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 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 3

Day 3 was slightly controversial, but I do enjoy how the medals went to all different countries. What is becoming clear is that certain countries dominate in certain sports. For example, the Dutch are cleaning up in the longer distance speedskating events. Americans clearly enjoy snowboarding and clearly they are good at it. The Russians continue to impress in figure skating as they have for many years now. In a sport that they almost solely dominated, they have risen to dominance again. What is absolutely no surprise to me is how the Olympic Games continue to bring the world together.

Here are the highlights from Day 3....

Let's get the Ladies' Hockey results out of the way first, Sweden beat Japan, 1-0 and Russia beat Germany soundly, 4-1.

In Ski Jumping, men's normal hill individual winner from Vancouver Simon Ammann from Switzerland did not repeat, not even close. In fact, he finished way back in 17th place, a disappointing event for Ammann. This story should be about the gold medalist though, and the truth is that Kamil Stoch of team Poland woke up on Sunday morning with a temperature and a bad headache and ended the day an Olympic champion. When looking at the past year's results, it's not surprising that Stoch won gold as he took first in four World Cup Events this season.

The Results:

Ski Jumping:  Men's Normal Hill Individual

1. Kamil Stoch Poland, 278.0
2. Peter Prevc Slovenia, 265.3
3. Anders Bardal Norway, 264.1

She completed the American sweep for the snowboarding's new event, slopestyle, at 23 Jamie Anderson is at the top of her game, and only stands to improve from here with many viable years left in the sport. Anderson's first run of two wasn't great, but that's the thing about Jamie Anderson, when she knows what she needs to do to win, she goes out there and makes it happen. Of note, 33 year old Jenny Jones from Great Britain finished in third, the former maid at a ski resort is a veteran in this young sport. There was also a scare when newcomer from the Czech Republic Sarka Pacochova wiped out on her 2nd run and hit her head so hard that her helmet cracked in half.

The Results:

Snowboarding: Ladies' Slopestyle

1. Jamie Anderson USA,  1st run: 80.75 (2), 2nd run: 95.25 (1), best: 95.25
2. Enni Rukajarvi Finland, 1st run: 73.75 (4), 2nd run: 92.50 (2), best: 92.50
3. Jenny Jones Great Britain, 1st run: 73.00 (5), 2nd run: 87.25 (3), best: 87.25

photo: NBC Olympics website                                                    

The disappointment was all over Bode Miller's face after he took what was supposed to be a winning run. After the event he spoke to one of the reporters and said, "it just didn't go my way today". Miller will need to deal with that defeat though as he is scheduled to compete in at least two other events in these games. Who wasn't disappointed? Matthias Mayer from Austria at the age of 23 who has never won a major competition and his father, Helmut, won a silver in Super G at the 1988 Calgary Games. Christof Innerhofer from Italy who has been dealing with back problems took silver, the first medal for Italy in this event since 1976. And finally, Jansrud of Norway who had some serious knee issues at last year's World Championships. 

The Results:

Alpine Skiing: Men's Downhill

1. Matthias Mayer Austria, 2:06.23

2. Christof Innerhofer Italy, 2:06.29

3. Kjetil Jansrud Norway, 2:06.33

5. Travis Ganong USA, 2:06.64

8. Bode Miller USA, 2:06.75  

photo: Christophe Ena/Associated Press

In the first time Figure Skating Team Event, it was only fitting that host country Russia, a country consistently dominant in in the sport won the gold. Canada surprised by picking up the silver, and the USA provided perhaps the biggest surprise of all winning a bronze. Many thought Japan was the favorite for the bronze medal leaving the US shut out of a medal in the team event. However, it was the extraordinary two dance programs from Meryl Davis and Charlie White, the odds on favorites to win the gold in Ice Dance. It was Ashley Wagner's solid, yet sexy short and Gracie Gold's impressive Olympic Debut that gave the team a well deserved, hard fought for bronze. 

Make no mistake of it though, Russia earned their gold fair and square. Evgeny Plushenko at 31 truly possessed the heart and strength of a champion. To come back after countless injuries and after three years off the world stage proves his talent is the real thing. He won the men's short as well as the long program. I've learned though to never count Plushenko out over the years, I've also learned to expect nothing less of him than the best.  So perhaps what was even more impressive was the debut of 15 year old Yulia Lipnitskaya wearing a red coat in the long program as she skated to the theme song from Schindler's List, and not only was it technically strong but it was emotionally moving. The Russian ice dance pair, although no Davis and White, achieved a personal best in the free dance. As for the Russian pair of Tatyana Volosozhar and Maksim Trankov, they are like the many Russian pairs of the past, passionate and dominant. I definitely see them as the favorites for gold in the individual event. This total team effort is something I am going to call, "Russian gold". 

The Results: 

Figure Skating: Team Event

1. Russia: Ekaterina Bobrova, Elena Ilinykh, Nikita Katsalapov, Fedor Klimov, Yulia Lipnitskaya, Evgeny Plyushchenko, Dmitri Soloviev, Ksenia Stolbova, Maxim Trankov, Tatiana Volosozhar 

2. Canada: Patrick Chan, Meagan Duhamel, Scott Moir, Kirsten Moore Towers, Dylan Moscovitch, Kaetlyn Osmond, Eric Radford, Kevin Reynolds, Tessa Virtue

3. USA: Jeremy Abbott, Jason Brown, Marissa Castelli, Meryl Davis, Gracie Gold, Simon Shnapir, Ashley Wagner, Charlie White 

Russia's first Gold! 

photo: NBC Olympics website

What surprised me most on day 3? The 40 somethings at this Olympics continue to dominate! Are they giving hope to athletes everywhere who think their careers are over? Germany speedskater Claudia Pechstein at age 41 just missed the medal podium finishing in 4th place in the Ladies' 3,000 m. Something else happened though, in luge, men's single, two men, Demchenko and Zoeggeler, made it onto the podium at the ages of 42 and 40 respectively and won silver and bronze medals. If anything it gives hope to the 24 year old gold medalist, Felix Loch, that perhaps he could be around for another four Olympics potentially. 

The Results:

Speedskating: Ladies' 3,000 m

1. Irene Wust Netherlands, 4:00.34

2. Martina Sablikova Czech Republic, 4:01.95

3. Olga Graf Russian Federation, 4:03.47

4. Claudia Pechstein Germany, 4:05.26

Luge: Men's Single

1. Felix Loch Germany, 51.764

2. Albert Demchenko Russian Federation, 51.852

3. Amin Zoeggeler Italy, 51.994