PARK CITY — Snowboarder Chris Klug's quest of an Olympic medal in parallel giant slalom remained alive late Friday morning.
Klug, whose liver transplant 18 months ago has become a familiar story in the 2002 Winter Games, advanced to the semifinals after competition Friday morning and was guaranteed at least a fourth-place finish.
The Aspen, Colo., resident had a .31-second advantage over Canadian Jerome Sylvestre after the first run in the head-to-head competition. Sylvestre nearly made up the time differential in the second run, but Klug hung on for a .05-second win.
Klug beat Walter Feichter of Italy in a come-from-behind win.
Meantime, Boise, Idaho, native Lisa Kosglow also moved on to the quarters with a solid first-round win over Aasa Windahl of Sweden. Kosglow was scheduled to face pre-race favorite and 1998 Olympic gold medalist Karine Ruby in the next round.
The race was scheduled to finish after press deadlines Friday.
The racing was fast and furious on the steep, hard-packed course in the early heats. Nearly half of the riders in both early men's and women's heats crashed before the finish line.
Favorites Dejan Kosir of Slovenia and Frenchmen Nicolas Huet and Mathieu Bozzetto moved to the quarterfinals on the mens's side, as did French teammates Karine Ruby, Isabelle Blanc and Julie Pomagalski on the women's. Reigning world champion Gilles Jaquet of Switzerland lost in the first round.
Klug and Lisa Kosglow were the only Americans to advance to today's 16-rider men's and women's elimination round. The knockout format calls for competitors to race side by side, with winners moving on to the next heat. The fastest qualifier is paired against the slowest qualifier, and so on down the line.
Five Americans failed Thursday to advance after the do-or-die single qualifying run which leaves no room for mistakes. Jeff Greenwood finished 20th, while Peter Thorndike was 27th.
Rosey Fletcher's 2002 Olympic dreams ended with tears streaming down her cheeks at the base of the hill. The Girdwood, Alaska native, considered the best U.S. snowboard racer, skidded around a gate near the top of the steep course and ended up going around the next gate riding backwards.
Thirty-seven-year-old Sondra Van Ert, who grew up in Bountiful and is the oldest competitor in the field, missed the finals by .09 seconds. American Lisa Odynski finished 27th.