Husker Olympiad

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Todd Hays narrowly missed Olympic gold four years ago. His next shot comes at the Turin Games, and he'll have Pavle Jovanovic this time to help the cause.

 

Hays — a native of Del Rio who now lives in Concan — and Steven Holcomb were the two drivers selected for the U.S. men's Olympic bobsled team Monday, headlining a lineup with few surprises.

 

Both will drive in the two- and four-man competitions at Turin next month, and Jovanovic — a talented brakeman who missed the Salt Lake City Games after testing positive for a banned steroid, despite claims he accidentally ingested the product through a tainted supplement — will likely be in Hays' sled for both events.

 

Along with that trio, the U.S. Bobsled and Skeleton Federation picked 2002 Olympians Steve Mesler, Bill Schuffenhauer and Randy Jones, along with Brock Kreitzburg, Curt Tomasevicz and Lorenzo Smith III to complete the roster.

 

Schuffenhauer and Jones were silver-medalists four years ago, riding in Hays' sled. This will be the fourth Olympic trip for Jones.

 

Hays, a former linebacker at Tulsa and one-time national kickboxing champion, currently leads the World Cup standings in two-man events and ranks second in the four-man standings — even though he earned no points after crashing in a race at Lake Placid, N.Y., in November.

 

"The goal is simple, a gold medal," Hays said. "That's what everyone here is shooting for and what we're working for."

 

 

In other news

 

• Nordic combined and jumping team named — The United States selected seven previous Olympians in Nordic combined and jumping to the American contingent for the Turin Games.

Todd Lodwick, a six-time World Cup champion, highlighted the list of 11 representatives in the two sports.

 

• Spending tops $3.6 billion — The final budget for next month's Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, was approved Monday, covering a $96.3 million shortfall that caused months of delays.

The vote had been scheduled for last month and was further delayed last week.

 

The approved budget — covering the operating costs of the Feb. 10-26 games — totals $1.4 billion.

 

Overall spending, including construction, is estimated at more than $3.6 billion.