Romney Shows He Can Be as Hands-On as Anyone

Mitt Romney has a reputation as a hands-on guy, but Sunday the president of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee took that notion a step further.

Romney was caught in two massive traffic jams as spectators streamed to Snow Basin for one of the Games premier events, the men’s downhill. The event, with a capacity of 23,500, was sold out. The first occurred after an auxiliary parking lot filled and motorists leaving the highway failed to heed a sign indicating just that.

“We had an entire interstate that exited where they shouldn’t have exited,” Romney said during a news conference, where he drew an intricate diagram of the incident.

Romney, whose car was caught in the crowd, said he got out and directed traffic for about half an hour.

Some time later, Romney’s entourage was stymied again, closer to the venue. This time a line of 75 buses carrying media, IOC members and spectators was backed up. The first bus in line, Romney said, did not have proper credentials. The can-do CEO rushed to the rescue again, telling security guards that he would personally vouch for the unaccredited bus.

Romney estimated that about 10% of those seeking to attend the event were delayed. As for him, Romney said he missed the first five or six runs.

On one bus stuck in winding gridlock, fans watched skiers through the front window, cheering and ringing cowbells as if they were actually in the stands.

At that point, many of them had been traveling on buses for three hours. Their trip included a crushing, lengthy security checkpoint at the foot of the hill, followed by a transfer to an ancient city bus that chugged them to the top. Several buses, both old and new, broke down at the side of the road during that journey.

A Secure Feeling

The unprecedented security in place here appears to be working. Romney said that in the Games’ first few days only three incidents of note have occurred.

They are:

* A pipe bomb was found north of Ogden, apparently fashioned by a group of local teenagers. Romney said the device had no connection with the Olympics.

* A bag of electrical components was found near a parking garage in downtown Salt Lake City and destroyed by a bomb squad.

* A SLOC employee at Snow Basin was found to have a machete in his car, which the employee told authorities was customary for him. Romney said the employee was “dealt with” but did not elaborate.

He said he is briefed twice a day about security matters and aside from “normal nuisance” reports, nothing of significance has happened.

Now for the Real Pain

Speedskating silver medalist Renate Groenewold of the Netherlands on skating the last two laps of the women’s 3,000-meter race:

“It’s pain, real pain. It feels like your legs are growing bigger and bigger and want to explode.

“It’s really hard to breathe and here, where the air is so dry, after the race, you can feel a little blood in your lungs.

“When it’s over, you just want to sit down--but you can’t.

“You have to keep skating [cool-down laps to dissipate built up lactic acid].”

OK, but apparently, when it comes to that sort of thing, age has its privileges.

Emese Hunyady, soon to be 36, born in Hungary but skating now for Austria in her sixth Olympics, finished her race, in the then-Olympic-record time of 4 minutes 6.55 seconds, skated a single cool-down lap, then sat on a mat at the edge of the warmup lane, eventually lying flat on her back.

After a short rest, she got up and continued her cool-down.

Later, when asked if this were her last Olympics, she said she thought she’d be back for one or two more.

Going Downhill Fast

France’s Pierre-Emmanuel Dalcin finished 11th in Sunday’s downhill, yet ought to get some sort of medal for his somewhat miraculous, one-ski performance through the finish line.

Traveling at speeds in excess of 80 mph near the end of the race, Dalcin lost his right ski yet managed a standing-up stop in the coral on his left ski, for which Dalcin received a thunderous ovation from the crowd.

Tres bon, Dalcin.

“I just lost it,” he said of the ski that escaped him.

“The most important thing was not to fall.”

Light Their Fire

During a post-opening-ceremony news conference, Mike Eruzione held the final Olympic torch in front of Romney with one request.

“I got a message from the team,” he said. “They all want one of these.”

No word on whether Romney will allow it, but here’s guessing each of the 20 members will, like every other torch bearer, be asked to pay $335 per torch.

Call Him Later

The king phoned, but Johann Muehlegg couldn’t take the call.

Muehlegg, a Germany-born, naturalized citizen of Spain, received an honor few other Spaniards have--a congratulatory call from King Juan Carlos.

Muehlegg was in the drug testing area at the time.

He won the gold medal in the 30-kilometer cross-country race, only Spain’s third medal ever in the Winter Games and its second gold.

“I’m really sorry I missed the call, but it was a tremendous honor that he tried,” Muehlegg said.

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Times staff writers Julie Cart, Chris Dufrense, Mike Kupper and Bill Plaschke and the Associated Press contributed to this report.