Winter Olympics Sochi 2014: Day 16 and 17

For the last time....

The Results:

Speedskating: Ladies' Team Pursuit

1. Netherlands, 2:58.05 Olympic Record
2. Poland, 3:05.55
3. Russian Federation, 2:59.73

Speedskating: Men's Team Pursuit

1. Netherlands, 3:37.71 Olympic Record
2. Korea, 3:40.85
3. Poland, 3:41.94

Alpine Skiing: Men's Slalom

1. Mario Matt, Austria, total time: 1:41.84
2. Marcel Hirscher, Austria, total time: 1:42.12
3. Henrik Kristoffersen, Norway, total time: 1:42.67

Bobsled: 4 Man

1. Russian Federation: Alexey Negodaylo, Dmitry Trunenkov, Alexey Voevoda, Alexander Zubkov, total time: 3:40.60
2. Latvia: Daumants Dreiskens, Oskars Melbardis, Janis Strenga, Arvis Vilkaste, total time: 3:40.69
3. USA: Christopher Fogt, Steven Holcomb, Steven Langton, Curtis Tomasevicz, total time: 3:40.99

Men's Hockey

1. Canada
2. Sweden
3. Finland

Look who got her medal today...... Mikaela Shiffrin

My recap....

Some things have become certain in these Olympics. The Dutch are great speedskaters, the Canadians dominate hockey. Russia proved to be warm and welcoming hosts, but they also were forces to be reckoned as competitors within the various events of these games. The Americans seemed to dominate many of the newer events like snowboarding, and overall, we had an impressive team this time around. They didn't live up to the hype in sports like speedskating, short track, and alpine skiing where they were expected to win far more medals. However there were many firsts and surprises. Meryl Davis and Charlie White were the first US ice dancers to win Olympic gold. Bode Miller became the oldest to win an alpine skiing medal and Mikaela Shiffrin became the youngest to win gold in the same sport. Sage Kotsenburg and Jamie Anderson were the first gold medalists in the new snowboarding event, slopestyle, and both were members of Team USA. Some members of Team USA returned to prove that they still have it. Julia Mancuso added a bronze to her arsenal of medals. Noelle Pikus Pace won the medal that had alluded her for her entire career in skeleton. Bode Miller proved age is not a factor when you have the talent, and Mikaela Shiffrin proved similar.

Some members of Team USA had stories I will never ever forget--- bobsled's Steven Holcomb, Lauryn Williams and Lolo Jones, snowboardings Alex Deibold, figure skating's Jeremy Abbot, speedskating's Shani Davis, and short track's JR Celski.  

There were inspirational stories of athletes from other countries as well.---

Russia's figure skating team exhibited fight and poise. They were the comeback kids of these Olympics. Plushenko returned and exited in grand fashion. Yulia Lipnitskaya's personality proves she will be around for a while, perhaps, a force to be reckoned with in 2018. Adelina Sotnikova reigned as queen when others threatened a space that she had her eyes set on since childhood.

Victor An, formerly representing Korea represented the Russian Federation, his new home, a country that accepted him and recognized his talent and allowed him to make a come back following what many believed were injuries that would be career ending.

Zbigniew Brodka from Poland was probably the least likely to win a speedskating medal, and not only overcame the odds but beat the best in the process.

Tatiana Voloszhar and Maxim Trankov of Russia had different partners before they had each other, but something said they were destined for gold together. It was written, they became legends like so many before them.

There are so many more stories and not enough time and thought to tell them all. Each Olympic Games that I watch takes me back to my childhood. I think the first Games I remember is 1992 in Barcelona. To me, the Games don't just represent competition, they represent so many other things. They represent the joy of victory; the sadness of defeat. They represent years of practice, determination, and discipline. There is an element about the Games which is so beautiful and that is the coming together of nations from all over the world, even if only, for a little over two weeks, every two years. The Games represent humanity and the best in people. We could only wish, hope, and dream that the human race could always come together as they do so faithfully for an Olympiad.

    Farewell Sochi! from Sochi 2014 website

Winter Olympics Sochi 2014: Day 12

Not a super exciting day in Sochi. For the first time during this Winter Games, I saw snow! What was fun today was watching some of these new events like ski halfpipe. The US assembled a strong team in four young men: Aaron Blunck, Lyman Currier, favorite to win the gold Torin Yater Wallace, and gold medal winner David Wise. Wise is 23, lives in Reno, Nevada, is married, and has a two and a half year old daughter. Wise suggests this is not the norm for someone in his sport, but why be normal when you can be yourself? Wise is a youth leader at his church but he's also won the past three X Games in his event. Winning the gold seems to be the perfect way to acknowledge an amazing career so far.



The Results:

Freestyle Skiing: Men's Ski Halfpipe

1. David Wise, USA, run one: 92.00, run  two: 3.40, best: 92.00
2. Mike Riddle, Canada, run one: 71.40, run two: 90.60, best: 90.60
3. Kevin Rolland, France, run one: 88.60, run two: 29.80, best: 88.60

7. Aaron Blunck, USA, run one: 68.60/ 79.40
**Lyman Currier and Torin Yater Wallace finished out of the final 12.

Not too long ago, Alex Deibold was a wax technician. He waxed the snowboards of athletes like himself. Now he can count himself a bronze medalist in the Olympic Games. The gold medalist Pierre Vaultier was wearing a knee brace because of an ACL injury, and yet, still came away a champion. He talked about how his injury didn't seem to hurt as much with the gold. Nikolay Olyunin proved to Russia that snowboarding is important; he was a major underdog in all this. Favorite to win once again was Nate Holland who didn't make it out of qualifying after he caught too much air on a jump.

The Results:

Snowboard: Men's Snowboard Cross

1. Pierre Vaultier, France
2. Nikolay Olyunin, Russian Federation
3. Alex Deibold, USA

Tina Maze won her second gold of these Games, she won today in the giant slalom, her weakest of five events, and she won last week in the downhill. What Maze probably hasn't even thought about is the fact that one of her biggest rivals, Lindsey Vonn, is absent from these games. Well, maybe she does realize cause she's winning easier than before.

The Results:

Alpine Skiing: Women's Giant Slalom

1. Tina Maze, Slovenia, total time: 2:36.87
2. Anna Fenninger, Austria, total time: 2:36.94
3. Viktoria Rebensburg, Germany, total time: 2:37.14

5. Mikaela Shiffer, USA, 2:37.37 <--- lindsey="" next="" p="" the="" vonn="">
Another sweep by the Netherlands in speedskating....

The Results:

Speedskating: Men's 10,000 m

1. Jorrit Bergsma, Netherlands, 12:44.45 Olympic Record
2. Sven Kramer, Netherlands, 12:49.02
3. Bob De Jong, Netherlands, 13:07.19

Look who got their medals today....

Winter Olympics Sochi 2014: Day 11

Destiny and dream fulfilled for Davis and White at the Iceberg Monday night. Their free program to music based on the story of “Scheherazade,” was nothing short of perfection. Every move was so expressive, the unison and synchronicity was on point. They were so focused  Virtue and Moir did have a moment, but it wasn't enough to top Davis and White who's focus, determination, and passion were palpable, and the favorites going into these Olympics. Both duos should feel pleased with their performances, and despite the controversy arising now, I feel that Davis and White won fair and square.

So what exactly is this arising controversy? Well, a day later, Virtue and Moir are speaking out and saying that as of 2012, they don't feel their coach Marina Zoueva has been there for them. They also mentioned that they feel Marina's attention shifted more to Davis and White. When asked about why she chose to attend the US National Championships in 2013 over the Canadian Championships, she replied that she coaches more US Teams. Zoueva also coaches the Shibutani siblings. More to come as this story unfolds.

    from NBC Olympics website

The Results:

Figure Skating: Ice Dance Finals

1. Meryl Davis and Charlie White, USA, free program: 116.63, total: 195.52
2. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Canada, free program: 114.66, total: 190.99
3. Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov, Russian Federation, free program: 110.44, total: 183.48

8. Madison Chock and Evan Bates, USA, free program: 99.18, total: 164.64
9. Maia Shibutani and Alex Shibutani, USA, free program: 90.70, total: 155.17

    Getty Images


The US Team won their first medal in 2 man bobsled since 1952, and the Russians, winless in the last three years found their speed and won gold at home.

The Results:

Bobsleigh: 2 Man

1. Alexey Voevoda and Alexander Zubkov, Russian Federation, 3:45.39
2. Alex Baumann and Beat Hefti, Switzerland, 3:46.05
3. Steven Holcomb and Steven Langton, USA, 3:46.27

Eighteen year old Mac Bohonnon was supposed to be at home in the US in an AP math class, instead he was over in Sochi at the Olympic Games competing in men's aerials. Not only was Mac competitive with athletes who had significantly more experience than him, but he finished in the top five. In a sport that is so unpredictable and where he was the lone American entrant in the event, he proved he has a long career ahead of him. Further proof of aerial's unpredictability--- the defending champion was out in the qualifying round. The new gold medalist had 24 points over the second place finisher because the risky move he did turned out to be spectacular.

The Results:

Freestyle Skiing: Men's Aerials

1. Anton Kushnir, Belarus, 134.50
2. David Morris, Australia, 110.41
3. Zongyang Jia, China, 95.06

5. Mac Bohonnon

Ski Jumping: Team Event

1. Germany, 1041.1
2. Austria, 1038.4
3. Japan, 1024.9

Winter Olympics Sochi 2014: Day 10

Disappointment, redemption, and dominance were the themes of Day 10 at Sochi.

Lindsey Jacobellis failed to earn the gold she has been chasing for three Olympics now in Snowboard Cross. Initially, Jacobellis had the best time in qualifying, but things slowly but surely went downhill. In the semifinals, she misjudged a turn, went too fast, and lost her balance, sliding into the middle of the course. That was the end of Jacobellis's Olympics in Sochi. At 28, her Olympic appearances haven't improved, 2nd, 5th, and today, 7th. This is heartbreaking considering the fact that Lindsey came back from two knee surgeries in 2012. She makes it happen when it counts, but she wasn't been able to pull it together today.

The Results:

Snowboard: Ladies' Snowboard Cross

1. Eva Samkova, Czech Republic
2. Dominique Maltais, Canada
3. Chloe Trespeuch, France

4. Faye Gulini, USA
7. Lindsey Jacobellis, USA


Kjetil Jansrud won the fourth consecutive gold for Norway in the Super G. Perhaps more surprising than Bode's bronze--- one, Andrew Weibrecht winning the silver. Weibrecht is the guy who doesn't win World Championships but he will come to the Olympics and win silver. Two, is that Bode and Jan Hudec of Canada tied for bronze and the fact that it was Jan Hudec is another surprising factor. Bode is now the oldest alpine skier to medal at an Olympic Games at 36.

For Bode Miller, today's run in the super g was not only one of redemption but of sheer determination and a tribute from one brother to another. Last April, Bode lost his brother to a seizure. The 29 year old was a snowboarder and had hopes of making it to the Olympics like his brother. After Bode bounced back with a solid run in the super g and tied for a bronze medal, he became overcome with emotion and looked up to the sky and then looked down and began to cry. It was almost like this medal was for his brother or because of him.

The Results:

Alpine Skiing: Men's Super G

1. Kjetil Jansrud, Norway, 1:18.14
2. Andrew Weibrecht, USA, 1:18.44
3. Jan Hudec, Canada, 1:18.67
3. Bode Miller, USA, 1:18.67

In Sochi, speedskating has become less exciting to watch. Perhaps it's because the viewer can almost predict who is going to land on the podium. The majority of the medals won by Netherlands at this Games have been in speedskating. Last night was no exception. Do you find the fact that they are dominating this sport boring? Ter Mors, the gold medalist did skate an Olympic record time and she dethroned reigning gold medalist Ireen Wust (a two time medalist at the games already, now three).

The Results:

Speedskating: Ladies' 1,500 m

1. Jorien Ter Mors, Netherlands, 1:53.51 Olympic Record
2. Ireen Wust, Netherlands, 1:54.09
3. Lotte Van Beek, Netherlands, 1:54.54

7. Heather Richardson, USA, 1:57.60

One of the events I have been most excited about for over a year now is the ice dancing competition. The top two pairs in the world, reigning World Champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the US train in Detroit and Vancouver gold medalist Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada train in Detroit, together, and under the same coach. They've watched each others every move and now it all comes down to a couple of skates on Olympic ice in Sochi. Davis and White have already announced that at 27 and 26 respectively, they will retire after these Games. Virtue and Moir, 24 and 26 have not shared their intentions. The favorites for gold are Davis and White, the silver would then be a lock for Virtue and Moir, and the battle for bronze is a total toss up between several teams.

The Results after the Short Program:

Ice Dance Short Program:

1. Meryl Davis and Charlie White, USA, 78.89 (highest short program score ever)
2. Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Canada, 76.33
3. Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov, Russian Federation, 73.04
4. Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat, France, 72.78
5. Ekaterina Bobrova and Dmitri Soloviev, Russian Federation, 69.97

Read more about Meryl and Charlie's Journey-- HERE