The postponement of Sunday’s super-giant slalom because...

The postponement of Sunday’s super-giant slalom because of heavy snow and dense fog means the United States’ women’s Alpine skiing team is assured of starting the final week of Olympic competition without a medal.

The super-G has been rescheduled for today, weather permitting, which gives the U.S. an extra day to rest injured star Lindsey Kildow and assess an otherwise dour-looking situation.

Kildow, who injured her back a week ago in a downhill training-run accident, was ready to start Sunday’s super-G. She raced in the downhill two days after her crash, finishing eighth, but skied out in her first slalom run of Friday’s combined event.

“She is definitely banged up,” U.S. Alpine Director Jesse Hunt said in a conference call Sunday. “No doubt she is a tough competitor, a tough athlete.”

The super-G postponement also helps Croatia’s Janica Kostelic, who won the combined gold but said she was too sick to ski Sunday.

Kildow’s injury diminished her medal chances in two events. Julia Mancuso, America’s hottest racer before the Games, has managed only seventh- and ninth-place finishes in the downhill and combined.

“Certainly we are not reaching the goals we laid out,” said Hunt, who’d targeted eight medals for the men and women. So far, only Ted Ligety has answered the call in winning Tuesday’s combined.

The women have three more events, the men two.

Kristina Koznick, who partially tore right knee ligaments in a training run Feb. 4, said Sunday that she would skip Friday’s giant slalom but would try to race in Wednesday’s slalom.

Koznick is viewed as the top U.S. slalom hope although she has not won a World Cup race since 2003 and failed to finish the event at the 1998 and 1992 Olympics. The 30-year-old from Minneapolis has six World Cup victories in her career.

Koznick said she was using crutches until Saturday but hoped to be ready to race Wednesday.

“It would be a kind of fairy tale to win a medal,” Koznick said. “But I’m going to go as fast as I can.”

Koznick said she was surprised that the U.S. Alpine team had not fared better in Turin.

“It’s frustrating,” she said. “I know everyone is frustrated with the results. We have some events left and have to keep on pushing through.”

Hunt also set the U.S. field for the women’s technical races this week.

Koznick, Sarah Schleper, Resi Stiegler and Kildow will race the slalom, with Schleper, Mancuso, Kildow and Stacy Cook, replacing Koznick, going in giant slalom. If form holds, Kildow will end up racing in all five Alpine disciplines, which seemed unthinkable last week when she crashed at San Sicario.