Tahoe’s Mancuso, 33, calls it a career
Lake Tahoe’s Julia Mancuso has abandoned an attempt to qualify for her fifth Winter Olympics, announcing her retirement Friday after one of the U.S.’s best ski racing careers in history.
Mancuso, 33, had hoped for a miracle recovery after reconstructive surgery in 2015 on her right hip. She returned to competition last month for the first time in two years but was not close to ready for the demanding World Cup circuit.
The Olympic gold medalist held out hope as late as last weekend when posting a tweet that said: “Ps. I’m not racing. Saving my energy and hoping to have my best races in Cortina!!! One more week to qualify for the Olympics!”
Mancuso was born with hip dysplasia, a condition that can cause hip joint issues. She underwent surgery in 2006. The second surgery two years ago was far more extensive.
“It has been an epic battle with my hip injury, and the past three years I have put everything into returning to competition at the highest level and the goal to reach my fifth Olympic Games,” Mancuso said in a statement Friday. “There have been really promising days during this challenging process, and I have kept my spirits up despite many who questioned or doubted me. Sadly, I haven’t found the progression to compete with the best in the world again, but I’m proud to have fought until the very end.”
Although overshadowed by Lindsey Vonn, Mancuso is America’s most decorated female Olympic skier or snowboarder. She also has won five medals at the World Championships.
— Elliott Almond
Olympics
IOC CREATES POOL OF ELIGIBLE RUSSIAN ATHLETES >> The International Olympic Committee says it has created a pool of 389 Russians who are eligible to compete under a neutral flag at next month’s Winter Olympics amid the country’s doping scandal.
An IOC panel whittled down an initial list of 500 to create what the IOC calls “a pool of clean athletes.”
It wasn’t immediately clear why 111 others were rejected, whether because of doping suspicions or because they simply hadn’t qualified for the Olympics.
The IOC will use the pool list to issue invitations to Russian athletes to compete in Pyeongchang, after checking their record of drug testing.
College football
STANFORD LB BATTLING NON-HODGKIN’S LYMPHOMA
>> Stanford junior inside linebacker Ryan Beecher has announced he is receiving treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but will remain enrolled in classes and looks forward to making a full recovery. He also hopes to contribute again to the Cardinal football team.
The school released his statement Friday with no additional details. Beecher appeared in 13 games last season and made three tackles for the Cardinal.
Beecher says: “With the help and support of my family, friends and teammates, I remain inspired to once again contribute to the Cardinal football team.”
Autopsy
DRUGS FOUND IN HALLADAY’S SYSTEM >> An autopsy report says retired star pitcher Roy Halladay had evidence of amphetamine, morphine and an insomnia drug in his system when he died in a small plane crash in Florida last year.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that an autopsy released Friday shows the former Toronto Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies All-Star died from blunt force trauma with drowning as a contributing factor when he crashed his personal plane into the Gulf of Mexico.
The National Transportation Safety Board hasn’t identified a cause for the crash. A witness told investigators Halladay’s ICON A5 climbed to between 300 and 500 feet before it went into a 45-degree dive and slammed into the water.