Austrian skiers show the way on eve of Games

As the Olympic torch entered Salt Lake City on the eve of Friday's opening ceremony, Stephan Eberharter led an Austrian one-two in practice for Sunday's downhill, the blue riband event of the Winter Games.

The first meaningful action at the Snowbasin resort wrested attention away from concerns about the weather, security and drug-taking, the unwelcome guest at every Olympic feast.

U.S. bobsledder Pavle Jovanovic's last-minute attempt to take part in the Games failed when he was banned for two years after appealing against a nine-month doping suspension.

Gusting winds could lead to cuts in the two-hour opening ceremony and organisers warned spectators to wrap up warm and wear two pairs of long underwear to keep out the cold.

Up to two inches of snow are expected on Thursday night and winds gusting to 25 knots will hit the Utah capital in the morning, although they should ease by nightfall.

One element of the ceremony, due to start at 1900 local (0200 GMT), will not be affected by the weather - the entry of a tattered flag dragged from the rubble of the World Trade Centre after the September 11 attacks.

"I believe it will be a very emotional and powerful moment, perhaps the most powerful moment of the opening ceremony," said Mitt Romney, head of the Salt Lake City Organising Committee.

President George Bush's expected presence among 52,000 spectators at Rice-Eccles stadium will increase the vigilance of 15,000 troops, police and secret service agents blanketing the city in response to the attacks on New York and Washington.

A suspicious package was found in a car park in downtown Salt Lake City at midday and detonated by police, but it turned out to be a hoax device made up of electrical fuses and wires.

FASTEST RUN

Eberharter is favourite to win at least one gold on the Grizzly piste at Snowbasin and he showed why on Thursday, with a fastest run of one minute 39.07 seconds.

Seven Austrians placed in the top 15 to underline their determination to dominate the key event of the Alpine schedule. The 32-year-old said racing down the demanding course was like riding a roller-coaster.

"It's very technical -- there are lots of traverses and jumps so you've got to ski it with patience, use your head and not force anything."

Jovanovic was banned for nine months after testing positive for the steroid norandrostenendione at the Olympic trials on December 29. He appealed against the decision to the Court of Arbitration in Sport but his strategy failed spectacularly.

World Anti-Doping Agency chairman Dick Pound praised the CAS ruling. "This is the right decision," he told Reuters. "It's good for the sport and it's good for the Olympics."

Most of the 2,531 athletes from 77 countries spent the day fine-tuning their preparations for the 17-day Games.

Some, like Japanese speedskater Hiroyasu Shimizu, the world record holder and Olympic champion in the 500 metres, are worried about injuries.

"Rather than thinking about the pressure of the Olympics I am worried about my hip," Shimizu said on Thursday.

For Russian defenseman, Dmitry Yushkevich, the news was worse - he has been ruled out of the Games with a leg injury picked up playing for Toronto Maple Leafs in Tuesday's NHL game against the Minnesota Wild.