Spiele » downhill bronze behind Mayer at the 2014 Sochi Olympics

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Matt Fuerbringer watches intently during warmups, first with hands on hips before he briefly crosses his arms then immediately moves them behind his back. After that, its a thumbs-up to four-time Olympian Reid Priddy and a high-five with David Lee.A quick hug and handshake for technical coordinator Nate Ngo.The top assistant mens volleyball coach for the U.S. team adjusts his headset well before the first ball is struck, then is right in the huddle during timeouts and hollering from the bench, fingers clasped around a clipboard.This is the Olympics Fuerbringer never had as a player. He came close to making the beach team for London four years ago.I do miss playing, yeah, I miss it a lot. But this is a different type of love, its a different type of impact, he said. Its really fun that these guys let me be on the journey with them.A former standout player both indoors and on sand, the 42-year-old Fuerbringer has been the reliable right-hand man for John Speraw as he balances dual coaching roles with the national team and UCLA.The U.S. lost a thrilling five-set semifinal to Italy on Friday, the Americans four-game winning streak snapped since a loss to Italy in the second match of pool play. They will play Sunday morning for bronze.Fuerbringer is the brainchild behind their blocking defense.Speraw also so appreciates Fuerbringers strength developing strong relationships with the players.Thats a really important role for an assistant coach but particularly in this situation when Im managing two programs, Speraw said.It was Fuerbringer who first texted setter Micah Christenson with an invite into the U.S. gym when another body was needed for training.Hes definitely the most relatable in the volleyball sense. He has a great mind for volleyball. We really respect what he says, Christenson said. Hes doing all of that dirty work.While he is enjoying being part of the indoor teams run in Rio, Fuerbringer still couldnt wait to steal away to Copacabana beach and root for his old beach volleyball partner, Nick Lucena.He got a thrill watching Lucena on the sand alongside Phil Dalhausser before they were eliminated in Mondays quarterfinals, and they hung out Sunday.For the indoor team, not only is Fuerbringer the eyes for Speraw as needed, he makes at least one trip each winter to check up on the American players abroad with their professional club teams.Of the whole staff, hes the one whos kind of been there and done that, Ngo said. He played on the indoor national team and had an awesome career on the beach, so his ability to relate to the guys and know what theyre going through in a big moment, hes been in those situations.Lee counts on Fuerbringer to discuss ideas and strategy in the middle of matches, during training or off the court.When the Americans dropped their first two games in Brazil, Fuerbringer and the staff stressed the basics: Get back to just focusing on effort and not the results.Its great to have a guy whos competed at the highest level and knows what were going through, and he obviously brings a big impact to our blocking defense, Lee said. So that means I have a lot of discussions with him. Hes always there for me to figure out what to do on the next play.Fuerbringer said everyone on staff has helped in key moments during this Rio run.Just like the 12th man on the roster is part of the team, the last coach on the rosters part of the team, Fuerbringer said. 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VAL DISERE, France -- Norway dominated, Kjetil Jansrud won, and Austria struggled.The first downhill of the mens World Cup season on Saturday traced the same path down the sun-soaked Val dIsere course as the super-G one day earlier.Jansrud has gone 2-for-2 in the first speed races with teammate Aksel Lund Svindal defying expectations after a 10-month injury absence to join him again on the podium.Relying on technical skills ahead of pure speed, Jansrud was 0.26 seconds faster than Peter Fill of Italy, the defending World Cup downhill champion, down the 3.4-kilometer (2-mile) Oreiller-Killy course.Its an amazing beginning, said Jansrud, who won the season-long downhill title in 2015. You never know, but I hoped for sure for a start like this.Svindal, who was runner-up on Friday, placed third, trailing 0.33 behind his fellow Norwegian. Only the top three finished in under two minutes.Im very satisfied, said Svindal, who lacked stamina after limited top-level training since rupturing his right ligaments in January. Its a very hard landing (on the jumps) and I took a second before I got my breath.For the second straight day, Norway and Italy filled the podium and the traditionally powerful Austria team was never in contention.The best placed Austrian, in 17th, was Olympic champion Matthias Mayer who came down 1.45 slower than Jansrud.It was a terrible day, Austria team director Hans Pum told The Associated Press. In the last 40 years I cant remember many like this. We have to analyze exactly what has happened.Austrias winless streak in the marquee downhill discipline extended to 13 races since Hannes Reichelt won at Kvitfjell, Norway, in March 2015.Norway has now won eight of those 13 downhills, with Svindall, Jansrud and Aleksander Aamodt Kilde all taking victories for a small but high-class team.ddddddddddddEveryone will start screaming in the Austrian media, for sure, said Jansrud, adding he was not surprised at the rival teams result, citing Mayer returning from a back injury and Reichelt slowed by knee pains.We need to have fast Austrians to keep the entertainment coming and the spectators coming, said Jansrud, who took downhill bronze behind Mayer at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.Jansruds win on Saturday was keyed by skiing well through a turning middle section in the shadows where rivals typically lost at least a half-second to him.The lead was threatened by Steven Nyman before the United States racer strayed wide into rough snow midway down. Nyman placed 15th, ending his streak of four straight top-three finishes in downhill.While Jansrud was only 18th fastest at either of the two speed checks, Fill was the only racer to hit 122 kph (76 mph).Im surprised for my performance, said Fill, who took the downhill crystal trophy last season by edging ahead of Svindal, who missed the last five races after crashing at Kitzbuehel, Austria.Austrias slow start is not really my problem, Fill said. They have good skiers. For me, its better that they dont go too fast.Marcel Hirscher, the five-time defending overall World Cup winner, will seek to restore Austrian pride in a giant slalom on Sunday.Val dIsere hosted a World Cup downhill for the first time in 10 seasons.The French resort took over a three-race weekend meeting which was cancelled at Beaver Creek, Colorado, because of lack of snow. ' ' '