Sunday, January 31, 2010

12 Days

At the recent figure skating National Championships, Johnny Weir, who placed third and received a berth to the U.S. Olympic team sparked controversy over a piece of fox fur on his long program costume. Weir announced yesterday that he would remove the fur from his costume in order to stop the threats by animal activist groups of disrupting his Olympic performance.

The most medals won by any athlete at the Winter Olympic Games is 12 by cross-country skier Bjorn Dählie of Norway.

12 athletes have won Olympic medals while representing two distinctly different countries, but it has never happened at the Winter Games.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

13 Days

The most gold medals ever won by one country at a single winter games is 13. This occurred twice: at the 1976 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck by the U.S.S.R. and at the 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City by Norway.

Speed skater Kim Yun-Mi of South Korea is the youngest Olympic gold medalist of all time, having won the Women's short track 3000m relay at the 1994 Lillehammer Games at the age of 13 years and 83 days.

Friday, January 29, 2010

14 Days

Only two weeks left in the countdown to Vancouver!

Condolences to figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, whose father was buried yesterday. Kerrigan's father, Daniel Kerrigan, apparently died following a struggle with his son, Mark Kerrigan on Sunday. The family claims the death was unrelated to the struggle. Nancy won the bronze medal at the 1992 Albertville Olympics and the silver medal at the 1994 Lillehammer Olympics.

A Chinese newspaper reported that Russian officials are expecting their athletes to win at least 14 gold medals at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Russia won 8 gold medals at the previous Winter Games in Turin in 2006 and 6 gold medals in Salt Lake City in 2002. This seems to me like a useless statement. The Sochi Olympics are four years away. Also, clearly, all medal contenders are going to try for medals. Not just for their country, but for themselves. I'm not sure the added pressure from a statement like this helps anything.

British Olympian Phil Harries first competed at the Olympics in the 400m hurdle event at the 1988 Summer Games in Seoul. 14 years later, he returned to the Olympics, but this time the Winter Olympics in 2002 as a member of one of Great Britain's bobsled teams.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

15 Days

In 1928, Switzerland became the only host country to fail to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. Canada (in 1988), Yugoslavia (in 1984) and France (in 1924) join Switzerland as the only host countries to not win a gold medal during the Winter Games.

Athletes will be competing in 15 sports at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The Olympic Charter requires that there be a minimum of 15 Olympic sports at each Summer Games.

Canada won 15 medals at the 1998 Nagano Winter Games, two more than the United States. It was the first time Canada topped the United States in the overall medal standings.

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

16 Days

Roberto Carcelen is Peru's first Winter Olympian. He will compete for the first time at the 2010 Olympics in cross-country skiing. He grew up surfing and running in Lima, but now trains in Seattle. He's only been skiing for three years!

In 1988, the Canadian city of Calgary, Alberta hosted the first Winter Olympics to span 16 days. The previous Olympics in 1984 were held over 13 days. And as we learned yesterday, the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics will span take place over 17 days. The Calgary Olympics were also the last ones to take place in a different location than the Paralympics.

U.S. swimming superstar, Michael Phelps has 16 Olympic medals: 14 gold and 2 bronze from the 2004 and 2008 Summer Games.

The first Winter Olympics was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. 258 athletes participated from 16 countries. Medals were awarded in 16 events.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

17 Days

Factoid of the day: Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the International Olympic Committee, was president of the I.O.C. from 1925 until he died in 1937 in Geneva, Switzerland. He was buried in Lausanne, Switzerland but his heart was buried — as requested in his will — in a monument near the ruins of Olympia, Greece.

The 2010 Winter Olympics will take place over 17 days, starting in 17 days (duh) on Friday, February 12, with the Opening Ceremonies. The Closing Ceremonies will take place on Sunday, February 28.

Germany's Andre Lange is the man to beat in bobsled at the upcoming Winter Olympics. He's won three Olympic gold medals and holds the record for most Olympic and World medals in bobsled with a total of 17.

Bob Costas will host the 2010 Winter Olympics, his ninth on NBC. I am including this as the third stat, since I'm not sure if this is true or not, but Costas may or may not have won 17 Sports Emmy awards. Anyone want to do some fact finding? He may have more than that by now.

Monday, January 25, 2010

18 Days

The first sentence on the wikipedia entry for "Curse of LaBonte" describes it as "quite possibly one of the most famous curses in curling history." From what I can understand, (and I am the first to tell you I cannot for the life of me understand the rules of curling,) at the 1972 Curling World Championships, after the U.S. competed against the undefeated Canadians, it was unclear as to who had won. An American on the team, Bob LaBonte, thought the U.S. had won and jumped in the air to celebrate. As he landed, he accidentally knocked into a Canadian stone, moving it ahead of the Americans' stone, thus awarding the win to Canada. It took 8 years for Canada to win another World Championships, which sparked comments that LaBonte had put a curse on them.

The 2010 Winter Olympics come 18 months after the previous Olympics, the 2008 Summer games in Beijing. (This same time period applies between most summer and winter Olympics.)

Larrisa Latynina, a gymnast from the former Soviet Union, finished her Summer Olympic Games career with 18 total medals, the most in history.

18 Mormon athletes participated in the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics, and they won one gold medal and one silver medal. That's 10 athletes and one gold medal more than that at the Salt Lake City Games, in 2002, a city founded by Mormon pioneers and currently headquarters to the Mormon church.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

19 Days

In 2006, skier Robel Teklemariam became the first athlete to represent Ethiopia in any event at the Winter Olympics. Robel was born in Ethiopia and moved to New York City when he was 9. He was never happy in the big city, so his mother sent him to a boarding school in Lake Placid, NY (home of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Games) where he learned to ski. At the age of 12, Robel began dreaming of competing at the Olympics when a spectator jokingly told him he could represent Ethiopia. 19 years later, that dream became a reality, as he competed in Turino and finished in 108th place. He also established and heads the first Ethiopian National Skiing Federation and is trying to raise awareness of winter sports in his home country. Robel plans to compete at the Vancouver Olympics as well. Good luck!

At the first modern Olympic Winter Games in 1896, the founder, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, was opposed to including female athletes, thus none competed. However, only four years later, nineteen women competed at the 1900 Olympic Games.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

20 Days

The top Olympic ski jumpers fly about 20 feet (6.1m) over the ground. I've been to the top of a ski jump in Lake Placid. That is one sport I don't think I'll be trying any time soon.

It was unclear whether or not there would be a Winter Olympics in 1948, right after World War II. There was a twelve year break because of the war, but St. Moritz, Switzerland was chosen to host the Winter Games. This choice was made mostly due to the fact that St. Moritz had hosted the Winter Olympics 20 years beforehand, and their sports facilities were still mostly intact, as a result of Switzerland’s neutrality in World War II.

Everyone has heard of the "Miracle on Ice" at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY when the U.S. hockey team came out of nowhere to beat the Soviet team and then proceeded to win gold, which no one expected them to do. Well 20 years prior to that, there was a lesser known "Miracle on Ice" also on home turf, in 1960 in Squaw Valley, California. Another U.S. hockey team shocked everyone when they beat the Soviet favorites 3-2 and then went on to beat Czechoslovakia 9-4 to win the first gold medal for U.S. hockey.

Friday, January 22, 2010

21 Days

Factoid of the day: The Olympic podium was first used at the 1932 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. American speed skater, Jack Shea was the first gold medalist to receive his medal from on top of the podium.

Here's an easy stat: The 2010 Vancouver Games will be the 21st Winter Olympics.

21 players were named to the 2010 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team, which included six Olympic veterans. U.S. Women's Ice Hockey has medalled in all three Olympic appearances to date: gold in 1998, silver in 2002 and bronze in 2006.

Thailand has won 21 Olympic medals, with the majority in boxing. Thailand's most successful Games was the 2004 Games in Athens, where Thai athletes won eight medals. Only one athlete, Prawat Nagvajara, has represented Thailand at the Winter Olympics. Many Thai winter sport athletes have qualified for their respective sports but their Olympic governing body has chosen not to send them, which happens when athletes of poorer countries aren't expected to do well.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

22 Days

The 2010 Winter Olympics is expected to be broadcast around the world in 22 languages.

The CTV (Canadian Television) network alone is promising 22 hours a day in coverage during the games. CTV's studios in downtown Vancouver are likely to be the broadcast headquarters for the coverage.

The calibre of the rifles used in biathlon is .22 inches. A biathlete's rifle must also weigh a minimum of 3.5 kilograms.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

23 Days

This is my favorite Olympic factoid of the day: During the 1920 Olympic Ladies figure skating competition, American Theresa Weld (who won bronze) was warned by the judges for making jumps "unsuitable for a lady," because her skirt rose to her knees. The horror!

23 players were selected for the U.S. hockey team, back on New Years Day. Only three of those players have previously played in the Olympics, which probably has to do with the fact the U.S. failed to win a medal at the last Winter Olympics in 2006.

In 2006, the U.S. Olympic team had 23 known minority athletes (out of 211) competing at Turino, which was more than double the number of minority athletes in Salt Lake City and four times as many who competed in the Nagano, Japan and Lillehammer, Norway games, held in 1998 and 1994, respectively. Minorities on the U.S. team are among the best in their sports, including short track speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno and long track speedskater Derek Parra.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

24 Days

The Association of Freeskiing Professionals is attempting to debut halfpipe skiing at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. The AFP was hoping to compete at the 2010 Olympics, but the International Olympic Committee did not approve it. At the past few Winter Olympics, we have seen other extreme sports make their Olympic debuts, so halfpipe skiing may very well be the next new Winter Olympic event.

The city of Vancouver spent $24 million to build a new curling rink for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

American swimmer Dara Torres' Olympic career spans 24 years. At age 41, swimmer Dara Torres obtained a spot on the 2008 U.S. Summer Olympic team, which was her fifth Olympic games. This was unprecedented for an American female swimmer, especially given the fact that she did not compete at the 1996 or 2004 Olympic games. In fact, she is the first woman in history to swim in the Olympics past the age of 40.

Monday, January 18, 2010

25 Days

Meet Nigerian American athlete Seun Adebiyi. Adebiyi is 26 years old and his plans for 2010 include creating the first Nigerian National Skeleton Team, passing the bar and beating Leukemia. Adebiyi, who had previously failed to make the Nigerian Swim team was preparing to be the first Nigerian Winter Olympian when he was diagnosed with cancer. He has now put his own Olympic dreams on hold to beat cancer. In search of a bone marrow donor, he has teamed with singer Rihanna to find 10,000 potential bone marrow donors. Adebiyi hopes to compete in skeleton in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

In 2008, per capita, China won one gold medal for every 25 million people in the country. (They won 51 gold medals, the most at the 2008 Summer Games.)

Twenty five corporate sponsors, governments and broadcasters of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games have joined forces to help make the Games carbon neutral by offsetting some of their own carbon emissions related to the Games, such as emissions generated by delegations travelling to and from the region.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

26 Days

Have you ever wondered why the official distance of a marathon is exactly 26 miles, 385 yards? I know I have. In 1908, the marathon standard was set at exactly 26 miles. However, at the Olympic marathon in London, officials couldn't find a good enough spot for the royal family to view the finish line. So organizers added an extra 385 yards to the race so that the finish line would be directly in front of the royal box. And it's been that way ever since.

At the 1968 Winter Olympics, an Italian woman won the gold medal in luge only because the East German woman who came in first place was disqualified for illegally heating the runners of her luge before the race. Twenty-six years later, in 1994, Italian Gerda Weissensteiner won the gold medal in luge without any pretenses.

In 2006, 26 countries won at least one medal in Torino, which is a Winter Olympic record. This topped the previous record of 24 countries which medalled at the last two games in 2002 and 1998.

Saturday, January 16, 2010

27 Days

Russian athlete, Yelena Isinbayeva is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in pole vaulting (in 2004 and 2008). She has broken the outdoor and indoor world records 27 times. Many consider her to be the greatest female pole-vaulter of all time.

Hurdler Edwin Moses won two gold medals in 1976 and in 1984 and a bronze in 1988. By July of 1984, Moses had completed the 400m hurdles faster than 48 seconds a record twenty-seven times. (Since then, the men's world record has been set at 46.78 seconds.)

Friday, January 15, 2010

28 Days

A first for the Olympics Games: There will be a place called Pride House for gay athletes and fans at the Vancouver Olympics. At the entrance, will be a sculpture of a nude hockey player (well, he's wearing hockey skates) called “Slapshotolus” by Canadian artist Edmund Haakonson. Here's a picture (from the back).

At a meeting in 2002, the International Olympic Committee added a rule to the Olympic Charter, limiting the number of sporting events at the Summer Games to a maximum of 28 events. They also decided on a limit of 10,500 athletes per summer Olympics.

The average slope gradient on an Olympic ski course is 28%.

The United States has won 78 Winter Olympic gold medals. The largest number, 28, have come in speed skating. (13 came from figure skating events and 12 in alpine skiing.)

Thursday, January 14, 2010

29 Days

Talk about sibling rivalry. There are two sets of siblings, Andrew and Posy Musgrave and Andrew and Sarah Young who are all friends, fighting to make the British cross-country ski team. There are only three spots available (two for the men and one for the women), so at least one of them will definitely not make the team. Andrew Musgrave, the one with the best chance of making the team said, "We all get on very well, so I'm sure there won't be too much jealousy." Um, yeah, right. As someone with sibling, I don't believe it for a second. The British team will be decided on January 18.

Germany has won the most medals at each of the last three Winter Olympics. Germans won 29 medals in Torino in 2006 (four more than the United Sates) including 11 golds. The Germans won two more medals than the Americans at the Salt Lake Games as (36 to 34) in 2002. And in Nagano, in 1998, Germany won 29 medals again. The Norwegians were the last country to lead the medal count before Germany at the 1994 Olympics 1994 Games which they hosted in Lillehammer, winning two medals more than the Germans (26 to 24).

Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, became president of the International Olympic Committee in 1896 and held that post for 29 years.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

30 Days

The latest Olympic controversy is regarding alpine skiing. Lately, skiing officials have been icing up alpine ski runs by water injection - hosing down the race course one or two feet deep, so that the course ices over and does not deteriorate as skiers race down the mountain or in the event of inclement weather. Skiers have been complaining that this is only making alpine skiing more dangerous (a number of Olympic hopefuls have been injured this season). Water injection is also used on the ski cross courses, which athletes aren't happy about either. Officials have not yet decided whether to use this system at Whistler Mountain for the Olympics.

It took 30 years for the U.S. to win a medal in ice dance, which came from Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto in 2006. (Before them, the U.S. team of Colleen O'Connor and Jim Millns won bronze at the 1976 Olympics, the first time ice dancing was an event at the Olympics.) While U.S. figure skaters have always been a threat in men's and ladies skating, ice dancers and pairs skaters haven't had the same success. Belbin and Agosto changed that for U.S. ice dancing when they won the silver medal in Turino and this year, the U.S. doesn't only have them to root for, but U.S. ice dancers Meryl Davis and Charlie White who are also podium favorites as well. Never have two North American teams made the podium at the same Olympic Games, but between them and Canadian threats Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who knows what could happen in February!

On average, skiing officials use 30 km of safety netting on a race course.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

31 Days

I love it! Homer and Marge Simpson will be going for the gold in curling on a Simpson's episode that will air sometime in February, around the time of the Winter Olympics. I'm not really a fan of the Simpson's but I think it's great that the Olympics is popular enough to be the theme of a television show on a rival network. (The Olympics will air on NBC while the Simpson's airs on FOX.)

Ursula "Uschi" Disl from Germany is the most decorated athlete in biathlon, with 9 Olympic medals to her name. She competed and medalled in the past five Winter Olympic Games: in 1992 (silver), 1994 (silver, bronze), 1998 (gold, silver, bronze), 2002 (gold, silver) and 2006 (bronze). The 2002 Games in Salt Lake City was particularly special because she became the oldest female biathlete to win gold at the age of 31. Disl has retired and will not be competing in Vancouver.

The Olympic torch relay brings the Olympic flame from Olympia, Greece to the site of the upcoming Olympics, in this case, Vancouver. It is timed perfectly to arrive for the Opening Ceremonies, where the Olympic torch is lit and remains lit until the Closing Ceremonies at which point it is extinguished. This year's torch relay cost an estimated $31 million, which many feel is a bit much for a tradition that doesn't have much to do with the Olympics themselves.

Monday, January 11, 2010

32 Days

From the start of the modern Winter Olympics in 1924, Norway could not lose the gold medal in ski jumping. That is, until their streak was broken 32 years later, in 1956 in Cortina D'Ampezzo when Finland won the gold and silver medals. The two winning Finns changed the face of their sport, as they were the first to jump leaning forwards with their arms at their sides, which is how all ski jumpers jump today.

At the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, 32 African countries boycotted the Games in protest of apartheid and that South Africa was permitted to compete.

I love how many times the number 32 appears in this one: At the 1932 Games in Lake Placid, New York, there had not been enough snow fall prior to the Games and snow had to be trucked in from Canada to help cover the cross-country ski course. Thirty-two years later, a similar issue arose in 1964 and 32,000 tons of snow had to be brought from higher altitudes to the Olympic venues in Innsbruck, Austria.

Sunday, January 10, 2010

33 Days

Lindsey Vonn has regained the lead in the World Cup standings, even with an injured arm, by winning two downhill races in a row, on Friday and Saturday. She has not lost a downhill race since February 2009. U.S. snowboarders Gretchen Bleiler and Kelly Clark have both earn spots on the Olympic team. Hannah Teter and a few other women will compete for the final spot in two weeks.

Of the 33 total medals won by Korean athletes (both North and South) in Winter Olympics events, 30 have been won in short track speed skating events. Similarly, 20 of China's 33 Winter Olympics medals are from the sport. Korea and China cannot be counted out in short track speed skating, but you can also bet that both China and Korea will be winning medals in figure skating in Vancouver. (Yu-Na Kim for Korea in ladies figure skating and pairs team Shen and Zhao for China, both front runners in their respective events.)

The first snowboard was created in 1965, when an engineer watched his daughter try and stand up on her sled while going downhill. He then took a pair of skis and attached them to create a snowboard for her. 33 years later, in 1998, snowboarding became an Olympic Sport at the Nagano Olympics.

Saturday, January 9, 2010

34 Days

The U.S. won a record 34 medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, the most they've ever won at a Winter Games. That's more than double their previous high, which was 13. Four years later, in 2006, American athletes won 25 medals in Turino.

You know a course is tough when thirty-four of the best competitors (82 in total) in the world cannot not finish a ski course. That's what happened at the first of two runs on the men's giant-slalom course at the 2006 Olympics. American Bode Miller finished both races and placed sixth overall, in a race at which he was hoping to medal. Neither of the other two American medal contenders, Daron Rahlves and Ted Ligety, were able to finish. Austrian Benjamin Raich won, with Hermann Maier in bronze. Joel Chenal of France won silver.

Friday, January 8, 2010

35 Days

Liechtenstein is a small country made up of only 35,000 citizens. They became the smallest nation ever to produce an Olympic gold medal in 1980 when Hanni Wenzel won the slalom and giant slalom events. She also won a silver medal in the downhill at the same Olympics and had previously won a bronze medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics. The country has won nine Winter Olympic medals in total, all in alpine skiing, which gives Liechtenstein the record for most medals per capita, with one medal for every 3,888 citizens.

American Kristi Yamaguchi is the 1992 Winter Olympic Champion in ladies figure skating. (She's the Dancing With the Stars Champion as well. Totally the same thing.) At the beginning of her career, Yamaguchi split her time between solo skating and pairs skating. She competed in pairs skating with partner Rudy Galindo. In 1989, Yamaguchi became the first woman in thirty-five years to win two medals at the U.S. National Championships - silver in singles and gold in pairs. Shortly after that, Kristi stopped pairs skating to focus solely on her singles career (which was clearly a wise move). Her partner, Galindo, later went on to win the mens National Championships in 1996 and won the bronze at the World Championships that year as well.

Thursday, January 7, 2010

36 Days

Nike has unveiled a new sneaker in honor of the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Dunk Hi in red, white & blue and gold. They will be available beginning in February to coincide with the Olympics. What do you think?

The most medals ever won by one nation at one Winter Olympics is 36. Germany holds this record from the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games.

Handball debuted as an Olympic sport in the 1936 Summer Games and then was removed from the list of Olympic events right afterwards. 36 years later, it returned to the Olympics in 1972. Four years after that, in 1976, Women’s handball became an Olympic sport as well.

The Royal Canadian Mint has put 36 limited mintage Olympic and Paralympic themed collectors coins and sets into circulation to honor their home country Olympics in Vancouver.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

37 Days

Figure skater, Sasha Cohen basically swears she will compete at the National Championships next week, and make an attempt at qualifying for the Olympics. She hasn't competed since the 2006 Olympic season (she won the silver medal in Turino) and missed her two Grand Prix events this fall due to injury. At 25, she's considered an old timer in the world of ladies figure skating. She is definitely on the list of all time beautiful skaters, but she's never really been able to perform all of her jumps error-free. Only two U.S. women will make it to Vancouver this February, and no one really has any idea where Cohen stands in the mix of competitors, since most of them have only been competing on the Olympic level since she's been gone.

Even with an increase in television coverage, from the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics to the 2006 Turino Winter Olympics, NBC saw a 37% decline of their prime-time viewers. Reality shows like American Idol and Dancing With the Stars stole many viewers away. The decline was also partially due to the time difference between the U.S. and Italy, as opposed to the Salt Lake City Games where much of it was aired live.

On the speed side of things, hockey is the fastest Olympic team sport, where players can skate up to 37 mph. On the individual sporting events side, speed skaters can attain maximum speeds of 60 km/h in some of the shorter distance races.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

38 Days

This isn't really Olympics related, but it's cool. Liquid Image Co. has created a pair of ski goggles with a built in video camera at the top so that you can take videos of yourself skiing. LED lights inside the goggles alert the skier to the mode of the camera. The goggles can take still images as well and will be available in the summer of 2010 for about $149.

Whistler Mountain, home of the skiing and snowboarding events at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, boasts 38 lifts: 18 chair lifts, 16 surface lifts and 4 gondolas.

Canadian athletes have won a total of 38 gold Winter Olympic medals. (8 in ice hockey, 6 in speed skating, 5 in short-track speed skating, 4 in alpine skiing, 3 in figure skating, 2 in freestyle skiing, bobsled, cross country skiing, biathlon, and curling and 1 each in snowboarding and skeleton.) Canada is in seventh place in the overall medal count, but ninth in the gold medal count. The host country is hoping to improve those numbers by having a great showing on their own turf in Vancouver in February.

Every Olympic host creates pictograms which represent the sports included in those Games. Here are the 38 pictograms for the 2012 Summer Games in London. I'm not sure these images are any less deserving of a "wooden spoon" than the 2012 Olympic logo is. (See 83 Days.)

Monday, January 4, 2010

39 Days

While we still don't know how many hours of Olympic coverage NBC and it's affiliates will air, there are new announcements from NBC's Olympic Sport's channel, Universal Sports. Throughout the two weeks of the Vancouver Olympics, the sports channel will air 5 hours of Olympic coverage from 10 am to 3 pm daily, showing news, highlights, previews and medal ceremonies. They will also have a 24 hour news ticker. I am so not going to have enough room on my dvr.

Alpine skier, Lindsey Vonn lost her lead in the World Cup standings this weekend after missing a gate in a slalom event and failing to finish the race. Vonn is still recovering from an injured arm.

39 of the 2985 athletes who participated in the 2006 Winter Olympics were representing Latin America and the Caribbean. The majority (2069 athletes) came from European countries.

In 2006, Canadian Duff Gibson became the oldest individual Winter Olympic Champion at the age of 39 when he won the skeleton event in Turino, Italy.

Sunday, January 3, 2010

40 Days

In Albertville, France, in 1992, Kjetil André Aamodt became the first alpine skier from Norway in forty years to win Gold at the Winter Olympics. He won a bronze there too and competed in the next four Olympics, medaling thrice (I love that word) in 1994, winning two more golds in 2002 and one more gold in 2006. With eight Olympic medals he is the most decorated alpine skier at the Olympics. Aamodt also has the distinction of being both the youngest and oldest male alpine skier to win a gold medal at the Olympics. (He was born in Sept. '71 - you do the math.)

NBC and it's affiliates aired 40 more hours of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turino than they did the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Here's hoping for 40 more hours this time around. The last time I checked, which was a while ago, I couldn't find the exact number of hours NBC plans to air of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Anyone want to help me out on that one?

Saturday, January 2, 2010

41 Days

Shout out to Kevin Pearce, a U.S. Olympic hopeful in snowboarding. In Park City, Utah the other day, Pearce fell and hit his head while practicing on the half-pipe. According to ESPN, Pearce had to have surgery to relieve fluid buildup on his brain. No word on how this effects his chances to compete at the Olympics. We seem to be hearing of a lot of injuries this season, leading up to the Olympics. I'm not sure whether these athletes are unlucky or if winter sports have gotten to the point where they are just too demanding.

A study conducted by the University of British Columbia found that Canadian medals increased by 41% in the time since Vancouver won the bid to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. Medals increased at the Olympics, World Championships and other international events, largely due to Canada's "Own the Podium" program promoting winter sports.

Friday, January 1, 2010

42 Days

At the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, Tara Lipinski and Michelle Kwan first and second place finish made them the first female figure skaters from one country to do that since 1956. Forty-two years earlier at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina D'ampezzo, another set of American women won the gold and silver medals: Tenley Albright and Carol Heiss. As an aside, Lipinski who was 15 at the time is the youngest Olympic figure skating champion in history.

Australia has competed in every Winter Olympics since 1952. Previous to that, they had only competed at the 1936 Winter Olympics. In Turino, Italy in 2006, with 42 athletes representing Australia, they won two medals, the most medals they have ever won in one Winter Olympic Games. (They won two medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics as well.)

Whistler Mountain, home of the ski and snowboard events at the 2010 Winter Olympics, was developed into a resort city with the intention of hosting the 1968 Winter Olympics. In 1968, Grenoble, France won the bid to host the Winter Olympics, but forty-two years later, they have finally received the chance to host the Olympics.