The fifth day of the Calgary Olympics wasn't about who won but who lost, and the way it was done.
Switzerland's Pirmin Zurbriggen had designs on a five-event sweep in alpine skiing and was already on his way. Earlier in the week, he won the downhill event, then was poised for his second gold after finishing first in the downhill portion of the alpine combined.
All he needed to do was finish the slalom.
Instead, he crashed, allowing Hubert Strolz of Austria to claim gold.
Elsewhere, there was an exhausting Finnish to the women's 5-km classic cross-country ski race, when Marjo Matikainen of Finland collapsed after crossing the finish line.
The second-longest men's speed-skating race was also this day, and the Olympic Oval's ice was proving to give competitors a boost.
A total of 29 skaters bested Eric Heiden's world record set in 1980 at Lake Placid, but it was Sweden's Tomas Gustafson who came away victorious.
Meanwhile, there was no repeat of the Miracle on Ice at the Saddledome. The U.S. men's hockey team, which pulled off a huge upset of the Soviets in 1980, were dumped 7-5 in round-robin action.
The turning point was when American Brian Leetch's shot rang off the post and Soviet defensive wizard Viacheslav Fetisov grabbed the puck and scored.
On the same ice, a different rivalry was taking form. After the men's compulsories in figure skating, Soviet Alexander Fadeev led. But American Brian Boitano sat second and Canadian Brian Orser third, setting up the famous Battle of the Brians.
