News In Brief

First Sarajevo medals go to East German and Finn

East German speed-skater Karin Enke and Finnish cross-country racer Marija-Liisa Haemaelainen won the first two gold medals of the Winter Olympics Thursday.

Enke, the women's 500-meter gold medalist at Lake Placid four years ago, opened this year's speed-skating competition by powering her way to a world record of 2 minutes, 3.42 seconds in the 1,500 meters. Andrea Schone of East Germany won the silver medal and Natalia Petruseva of the Soviet Union the bronze.

Haemaelainen took the women's 10-kilometer event in 31 minutes, 44.2 seconds, with Raisa Smetanina of the USSR second and Brit Petterson of Norway third.

Mary Docter of Madison, Wis., and Judy Rabinowitz of Fairbanks, Alaska, finishing in 14th place and 26th place in the respective races, were the best Americans.

These were the only medals up for contention in the first full day of competition. The men's downhill was postponed and rescheduled for Friday because of high winds and fog.