Doping fears and betting row take gloss off opening cermony
Several A-list names from the world of fashion were be involved in the opening ceremony, which took place at the 35,000-seater Stadio Olimpico, with Turin-born former top model Carla Bruni carrying the Italian flag.
But away from the ceremony, familiar problems are dogging the Games.
Olympic cross-country champion Evi Sachenbacher was among a group of 12 Nordic skiers handed five-day bans from competing due to excessively high rates of red blood cells.
"I am really disappointed. I can't understand why I am not allowed race on Sunday (in the 15km event). I never did anything wrong," she said.
The International Skiing Federation said: "This suspension is not a punishment but is a means of protecting the athletes' health."
The bans were handed out after testing ordered by WADA, the world Anti-Doping Agency.
Aside from Sachenbacher, who won a 4x5km relay gold at Salt Lake City in 2002, France's Jean-Marc Gaillard, Sean Crooks of Canada, Belarus duo Sergei Dalidovich and Aleksandr Lazutkin, Russian Natalia Matveeva, and Americans Kikkan Randall and Leif Zimmermann were also banned.
The German Ski Federation (DSV) immediately appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in a bid to overturn the suspension.
"Our aim is to ensure that Evi starts," explained DSV sport director Thomas Pfuller. "We want to defend her rights because she is a clean athlete."
Later yesterday, four more cross-country skiers were also handed five-day suspensions.
They were named as Russians Nikolai Pankratov and Pavel Korosteljev, Alen Abramovic of Croatia and Robel Teklemariam, Ethiopia's first-ever winter Olympian.
In two days, 224 athletes have been tested.
Meanwhile, American skeleton slider Zach Lund was banned for one year by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, dumping him from the Olympics following a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) appeal.
Lund tested positive after a World Cup event last November for Finasteride, a masking agent on the list of banned substances. The 26-year-old blamed the test on a medication he was taking to combat hair loss.
"To be called a cheater kills me," said Lund.
Ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky was at the centre of a betting storm on Friday which threatens to sabotage Canada's hopes of defending their title.
Gretzky, the executive director of the Canadian team, has denied placing bets with an illegal gambling ring, after reports in the United States claimed the authorities had evidence he was aware of the operation.
The Newark Star-Ledger claimed wiretaps had caught Gretzky discussing the gambling ring that Rick Tocchet, his assistant coach with the Phoenix Coyotes National Hockey League team, allegedly helped run.
Gretzky hasn't been accused of any wrongdoing but, according to the Star-Ledger, authorities are looking into whether he placed any wagers through his wife, Janet Jones.
"If I had made one bet, I would have quit Team Canada. I would never embarrass them," said Gretzky.
Jones also protested Gretzky's innocence.
"At no time did I ever place a wager on my husband's behalf," she said.
"Other than the occasional horse race, my husband does not bet on any sports."
Over the next two weeks, 2,600 athletes will feature in 84 events with a predicted one million spectators expected to attend the Turin Games.
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