Birds of Prey Attacks

Three days after Reigning World Cup Champion Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway crashed while training for the Birds of Prey Downhill event in Beaver Creek, Colo., the Austrian Michael Walchhofer won the only World Cup Downhill title given on U.S. snow. Walchhofer beat Steven Nyman of Provo, Utah, by 0.05 seconds to become the first non-American to win at Beaver Creek since 2002 - the same year Walchhofer took silver at Birds of Prey.
    The Austrian won on a course that was shortened by rules officials after strong winds and heavy snow disrupted the competition this morning. And while more snow is in the forecast before tomorrow's Super G, clear skies covered the mountain on Tuesday when Svindal crashed on the Golden Eagle Jump. The crash left the World Cup overall champ with multiple broken bones in his face and a severe laceration on his leg according to the Vail Valley Medical Center. Svindal is expected to recover fully from the crash, which can be seen in this Norwegian-language video from Tuesday.

--Jason Kerkmans