VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — With the best ski jumper in the world on the sidelines, the Austrian team soared to the Olympic gold medal Monday at the Vancouver Games.

The Austrian team of Gregor Schlierenzauer, Thomas Morgenstern, Andreas Kofler and Wolfgang Loitzl defended their title from the 2006 Turin Games by earning 1,107.9 points to easily beat second-place Germany. Norway took bronze.

“We know we have the strongest team,” Loitzl said. “So we knew what to do.”

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — With the best ski jumper in the world on the sidelines, the Austrian team soared to the Olympic gold medal Monday at the Vancouver Games.

The Austrian team of Gregor Schlierenzauer, Thomas Morgenstern, Andreas Kofler and Wolfgang Loitzl defended their title from the 2006 Turin Games by earning 1,107.9 points to easily beat second-place Germany. Norway took bronze.

“We know we have the strongest team,” Loitzl said. “So we knew what to do.”

Simon Ammann, the Swiss ski jumper who won gold in both the normal hill and large hill individual jumps, didn’t compete in the team event because Switzerland didn’t have four jumpers.

Norway won the men’s team sprint in cross-country skiing, with Petter Northug racing past Axel Teichmann of Germany shortly before the finish. Northug and Oeystein Pettersen won in 19 minutes, 1 second, while Germany was second and Russia third.

“It’s like a dream for me to be an Olympic champion,” said Northug, who had won only a bronze medal in Vancouver before Monday. “Today was the day.”

In the women’s team sprint, Claudia Nystad pulled away from Sweden’s Anna Haag to give Germany the gold. The German team of Nystad and Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle won in 18:03.7. Haag and Charlotte Kalla took silver, and Russia was third.

“We did everything right and at the right time,” Nystad said.

There was only one other medal to be awarded Monday, the 11th day of the Olympics, in figure skating’s ice dance.

Morway reaches curling semis

In curling, Norway reached the semifinals of the men’s tournament after routing France 9-2 in a shortened eight-end game.

The Norwegians have been known for their diamond-patterned trousers at the Vancouver Games, and Thomas Ulsrud said he read a report that King Harald V of Norway would be coming to Canada to watch his team play at the Olympics.

The report went on to say the king would be delighted to accept a pair of the team’s slacks — a blinding arrangement of red, white, blue and gray diamonds — because “they’re the coolest pants I’ve ever seen.”

“So, just because of some funny pants we get to hang out with the king of Norway and give him some pants and have him watch the game,” Ulsrud said. “That would be just awesome.”

In other matches, Kevin Martin kept the favored Canadians unbeaten through eight games with a 7-2 victory over the United States after facing an early deficit, Germany held off China 7-6 and Switzerland defeated Sweden 7-3 in nine ends after scoring three in the ninth.

In Whistler, bobsled officials said they will alter the profile of several tricky curves on the super-fast Olympic track, hoping the changes will make for safer and better racing.

Luongo replaces Brodeur in Canada net

Martin Brodeur is out as Canada’s Olympic goaltender.

Hello, Roberto Luongo — at least for Tuesday’s qualification game against Germany.

Canada coach Mike Babcock is benching Brodeur — the NHL career victories leader — for allowing four goals on 22 shots during a 5-3 upset loss to the United States on Sunday. Babcock told Luongo on Sunday night he would play the next game.

“I’m really pumped up and ready to go,” Luongo said Monday. “I’ve been taking shots on the side to stay sharp, just in case, and when you’re excited and the adrenaline is going, you don’t have any problems finding that rhythm.”

Luongo, playing in his NHL home arena, made 15 saves while shutting out Norway 8-0 on Feb. 16. The Vancouver Canucks goalie also filled in for an injured Brodeur to beat Finland during the 2004 World Cup.

Unlike Brodeur, Luongo has no Stanley Cup championships or Olympic gold-medal game victories to rely upon.

“The way I felt today in practice was great, stopping almost every shot, the puck was squared and I felt good,” Luongo said. “I was seeing the puck well. The excitement level is really high right now, probably one of the highest it’s ever been. This is a big stage, and it’s your job as an athlete to be ready at all times.”

Brodeur declined to talk about being benched for a goalie who grew up only four blocks from him in suburban Montreal.