Winter Olympics Sochi 2014: Day 13

Hard work, perseverance, and consistence pays off. On day 13 of competition at Sochi several members of Team USA proved it--- Ted Ligety, two teams from the Women's Bobsled Team, and three ladies from the US Figure Skating Team.

    from Sochi 2014 website

At the age of 29, Ted Ligety won the second gold medal of his career in giant slalom. It came eight years after winning his first in Torino in the combined. Ligety says he hasn't ruled out coming back in four years in Korea and hopes to continue skiing even after that. He talked about what sets him apart from his competitors, he said he skis sharp turns that put him almost parallel to the snow. I don't know how he manages to stay on his feet, but Ligety's method hasn't let him down.

The Results:

Alpine Skiing: Men's Giant Slalom

1. Ted Ligety, USA, total time: 2:45.59
2. Steve Missillier, France, total time: 2:45.77
3. Alexis Pinturault, France, total time: 2:45.93

    from Sochi 2014 website

Lauryn Williams became the first woman in modern Olympics to win a medal in both the Summer and Winter Games. She won a silver in women's bobsled partnered with Elana Meyers, a gold medal from London 2012 as a member of the 4x100m relay, and in 2004 in Sydney, where she won the silver medal in the 100m. Meyers and Williams actually led after three out of four races, but team Canada overtook them.

The Results:

Bobsled: Two Women

1. Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse, Canada, total time: 3:50.61
2. Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams, USA, total time: 3:50.71
3. Aja Evans and Jamie Greubel, USA, total time: 3:51.61

Lastly, probably the most sought after ticket at these games, the ladies figure skating event began last night with the short program. Team USA has three entrants, all in medal contention after night one of two nights of competition. Gracie Gold stands in fourth place and Ashley Wagner is in sixth place, both will skate in the last group on Thursday night in the long program (also called free skate). Polina Edmunds, 15 years old, and in her first Olympics is in seventh place. However, the young woman in first place is of absolutely no surprise to me, Yuna Kim of Korea at age 24 skated a strong short program solidifying her dominance in the sport in her legendary status in Korea. In four years, the Games will be held in her home country, and whether she skates or not I have no doubt she will be a major part of those Games.

The Standings:

Figure Skating: Ladies Short Program

1. Yuna Kim, Korea, 74.92
2. Adelina Sotnikova, Russian Federation, 74.64
3. Carolina Kostner, Italy, 74.12
4. Gracie Gold, USA, 68.63
5. Yulia Lipnitskaya, Russian Federation, 65.23
6. Ashley Wagner, USA, 65.21
7. Polina Edmunds, USA, 61.04

    from NBC Olympics website (Yuna Kim and Gracie Gold)

Winter Olympics Sochi 2014: Day 8

Friday, day eight may not have had lots of activity but yesterday's events were no doubt epic! For the first time in 12 years, the US team medaled in skeleton. Japan won it's first Olympic gold in men's figure skating. Bode Miller was once again shut out of a medal in this Olympics, this time in the men's super combined slalom.

At only 19, Yuzuru Hanyu is the second youngest man to win the gold medal in men's figure skating. He is also Japan's first man to win a gold in the sport. In the short program, he made history, earning over 100 points for his program. This is perhaps what carried him to a sound victory from Canada's Patrick Chan. Chan was looking to break Canada's curse and win the first gold in men's figure skating. The irony in all of this is that Brian Orser, from Canada, silver medalist, and part of this curse coaches Hanyu in Toronto. Despite the fact that Hanyu fell two times in his long program, it was enough to bring him a victory. It also didn't help that Patrick Chan had a luckluster long program. Third place could have gone to several men--- In contention, American Jason Brown, two additional men from the Japanese team Daisuke Takahashi and Tatsuki Machida, and Javier Fernandez of Spain. But it was Denis Ten of Kazakhstan who took the bronze medal. It must also be said that American Jeremy Abbott skated a breathtaking long program. It was an amazing end to a journey that started out bumpy but left the 27 year old with a bronze medal in the team event and able to walk away with his head held high.

The Results:

Figure Skating: Men's

1. Yuzuru Hanyu, Japan, short: 101.45, free: 178.64, total: 280.09
2. Patrick Chan, Canada, short: 97.52, free: 178.10, total: 275.62
3. Denis Ten, Kazakhstan, short: 84.06, free: 171.04, total: 255.10

9. Jason Brown, USA, short: 86.00, free: 152.37, total: 238.37
12. Jeremy Abbott, short: 72.58, free: 160.12, total: 232.70

Noelle Pikus Pace capped a career with a silver medal that she called, "good as gold". An excited Pikus Pace jumped into the stands to greet her husband and children waiting in the stands. In 2005, her leg was shattered by a bobsled denying her a medal in 2006 in Torino. A mistake cost her the bronze in Vancouver. And four years later, she can walk away with a dream realized. Her husband said that Noelle coming out of retirement was all worth it.

The Results:

Skeleton: Women's

1. Elizabeth Yarnold, Great Britain, total time: 3:52.89
2. Noelle Pikus Pace, USA, total time: 3:53.86
3. Elena Nikitina, Russian Federation, total time: 3:54.30

4. Katie Uhlaender, USA, total time: 3:54.34

Bode Miller came up short again in his second event of these Games, the super combined slalom. This was a gold medal event for him in Vancouver. American Ted Ligety was the 2013 World Champion in this event and also came up short. It's been an odd games; to put things in perspective, Sandro Viletta of Switzerland who ended up winning the gold has never won a World Cup super combined. Kostelic of Croatia won a fourth career silver medal. Christof Innerhofer of Italy won bronze, following up in a silver that he won in downhill. Both men were grateful for their silver and bronze medals and felt pleased.

The Results:

Alpine Skiing: Men's Super Combined Slalom

1. Sandro Viletta, Switzerland, 2:45.20
2. Ivica Kostelic, Croatia, 2:45.54
3. Christof Innerhofer, Italy, 2:45.67

6. Bode Miller, USA, 2:46.60
11. Jarded Goldberg, USA, 2:47.29
12. Ted Ligety, USA, 2:47.39

Finally, in aerials, US team favorite, Emily Cook, in her final Olympics failed to make it into the finals of the event. She couldn't land her jumps. I watched the event and it seemed like more people fell after their jumps than landed.

The Results:

Freestyle Skiing: Ladies' Aerials

1. Alla Tsuper, Belarus, 98.01
2. Mengtao Xu, China, 83.50
3. Lydia Lassila, Australia, 72.12