Winter Olympics: Cousins at home in elite company

Steven Cousins produced a glimpse of his potential as he claimed ninth place at the Lillehammer Games last night. He slipped from his overnight seventh, but in the free programme he looked far from outclassed in a powerful field. Aleksei Urmanov, of Russia, won the gold medal thanks to a breathtaking programme, packed with eight triple jumps. Cousins's Canadian training partner, Elvis Stojko, claimed silver with Philippe Candeloro of France taking bronze. Cousins, following 1988 Olympic champion Brian Boitano on to the ice and preceding the four-time world champion Kurt Browning, was not overawed. He landed six triples, including the difficult axel, but came to grief on a triple flip from which he tumbled to the ice.