizing Committee has snow-making equipment for the alpine courses, as required by the International Ski Federation.

That doesn't ensure successful racing, though. Hakuba is tricky to predict, much like Whistler, which saw the cancellation of its last two World Cup downhills because of unfavorable weather conditions. Nagano's two World Cup downhills in 1996 also were canceled and rain forced a change in starting times for a women's race in February.

Also, winds caused cancellation of a World Cup ski-jump at Hakuba's normal hill. Organizers plan to install floodlights at the site so events could continue into evening hours if necessary.

A pronunciation

It's time to clear this up: Although U.S. broadcasters have been pronouncing the host city Na-GA-no, many Japanese speakers say it is incorrect, according to an informal survey conducted by The Seattle Times.

While skiing in Whistler last month, I asked Japanese skiers how they pronounce the Olympic city. Most said they put equal emphasis on each syllable: NA-GA-NO. National broadcaster NHK, considered the arbiter of Japanese pronunciation, agrees.

Nagano organizers told U.S. media in October the proper pronunciation was Na-GA-no, which is the official version used by the U.S. Olympic Committee. Hence, the broadcasters' enunciation.

"It is difficult to say for sure what the correct way of pronouncing it is," said Masanori Moriya, a Nagano official.

Nagano, by the way, means "long field."

A revelation

Although she missed a chance to gain her first World Cup victory, Kristina Koznick of Minnesota had the best finish of her career with a second place in the slalom at Leinz, Austria, last week.

"I'm not disappointed because my goal was to finish in the top three," Koznick said. "It's a tough position to be in after the first run and I am proud of myself that I hung in there in the second."

She led Ylva Nowen of Sweden after the first run.

Koznick, of Burnsville, Minn., is in her sixth year on the national team, although she missed a season after suffering torn ligaments in her left knee in 1994. She never had placed better then 10th before this season, but now has one second, two fourths and a sixth.

"The fact that I'm consistent shows how good I've become," Koznick said. "The main reason is that I believe in myself for the first time. This summer, I asked myself, `Do I love this sport? What do I want to do?' "

An inspiration

Chantale Sevigny of Quebec isn't waiting for the Paralympics. The short-track speedskater who has been deaf since birth, qualified as one of six women for the Canadian Olympic team last week.

Sevigny, who speaks and lip-reads French, is in her third year of international skating. On the ice, she makes use of what her coach, Marcel Lacroix, describes as super peripheral vision. She relies on signals from Lacroix and watching shadows of opponents on the ice to know where her competition is.

"Her hearing is definitely a handicap she has to overcome," Lacroix told the Toronto Star. "This is a sport you need to hear. But I've never heard her come back and say she lost because of that. I've never heard her make one excuse."

A dedication

The Olympics really are about our humanity. They're about the singular struggle to compete, not necessarily to win a gold medal.

So, it is easy to root for Ochirsukh Dagvadorj, a Mongolian cross-country skier, who hopes to march into the stadium at Minami Nagano Sports Park behind countryman and sumo star Kyokushuzan in the opening ceremony.

If not, Kyokushuzan will lead the delegation for Kazakhstan in the parade of nations because no other athletes are expected to represent Mongolia.

Dagvadorj competed in last week's Japanese cross-country meet as part of the qualifying process for the Olympics. He finished 117th among the 216 in the men's 10-kilometer classical race. He needs to race twice more this month to satisfy International Ski Federation rules for Olympic qualification.

"I think I skied well," he said. "I understand there are going to be about 100 competitors in Nagano and I hope to finish somewhere between 70th and 80th."

Dagvadorj was able to pay only for a one-way ticket to Japan. The Sapporo ski association, which is bidding to host the 2003 Nordic world championships, paid the rest of the expenses, including accommodations and a return ticket.

Dagvadorj had to obtain his skis and ski boots in Norway because they are not sold in Mongolia. Still, his equipment was out of style by Japanese standards. He didn't even bring wax - a necessity in cross-country racing.

Notes

-- From Rick Burton, director of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon: "Here we are under 60 days away from the opening ceremony, and the Olympics on CBS almost seems like a nonevent. That's nothing against CBS . . . it's just that the Winter Games don't play as well as the Summer Olympics - unless the figure skaters are hitting each other in the knees with pipes."

-- Australia's Zali Steggall is heading toward fame after placing fifth in the second slalom of the season in Val d'Isere, France. Steggall, who won the season opener last month, is in second place in the World Cup slalom standings.

-- Advance tickets for shuttle bus services to competition sites from train stations and parking lots during the Olympics will be on sale tomorrow. The tickets will be sold at sales counters by domestic tourist agents JTB Inc., Kinki Nippon Tourist Co., Nippon Travel Agency, Tokyu Tourist Corp., Nokyo Tourist Corp. and Meitetsu World Travel Corp.

-- Olympic mascots Sukki, Nokki, Lekki and Tsukki visited the Zenkoji Temple on New Year's Day to pray for success of the Games. Each year, thousands of Japanese make a midnight pilgrimage to the famous Buddhist temple to pray for health and prosperity in the coming year.