The elements continued to play havoc with the Winter Olympics when women's downhill training was cancelled, as Germany's Felix Loch won an emotion-charged final of the disaster-hit luge.
France claimed two gold medals on day three of a Games struggling to bounce back from the horrific death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili and the persistent weather woes that have plagued the event.
Loch led a German 1-2 in the luge final with compatriot David Moeller finishing second and Italy's Armin Zoeggler third.
The 2008 and 2009 world champion ended with a huge winning margin -- his time over the four heats was 3 mins 13.085secs, some 0.679secs in front.
Kumaritashvili was killed on Friday after he lost control of his sled and was flung off the track before hitting a metal pillar at high speed.
The circuit was shortened and modified for the final in the aftermath, with the men racing lower down from the women's start.
Loch, the youngest winner of the title aged 20, said he was overjoyed to win such an emotional event.
"It was the right decision. I was worried that I wouldn't do so well, but it's ok, it's great," he said, referring to the track changes.
"My dad, he is very happy for me," he added of father Norbert, who is Germany's head coach.
Not everyone was so keen on the new set-up, with some women complaining that their shortened course was fit only for children.
"It's not a ladies' start, it's a kinder (child's) start," said Germany's Natalie Geisenberger.
The first gold of the day went to Frenchman Vincent Jay who did enough to edge out Norway's Emil Hegle Svendsen and Croatia's Jakov Fak to take the men's 10km biathlon sprint title.
Skiing left to Mother Nature's mercy
Jason Lamy-Chappuis made it a double French celebration when he claimed gold in the Nordic Combined, holding off American Johnny Spillane and Italian Alessandro Pittin in a thrilling dash to the line.
It left the country on top of the medal table, ahead of Germany, the United States and South Korea.
Meanwhile, Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic won the 3,000-metre women's speedskating title ahead of Germany's Stephanie Beckert and Canada's Kristina Groves.
While those events went ahead, the women's alpine skiing opener, the super-combined, did not.
It was originally set for Sunday in the mountains of Whistler but too much snow coupled with rain had already forced it to be been rescheduled for Thursday and the problems got worse when training again proved impossible.
So far, only two women have been able to complete a training run over the past four days.
The men's downhill, scheduled for Saturday, also failed to take place. That race is now expected to run on Monday, weather permitting.
Despite mounting problems, Games' organisers remained upbeat.
"The weather is starting to cooperate and we're confident the men's downhill will go ahead on Monday and it is looking good for the ladies competition as well," said Renee Smith-Valade, spokeswoman for organising committee VANOC.
The International Olympic Committee added that it had no concerns yet with the disruptions to the alpine calendar.
"At this stage, we believe the weather forecast is looking good," said spokesman Mark Adams.
While Whistler has too much snow, Cypress Mountain, just outside Vancouver, has been struggling with unseasonably warm temperatures that has forced tonnes of snow to be ferried in.
The women's moguls finals were able to run there on Saturday and the men's event is set for Sunday, with Australia's Canadian-born Olympic champion Dale Begg-Smith firm favourite to retain his title. Women lugers bemoan 'abnormal child's start'
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