Disappointment of the Olympics: Lindsey Vonn. Missed a gate again. I know she won a gold and Julia Mancuso only won two silvers, but I'm on Team Julia, probably for the tiara.
Apolo Ohno won his eighth Olympic medal - the bronze in the relay team. This was his last race of the 2010 Olympics, so he ended up with no golds. Ohno has not yet decided whether he'll try for a fourth Olympic Games in 2014. Even though he won three medals, I can't decide if he's also a "disappointment of the Olympics" since none were gold. Canada did win gold in the relay, which put the country at the top of the leader board for most gold medals so far with 10.
Can we talk about snowboard parallel giant slalom for a second? I know, right? Who even knew this sport existed. You know a sport should not be in the Olympics when a)you don't even hear about it until the second to last day of the Games and b)they only show about 4 competitors and they only show them in the late night broadcast. I don't even know who won because my dvr cut off, and honestly, I don't even care. I also thought of something. You know how all the skiing races were postponed at the beginning of the Games because of bad weather? What happens when there's bad weather at the end of the Games? Do they postpone past the Closing Ceremonies? Has that ever happened?
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Day 16
Wow, the poem thing really seems to be taking off. Here's one from Avi Z.
She blogs about the Olympics in 2010
not only the females, but even the men.
While her passion is to skate
perhaps blogging is her fate.
Sport after sport she writes about them all,
the daily tales both short and tall.
Day after day she entertains us
with a writing style that has no fuss.
When the closing ceremonies finally commence,
what will Sara do to keep us in such suspense?
I am sure that she will find a way to have some fun
because honestly, this story is far from done.
The Canadian women's hockey team apologized today for spending about a half hour on the ice after they won drinking beer and smoking cigars. That apology seems a little unnecessary to me. I know they're supposed to be "role models" but they're all adults (unless they're not, but the legal drinking age in Canada is 19) and nothing was illegal.
Quote of the week: "I am sick of this stupid game." That was said by the U.S. men's curling captain after coming in last place.
She blogs about the Olympics in 2010
not only the females, but even the men.
While her passion is to skate
perhaps blogging is her fate.
Sport after sport she writes about them all,
the daily tales both short and tall.
Day after day she entertains us
with a writing style that has no fuss.
When the closing ceremonies finally commence,
what will Sara do to keep us in such suspense?
I am sure that she will find a way to have some fun
because honestly, this story is far from done.
The Canadian women's hockey team apologized today for spending about a half hour on the ice after they won drinking beer and smoking cigars. That apology seems a little unnecessary to me. I know they're supposed to be "role models" but they're all adults (unless they're not, but the legal drinking age in Canada is 19) and nothing was illegal.
Quote of the week: "I am sick of this stupid game." That was said by the U.S. men's curling captain after coming in last place.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Day 15
Who else had the bejesus scared out of them when American skier Sarah Schleper roared before she began her race? That's quite the way to psych yourself up.
Congrats to Jeret "Speedy" Peterson for winning the silver medal in freestyle aerials. I still can't tell the difference between Peterson's famous hurricane jump and any of the other jumps, but I'm happy he did well. Back in November, Peterson and some other skiers and snowboarders came to Rockefeller Center in N.Y. to celebrate the 100 day countdown to the Olympics and they did some of their aerial tricks on a trampoline. It was fantastic to see live.
Billy Demong made history last night by becoming the first American to win gold in the Nordic Combined. Johnny Spillane won the silver - his third of the games.
I am hating NBC right now. They showed only 10 figure skaters, three of which were not even in the top 12 after the short program. Why would they do that? I understand that they need to cut between different sports, but instead of going for the ones with cute little stories, show me 7th and 8th place. And seriously, why not show Demong's medal ceremony on the late night broadcast? I am thrilled that they made history, but that could have been an extra skater right there. Isn't women's skating supposed to be the premiere event of the Winter Olympic Games? Sigh.
To me, the performance of the night belonged to the bronze medalist, Canadian Joannie Rochette. She has a maturity and grace to her skating that the younger skaters, still in their teens, just don't have. That, combined with having her hometown crowd behind her, and the added emotion from her mother's death on Saturday made her mesmerizing to watch. But silver medalist Mao Asada's two triple axels (one in combination) is quite astounding to me as well. I do think that this is a similar situation to the quad controversy in the men's competition. That Asada's score came nowhere near Olympic champ Yu-Na Kim's is a little startling to me. Mao had just as much pressure from her country to win gold as Yu-Na did and she was clearly distraught during the medal ceremony. But talk about Yu-Na's score - she would have placed 9th in the men's program. That is ridiculously amazing.
Both American ladies skated really well. Mirai Nagasu had my second favorite performance of the night. And Rachael Flatt skated really well too - it's too bad her triple flips were downgraded. But as well as they skated, they broke a pretty amazing Olympic streak: At least one American woman has been on the podium at every Olympics since 1968...until last night.
Congrats to Jeret "Speedy" Peterson for winning the silver medal in freestyle aerials. I still can't tell the difference between Peterson's famous hurricane jump and any of the other jumps, but I'm happy he did well. Back in November, Peterson and some other skiers and snowboarders came to Rockefeller Center in N.Y. to celebrate the 100 day countdown to the Olympics and they did some of their aerial tricks on a trampoline. It was fantastic to see live.
Billy Demong made history last night by becoming the first American to win gold in the Nordic Combined. Johnny Spillane won the silver - his third of the games.
I am hating NBC right now. They showed only 10 figure skaters, three of which were not even in the top 12 after the short program. Why would they do that? I understand that they need to cut between different sports, but instead of going for the ones with cute little stories, show me 7th and 8th place. And seriously, why not show Demong's medal ceremony on the late night broadcast? I am thrilled that they made history, but that could have been an extra skater right there. Isn't women's skating supposed to be the premiere event of the Winter Olympic Games? Sigh.
To me, the performance of the night belonged to the bronze medalist, Canadian Joannie Rochette. She has a maturity and grace to her skating that the younger skaters, still in their teens, just don't have. That, combined with having her hometown crowd behind her, and the added emotion from her mother's death on Saturday made her mesmerizing to watch. But silver medalist Mao Asada's two triple axels (one in combination) is quite astounding to me as well. I do think that this is a similar situation to the quad controversy in the men's competition. That Asada's score came nowhere near Olympic champ Yu-Na Kim's is a little startling to me. Mao had just as much pressure from her country to win gold as Yu-Na did and she was clearly distraught during the medal ceremony. But talk about Yu-Na's score - she would have placed 9th in the men's program. That is ridiculously amazing.
Both American ladies skated really well. Mirai Nagasu had my second favorite performance of the night. And Rachael Flatt skated really well too - it's too bad her triple flips were downgraded. But as well as they skated, they broke a pretty amazing Olympic streak: At least one American woman has been on the podium at every Olympics since 1968...until last night.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Day 14
Let us begin with a rhyme written exclusively for this blog, by our very own Sol R.
If you like to watch figure skating
And always keep all your friends waiting.
If you feel as though it takes over your life
This may lead to feelings of strife.
If you feel the need to watch it in order
You might have an Olympics Disorder.
So let's discuss the women's skiing from last night. Because of the heavy snow, skiers started racing before the skier before them had completed the course. In her first run, Lindsey Vonn fell and broke her pinkie finger. American Julia Mancuso, who was the defending Olympic champion in this event, raced right behind Vonn, not knowing that Lindsey had crashed. Halfway through, the referees made Julia stop since Lindsey was still sitting on the course. At that point, Mancuso's time was among the leaders of the race. Mancuso was then brought back to the top to being the race over, at which point the conditions were a lot worse and she ended up way behind the leaders. The second run of the event will be raced today. It's too bad, and maybe the referees need to rethink the idea of having two racers on the course at the same time, especially in dangerous conditions.
Other than that, I'm gonna call yesterday the most boring day of the Olympics so far. Nothing else to report.
If you like to watch figure skating
And always keep all your friends waiting.
If you feel as though it takes over your life
This may lead to feelings of strife.
If you feel the need to watch it in order
You might have an Olympics Disorder.
So let's discuss the women's skiing from last night. Because of the heavy snow, skiers started racing before the skier before them had completed the course. In her first run, Lindsey Vonn fell and broke her pinkie finger. American Julia Mancuso, who was the defending Olympic champion in this event, raced right behind Vonn, not knowing that Lindsey had crashed. Halfway through, the referees made Julia stop since Lindsey was still sitting on the course. At that point, Mancuso's time was among the leaders of the race. Mancuso was then brought back to the top to being the race over, at which point the conditions were a lot worse and she ended up way behind the leaders. The second run of the event will be raced today. It's too bad, and maybe the referees need to rethink the idea of having two racers on the course at the same time, especially in dangerous conditions.
Other than that, I'm gonna call yesterday the most boring day of the Olympics so far. Nothing else to report.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Day 13
The American men made more history yesterday in the Nordic Combined by winning the silver medal in the team event. This is the first team medal for the Americans and the second medal in the Nordic Combined - Johnny Spillane won the silver a few days ago in the individual event and was part of the team event as well.
Poor Sven Kramer. The Dutchman was way ahead of all the other skaters' times in the 25 lap race, and all set to win the gold, when he was disqualified for not changing lanes correctly. What's more, Kramer was in the correct lane, but his coach started yelling for him to move into the other lane, which turned out to be the wrong lane. Needless to say, Kramer was furious and could not be consoled. Speed skating is so huge in the Netherlands, that coach is never going to be allowed back into the country. At least Kramer already won a gold medal a few days ago.
Did you see the little clip they did about how famous Korean figure skater Yu-Na Kim has become in her home country? I can totally vouch for the fact that there is no exaggeration in any of that. When I was at Skate America in Lake Placid last November, fans had come from all over the world to see her and they went nuts for her. In all my years of skater stalking, I have never seen anything like it. She and Japan's Mao Asada certainly did not disappoint. Both of them have been having trouble with their jumps this season, so it was great to see Asada complete a triple axel-double toe and then Kim to follow that performance with a triple-triple combination. And what an emotional moment to watch Canada's Joannie Rochette skate a beautiful performance just days after her mother died suddenly of a heart attack. Even Scott Hamilton got all choked up. (Note, the man in the audience who NBC kept showing as Rochette's father was not actually her father, but a family friend.) The top 6 ladies are pretty much standing as expected with Yu-Na and Mao at the top and the Americans in the mix as well.
Poor Sven Kramer. The Dutchman was way ahead of all the other skaters' times in the 25 lap race, and all set to win the gold, when he was disqualified for not changing lanes correctly. What's more, Kramer was in the correct lane, but his coach started yelling for him to move into the other lane, which turned out to be the wrong lane. Needless to say, Kramer was furious and could not be consoled. Speed skating is so huge in the Netherlands, that coach is never going to be allowed back into the country. At least Kramer already won a gold medal a few days ago.
Did you see the little clip they did about how famous Korean figure skater Yu-Na Kim has become in her home country? I can totally vouch for the fact that there is no exaggeration in any of that. When I was at Skate America in Lake Placid last November, fans had come from all over the world to see her and they went nuts for her. In all my years of skater stalking, I have never seen anything like it. She and Japan's Mao Asada certainly did not disappoint. Both of them have been having trouble with their jumps this season, so it was great to see Asada complete a triple axel-double toe and then Kim to follow that performance with a triple-triple combination. And what an emotional moment to watch Canada's Joannie Rochette skate a beautiful performance just days after her mother died suddenly of a heart attack. Even Scott Hamilton got all choked up. (Note, the man in the audience who NBC kept showing as Rochette's father was not actually her father, but a family friend.) The top 6 ladies are pretty much standing as expected with Yu-Na and Mao at the top and the Americans in the mix as well.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Day 12
Caught up on some Olympics from Sunday. Go Bode! His first Olympic gold medal. What a comeback after the disastrous 2006 Olympics he had. No American male skier has ever won 4 medals in one Olympics and Bode has two more races to go.
In Ice Dance, North American teams have not had much success. Belbin and Agosto's silver medal in 2006 was America's best result ever, and the first medal in thirty or so years. No North American team has ever won gold. Not only that, but since the Ice Dance event began in the 1970s, the Russians have won gold every time, but twice. (Brits Torvill and Dean in 1984 and France's Annisina and Peizerat in 2002 are the exceptions.) So just the fact that three North American teams are in the top four positions, let alone the top two is a turning point in the sport. Johnny Weir was interviewed a few days ago about how he placed in the men's competition and he made a comment that suggested that he placed lower than he should have for political reasons - that it wasn't in some countries' best interests to have two American men on the podium. I don't know if that's true, but the fact that Russia claimed the bronze medal over Belbin and Agosto makes me think back to Weir's comments. What was up with the ropes? In my mind, lifting your partner from the ropes wrapped around her waist is totally cheating. But back to the positive, Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were absolutely stunning last night. If anything has improved from the new judging system in figure skating, it's definitely ice dance. North American skaters could have NEVER won gold (from a political standpoint) even just a few years ago. Belbin and Agosto must be acknowledged for paving the way for this achievement. Virtue and Moir are also the fourth Olympic champions in figure skating for Canada and the first ice dance team to win gold in their first trip to the Olympics.
What the heck is a "full double full full"? I mean, I know not everyone totally understands the difference between a quad and a triple in figure skating, but the way the commentators call the aerials competition is ridiculous. This is absolutely a sport that no one watches in between Olympics. Try and teach us, would ya?
In Ice Dance, North American teams have not had much success. Belbin and Agosto's silver medal in 2006 was America's best result ever, and the first medal in thirty or so years. No North American team has ever won gold. Not only that, but since the Ice Dance event began in the 1970s, the Russians have won gold every time, but twice. (Brits Torvill and Dean in 1984 and France's Annisina and Peizerat in 2002 are the exceptions.) So just the fact that three North American teams are in the top four positions, let alone the top two is a turning point in the sport. Johnny Weir was interviewed a few days ago about how he placed in the men's competition and he made a comment that suggested that he placed lower than he should have for political reasons - that it wasn't in some countries' best interests to have two American men on the podium. I don't know if that's true, but the fact that Russia claimed the bronze medal over Belbin and Agosto makes me think back to Weir's comments. What was up with the ropes? In my mind, lifting your partner from the ropes wrapped around her waist is totally cheating. But back to the positive, Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were absolutely stunning last night. If anything has improved from the new judging system in figure skating, it's definitely ice dance. North American skaters could have NEVER won gold (from a political standpoint) even just a few years ago. Belbin and Agosto must be acknowledged for paving the way for this achievement. Virtue and Moir are also the fourth Olympic champions in figure skating for Canada and the first ice dance team to win gold in their first trip to the Olympics.
What the heck is a "full double full full"? I mean, I know not everyone totally understands the difference between a quad and a triple in figure skating, but the way the commentators call the aerials competition is ridiculous. This is absolutely a sport that no one watches in between Olympics. Try and teach us, would ya?
Monday, February 22, 2010
Day 11
Yesterday, I decided to take a break from watching winter sports and participate in one myself, so I went skiing. It was a great day and I ended up renting men's Head boots and skis, and felt just like Lindsey Vonn who also skis in men's gear. Some think she is actually racing in Bode Miller's old skis, and I would like to think the same for myself as well.
Ski cross made it's Olympic debut yesterday, with the men's competition. It's just as crazy and fun to watch as snowboard cross. I don't know how ski polls are legal in this sport; it would be so easy to take out an eye like that.
The mother of Canadian ladies figure skater (and medal contender) Joannie Rochette passed away on Saturday night. At this point, Rochette still plans to skate at the Olympics. The short program begins on Tuesday.
By the way, do you know how hard it is to stay away from the Olympics when you don't want to know what's happening? My sister's birthday party on Saturday night? The bar had t.v.s airing the Olympics. The ski lodge? Olympics. The pizza store for dinner? Olympics!
Ski cross made it's Olympic debut yesterday, with the men's competition. It's just as crazy and fun to watch as snowboard cross. I don't know how ski polls are legal in this sport; it would be so easy to take out an eye like that.
The mother of Canadian ladies figure skater (and medal contender) Joannie Rochette passed away on Saturday night. At this point, Rochette still plans to skate at the Olympics. The short program begins on Tuesday.
By the way, do you know how hard it is to stay away from the Olympics when you don't want to know what's happening? My sister's birthday party on Saturday night? The bar had t.v.s airing the Olympics. The ski lodge? Olympics. The pizza store for dinner? Olympics!
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Day 10
Lots of history making over the last couple of days...
Norway's Simon Ammann made history yesterday by becoming the most decorated Norwegian Olympian - Summer or Winter. He won his fourth gold medal in ski jumping yesterday, his second of these Games. He became somewhat of a star in 2002 in Salt Lake City, more because he looked like Harry Potter than for his ski jumping accomplishments.
Bode Miller also made history on Friday by becoming the most decorated American skier when he won his fourth medal - this one a silver. He had two silver medals in 2002 and a bronze in the downhill a few days ago. Lindsey Vonn raced yesterday and won bronze, her second of this Olympics. (Note to those keeping track, Bode's race on Friday was the first alpine ski race of the 2010 Games that weren't spoiled for me before I watched it. A small victory right there.)
Shani Davis also won his fourth Olympic medal - a silver, which was the second medal for him in Vancouver. (He already won gold.) Davis will not be competing anymore at these Olympics.
And Apolo Ohno made the biggest history by becoming the most decorated American Winter Olympian with seven medals. He won bronze on Saturday night. Ohno has two more races to go this week.
Norway's Simon Ammann made history yesterday by becoming the most decorated Norwegian Olympian - Summer or Winter. He won his fourth gold medal in ski jumping yesterday, his second of these Games. He became somewhat of a star in 2002 in Salt Lake City, more because he looked like Harry Potter than for his ski jumping accomplishments.
Bode Miller also made history on Friday by becoming the most decorated American skier when he won his fourth medal - this one a silver. He had two silver medals in 2002 and a bronze in the downhill a few days ago. Lindsey Vonn raced yesterday and won bronze, her second of this Olympics. (Note to those keeping track, Bode's race on Friday was the first alpine ski race of the 2010 Games that weren't spoiled for me before I watched it. A small victory right there.)
Shani Davis also won his fourth Olympic medal - a silver, which was the second medal for him in Vancouver. (He already won gold.) Davis will not be competing anymore at these Olympics.
And Apolo Ohno made the biggest history by becoming the most decorated American Winter Olympian with seven medals. He won bronze on Saturday night. Ohno has two more races to go this week.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Day 9
This is going to be a short post, since I haven't had a chance to watch Friday's activities yet.
Here's a men's figure skating stat for you.
The only skater to win 4 Olympic medals: Gillis Grafström from Sweden who won 3 golds in the 1920s and silver in 1932.
The only skaters to win 3 Olympic medals (very short considering two of them did it at these Olympic Games):
Sonia Henie - 3 golds in 1928, 1932 and 1936
Irina Rodnina - 3 golds in 1972 (with partner Alexei Ulanov) and in 1976 and 1980 (with partner Alexander Zaitsev)
Artur Dmitriev - gold in 1992 and silver in 1994 (with partner Natalia Mishkutenok) and gold in 1998 (with partner Oksana Kazakova)
Marina Klimova & Sergei Ponomarenko - bronze in 1984, silver in 1988 and gold in 1992
Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao - bronze in 2002 and 2006 and gold in 2010
Evgeni Plushenko - silver in 2002, gold in 2006 and silver in 2010
Stephen Colbert arrived in Vancouver a couple of days ago to support his US Speedskating team and apparently, he's found a new use for skates. Figure skating champion Brian Boitano has been known to use a figure skate similarly on his cooking show, What Would Brian Boitano Make.
Here's a men's figure skating stat for you.
The only skater to win 4 Olympic medals: Gillis Grafström from Sweden who won 3 golds in the 1920s and silver in 1932.
The only skaters to win 3 Olympic medals (very short considering two of them did it at these Olympic Games):
Sonia Henie - 3 golds in 1928, 1932 and 1936
Irina Rodnina - 3 golds in 1972 (with partner Alexei Ulanov) and in 1976 and 1980 (with partner Alexander Zaitsev)
Artur Dmitriev - gold in 1992 and silver in 1994 (with partner Natalia Mishkutenok) and gold in 1998 (with partner Oksana Kazakova)
Marina Klimova & Sergei Ponomarenko - bronze in 1984, silver in 1988 and gold in 1992
Xue Shen & Hongbo Zhao - bronze in 2002 and 2006 and gold in 2010
Evgeni Plushenko - silver in 2002, gold in 2006 and silver in 2010
Stephen Colbert arrived in Vancouver a couple of days ago to support his US Speedskating team and apparently, he's found a new use for skates. Figure skating champion Brian Boitano has been known to use a figure skate similarly on his cooking show, What Would Brian Boitano Make.
Friday, February 19, 2010
Day 8: To spoil or not to spoil...
So I am now 0 for 3 so far in terms of not knowing who won the skiing events at the Olympics until it aired on NBC. On Tuesday, I was watching the figure skating preview show on Universal Sports and they interrupted their chat on the skating to let everyone that Bode won bronze. On Wednesday, I was signing off my email at work, and bam! there it was, Lindsay Vonn wins gold. And then yesterday, I was in the supermarket when I ran into someone who shall remain nameless who said, "can you believe she missed a gate!" so I knew Vonn did not win. (But yay for Julia Mancuso's second silver medal of the Games, which I did not know about in advance.) I have kind of come to terms with the fact that some events will be spoiled for me over the course of the Olympics, but it leads me to the following question: Who prefers to find out what happens right away and who prefers to wait until they can watch it play out on television? I think my thoughts on the subject are obvious, but if not, keep reading.
Let me tell you about my dedication (some might have other words for it) to the sport of figure skating. My friend Miriam B. came over to watch the men's long program with me last night. She had dinner plans earlier in the evening (happy birthday, Zehava) so we agreed to watch it a little late from my dvr. My roommate, Sara C. and my sister Rebecca both joined us as well. Over the course of the skating, both Sara C. and Rebecca managed to forget that we were not watching live and went online and accidentally found out the results. Miriam and I allowed them to keep watching with us provided that they observe my strict rules of no talking, making facial expressions or even breathing, lest they give anything away. As we watched each skater, the anticipation of watching the last performance of the night, Russia's Evgeni Plushenko grew - who would win, him or American Evan Lysacek. And then... my dvr stopped because the Olympics had run passed midnight and I forgot to record the News, even though I have been doing that every other night since the Olympics have begun. Sigh. After freaking out, Rebecca remembered that NBC reairs the Olympics at 2 am each night/morning, so I decided to wait until they showed Plushenko's performance at about 4:50 am. And it definitely paid off! Plushenko did the quad and a bunch of other jumps, but really had nothing else to offer. I was nervous that the judges were going to give it to him anyway since he's been so dominant this season, but once again props to them, the judging has been spot on so far. I think Evan deserved this one. I hope Plushenko doesn't feel like his entire comeback was a waste just because he didn't win. He is an exceptional skater who won his third Olympic medal: silver in 2002, gold in 2006 and silver last night as well. That's quite an accomplishment.
Anyway, back to me, I feel like Jimmy Roberts should do one of those sappy, emotional pieces on me about my dedication and perseverance to my sport. Talk about Olympic spirit.
I can't end this post without mentioning the Americans success in women's halfpipe, where Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark won the silver and bronze medals last night. Special shout-out to Torah Bright and her number one fan, Avi Z. for winning the gold.
Let me tell you about my dedication (some might have other words for it) to the sport of figure skating. My friend Miriam B. came over to watch the men's long program with me last night. She had dinner plans earlier in the evening (happy birthday, Zehava) so we agreed to watch it a little late from my dvr. My roommate, Sara C. and my sister Rebecca both joined us as well. Over the course of the skating, both Sara C. and Rebecca managed to forget that we were not watching live and went online and accidentally found out the results. Miriam and I allowed them to keep watching with us provided that they observe my strict rules of no talking, making facial expressions or even breathing, lest they give anything away. As we watched each skater, the anticipation of watching the last performance of the night, Russia's Evgeni Plushenko grew - who would win, him or American Evan Lysacek. And then... my dvr stopped because the Olympics had run passed midnight and I forgot to record the News, even though I have been doing that every other night since the Olympics have begun. Sigh. After freaking out, Rebecca remembered that NBC reairs the Olympics at 2 am each night/morning, so I decided to wait until they showed Plushenko's performance at about 4:50 am. And it definitely paid off! Plushenko did the quad and a bunch of other jumps, but really had nothing else to offer. I was nervous that the judges were going to give it to him anyway since he's been so dominant this season, but once again props to them, the judging has been spot on so far. I think Evan deserved this one. I hope Plushenko doesn't feel like his entire comeback was a waste just because he didn't win. He is an exceptional skater who won his third Olympic medal: silver in 2002, gold in 2006 and silver last night as well. That's quite an accomplishment.
Anyway, back to me, I feel like Jimmy Roberts should do one of those sappy, emotional pieces on me about my dedication and perseverance to my sport. Talk about Olympic spirit.
I can't end this post without mentioning the Americans success in women's halfpipe, where Hannah Teter and Kelly Clark won the silver and bronze medals last night. Special shout-out to Torah Bright and her number one fan, Avi Z. for winning the gold.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Day 7
Anyone who knows me and has seen Julia Mancuso ski knows why she's my favorite skier. It's the tiara, of course! Mancuso got a lot of flack at the 2006 Olympics for wearing a plastic tiara on top of her helmet and a beaded necklace during her competition, but then won gold, forcing people to shut up. At this Olympics, she had a tiara painted onto her helmet, but the real thing was out in full force once she finished the race. Congrats to her on her silver medal in the downhill last night. I love that she wore it to the medal ceremonies - that's totally something I would have done. And of course props to Lindsey Vonn as well on winning the gold. Interesting that Vonn's secret weapon seems to be the fact that she races on men's skis.
When I watch Apolo Ohno skate, the first word that comes to mind is finesse. So cool that the 5000m relay final will have 5 teams - that's 20 skaters on the ice at once! I was also reminded just how much Ohno did for the popularity of the sport when I watched the women's short track events on the late night broadcast (not worthy of the prime time broadcast) and realized how little I care.
Congrats to our Americans racking up the medals last night. Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick won gold and bronze respectively in speed skating. Davis is the first to win back to back Olympic gold medals in the 1000 meters. And 2006 Olympic champion Shawn "flying tomato" White and Scotty Lago also won gold and bronze in the men's halfpipe event.
The 6 U.S. medals yesterday made U.S. history for the most Olympic medals in one day.
When I watch Apolo Ohno skate, the first word that comes to mind is finesse. So cool that the 5000m relay final will have 5 teams - that's 20 skaters on the ice at once! I was also reminded just how much Ohno did for the popularity of the sport when I watched the women's short track events on the late night broadcast (not worthy of the prime time broadcast) and realized how little I care.
Congrats to our Americans racking up the medals last night. Shani Davis and Chad Hedrick won gold and bronze respectively in speed skating. Davis is the first to win back to back Olympic gold medals in the 1000 meters. And 2006 Olympic champion Shawn "flying tomato" White and Scotty Lago also won gold and bronze in the men's halfpipe event.
The 6 U.S. medals yesterday made U.S. history for the most Olympic medals in one day.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Day 6
Let's start with skating. Firstly, how many times is Scott Hamilton going to use the term, "the devil's in the details" to describe the deductions skaters receive on minor mistakes. We get it, find something new to say.
Last night's men's short program is the reason I love skating so much. After a night of falls in the pair's long program, the men really pulled it together when it counted. I love that the top three in the standings actually reflect the three best performances of the night. And I really love that American Evan Lysacek (the current World Champion) is in a virtual tie with Russian Evgeni Plushenko (the 2006 Olympic Champion) and Japan's Daisuke Takahashi without having attempted the quad toe loop. That just goes to show how strong the rest of Lysacek's skating skills are and I think that's a really good sign as to how he'll do in the long program. Biggest upsets of the night: Frenchman Brian Joubert and current U.S. National Champion, Jeremy Abbott. Both came into the competition as medal contenders but took themselves out of the race last night.
Skating factoid of the day: No reigning men's world champion has won the Olympics since American Scott Hamilton in 1984. That may not sound good for Lysacek but factoid number two: the only men to ever do that are all American. Of course, that should all be taken with a grain of salt, since they told Michelle Kwan in 2002 that all the ladies' Olympic Champions had been the World Champions the previous year, as she had been in 2001 and we all know how that worked out. (Not bitter at all...)
Once again, American Lindsey Jacobellis manages to disappoint. In 2006 in snowboard cross, Jacobellis was all set to win gold and on the last little jump of the course, she did a little victory trick and fell and had to settle for second. This year, she didn't even make it to the finals. But that made room for Canada's Maelle Ricker to win her country's second gold medal on home turf.
First reaction to the headline, "Pregnant Olympian a Rarety": don't know who this is, but she's really dumb for putting her baby's life at risk for the Olympics.
Second reaction: ...unless it's curling, which is pretty much the least active Olympic sport you could come up with. (Besides maybe ping pong, but that's a Summer sport.)
Which it turned out to be. Canadian curler Kristie Moore is 5 months pregnant. She's also the alternate on her team, so she's unlikely to compete anyway. But if her team makes the podium, she will win a medal as well. Moore is the second known athlete to compete at the Olympics while pregnant. The first was Magda Julin who won the gold in figure skating at the 1920 Winter Olympics while she was three months pregnant.
Last night's men's short program is the reason I love skating so much. After a night of falls in the pair's long program, the men really pulled it together when it counted. I love that the top three in the standings actually reflect the three best performances of the night. And I really love that American Evan Lysacek (the current World Champion) is in a virtual tie with Russian Evgeni Plushenko (the 2006 Olympic Champion) and Japan's Daisuke Takahashi without having attempted the quad toe loop. That just goes to show how strong the rest of Lysacek's skating skills are and I think that's a really good sign as to how he'll do in the long program. Biggest upsets of the night: Frenchman Brian Joubert and current U.S. National Champion, Jeremy Abbott. Both came into the competition as medal contenders but took themselves out of the race last night.
Skating factoid of the day: No reigning men's world champion has won the Olympics since American Scott Hamilton in 1984. That may not sound good for Lysacek but factoid number two: the only men to ever do that are all American. Of course, that should all be taken with a grain of salt, since they told Michelle Kwan in 2002 that all the ladies' Olympic Champions had been the World Champions the previous year, as she had been in 2001 and we all know how that worked out. (Not bitter at all...)
Once again, American Lindsey Jacobellis manages to disappoint. In 2006 in snowboard cross, Jacobellis was all set to win gold and on the last little jump of the course, she did a little victory trick and fell and had to settle for second. This year, she didn't even make it to the finals. But that made room for Canada's Maelle Ricker to win her country's second gold medal on home turf.
First reaction to the headline, "Pregnant Olympian a Rarety": don't know who this is, but she's really dumb for putting her baby's life at risk for the Olympics.
Second reaction: ...unless it's curling, which is pretty much the least active Olympic sport you could come up with. (Besides maybe ping pong, but that's a Summer sport.)
Which it turned out to be. Canadian curler Kristie Moore is 5 months pregnant. She's also the alternate on her team, so she's unlikely to compete anyway. But if her team makes the podium, she will win a medal as well. Moore is the second known athlete to compete at the Olympics while pregnant. The first was Magda Julin who won the gold in figure skating at the 1920 Winter Olympics while she was three months pregnant.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Day 5
OK, whose new favorite sport is snowboard cross? Just watching the qualifiers was super exciting. The course on it's own is nuts! In the qualifiers, the snowboarders run the course by themselves which looks like a crazy event on it's own - even the 2006 Olympic champion, American Seth Wescott wiped out, and that was without having to fight the other racers off. But then, having 4 competitors race the track at once, and watching Wescott start out in last place in the final heat and win the gold, that was pretty exciting. Wescott became the first snowboarder to win back to back gold medals at the Winter Olympics. (Also, what's with the siren that went off each time the racer would pass one of the turns in the qualifiers? You'd think that would be a little distracting.)
Figure skating factoid of the day: Newly crowned pairs champions and married couple Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao live in separate rooms in their training dormitory in Harbin, China. Compare that to non-married American couple Amanda Evora and Jeremy Barrett (both pairs skaters but with different partners) who do live together in Florida. By the way, can someone please tell the skaters that you're not supposed to fall at the Olympics? Just sayin'. Special shoutout to both American pairs who didn't fall, especially to Evora and Mark Ladwig for getting the highest scoring element in the entire competition with their last lift.
Figure skating factoid of the day: Newly crowned pairs champions and married couple Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao live in separate rooms in their training dormitory in Harbin, China. Compare that to non-married American couple Amanda Evora and Jeremy Barrett (both pairs skaters but with different partners) who do live together in Florida. By the way, can someone please tell the skaters that you're not supposed to fall at the Olympics? Just sayin'. Special shoutout to both American pairs who didn't fall, especially to Evora and Mark Ladwig for getting the highest scoring element in the entire competition with their last lift.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Day 4
I guess the Canadian curse is over. Alexandre Bilodeau became the first Canadian ever to win gold on home soil last night, when he won the men's freestyle moguls event.
Two brothers competed in the Nordic combined event (ski jumping and cross country skiing combined) yesterday, but for different countries. They're Norwegian born to Swiss parents. Tommy Schmid represents Switzerland while his older brother, Jan defected to Norway to be part of the strong Norwegian ski program there. They both train in Norway. Neither of them medalled, but congrats to America Johnny Spillane for winning the silver medal - the first Olympic medal for an American in Nordic combined, ever.
Figure skater Peggy Fleming, bobsledder Vonetta Flowers and Miracle on Ice hockey player Mark Eruzione were in a minor car accident yesterday when their car was rear-ended by another car. Their car was part of Vice President Joe Biden's motorcade and they were taken to the hospital as a precaution but are all fine. Fleming and Flowers later attended the pair's figure skating short program. V.P. Biden was in another car and was uninjured.
Two brothers competed in the Nordic combined event (ski jumping and cross country skiing combined) yesterday, but for different countries. They're Norwegian born to Swiss parents. Tommy Schmid represents Switzerland while his older brother, Jan defected to Norway to be part of the strong Norwegian ski program there. They both train in Norway. Neither of them medalled, but congrats to America Johnny Spillane for winning the silver medal - the first Olympic medal for an American in Nordic combined, ever.
Figure skater Peggy Fleming, bobsledder Vonetta Flowers and Miracle on Ice hockey player Mark Eruzione were in a minor car accident yesterday when their car was rear-ended by another car. Their car was part of Vice President Joe Biden's motorcade and they were taken to the hospital as a precaution but are all fine. Fleming and Flowers later attended the pair's figure skating short program. V.P. Biden was in another car and was uninjured.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Day 3 (Oops, Yesterday should have been Day 2 and 0 Days should have been Day 1)
So apparently Day 1 of the Olympics was Friday, even though the only thing that happened was the Opening Ceremonies. Oops.
Congrats to Apolo Ohno on getting the silver medal last night, tying Bonnie Blair for most medals ever for a Winter Olympian. I'm sure it's nice for him to have the medal, but I can't imagine that he's happy with second place. I bet this motivates him for his next four competitions. Major props to J.R. Celski for winning the bronze. Did you see the footage from the Olympic trials when he cut his leg on his blade? Blood everywhere!
Latvian Haralds Silovs made history yesterday by becoming the first Winter Olympian to compete in two different sports in one Olympic Games. And in the same day. He had about 5 hours in between his long track speed skating competition where he placed 20th and his short track speed skating event where he made it to the semifinals.
Jenn Heil attempted to become the first Canadian to win gold on Canadian soil yesterday in the women's freestyle skiing competition. As the defending Olympic champion, she was the favorite going into the race. But American Hannah Kearney had other plans and forced Heil to settle for silver.
Congrats to Apolo Ohno on getting the silver medal last night, tying Bonnie Blair for most medals ever for a Winter Olympian. I'm sure it's nice for him to have the medal, but I can't imagine that he's happy with second place. I bet this motivates him for his next four competitions. Major props to J.R. Celski for winning the bronze. Did you see the footage from the Olympic trials when he cut his leg on his blade? Blood everywhere!
Latvian Haralds Silovs made history yesterday by becoming the first Winter Olympian to compete in two different sports in one Olympic Games. And in the same day. He had about 5 hours in between his long track speed skating competition where he placed 20th and his short track speed skating event where he made it to the semifinals.
Jenn Heil attempted to become the first Canadian to win gold on Canadian soil yesterday in the women's freestyle skiing competition. As the defending Olympic champion, she was the favorite going into the race. But American Hannah Kearney had other plans and forced Heil to settle for silver.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
2010 Winter Olympics: Day 1
What a terrible way to start the Olympics. 21 year old luger Nodar Kumaritashvili of Georgia (the country) died on Friday during a training run at the Whistler Sliding Center. His sled hit the wall of the track and he was knocked into an unpadded steel poll. This track, which will be used for the luge, bobsled and skeleton events is considered the fastest in the world and athletes have previously commented on safety concerns. This is the first accidental death during competition or official training at the Olympics since 1960. At "press time" it had not been determined whether the Georgian Olympic team would pull out or whether the luge competition would go on as scheduled.
I haven't had the chance to watch the Opening Ceremonies yet (don't worry, it's tivo-ed), but I'm sure they were spectacular. The truth is, I don't usually end up watching the Opening Ceremonies until after the Olympics, because between the actual events, preview shows, news shows, etc., I'm pretty much fighting to keep up before anything even happens.
Speaking of before anything even happens, how are there multiple figure skating scandals already? And honestly, it's all ridiculous.
The first one stems from an interview that Sasha Cohen gave to People Magazine, saying that the two American women, Rachael Flatt and Marai Nagasu are "good skaters, they're just not at the same level as the international girls" and do not have a chance to medal at the Olympics. I really don't know what this controversy is all about, because it's true. They are great skaters, but right now, there are better skaters out there. I'm predicting an all Asian podium for ladies figure skating.
The second controversy is a two-parter, with 2006 Olympic Champion Evgeni Plushenko stuck in the middle of each part. Part 1: The International Skating Union recently created educational videos and one of them featured a performance of Plushenko's in which commentators made some negative remarks about the presentation side. Team Plushenko got upset and demanded that the performance be removed from the video. Part 2: After winning the European Championships last month, Plushenko commented on the higher marks the judges gave to silver medalist, Frenchman Brian Joubert on some of the non-jumping aspects than Plushenko received. Plushenko seems to have suggested that judges don't base the presentation scores on reality since only the jumps matter. This lead American judge Joe Inman (who will not be judging in Vancouver) to send an email out to other judges reminding them to judge each aspect fairly. And for some reason, the French Skating Federation (same people who were involved in the pairs skating scandal in 2002) took that email to be part of a North American lobby. Yeah, I don't get it either.
I haven't had the chance to watch the Opening Ceremonies yet (don't worry, it's tivo-ed), but I'm sure they were spectacular. The truth is, I don't usually end up watching the Opening Ceremonies until after the Olympics, because between the actual events, preview shows, news shows, etc., I'm pretty much fighting to keep up before anything even happens.
Speaking of before anything even happens, how are there multiple figure skating scandals already? And honestly, it's all ridiculous.
The first one stems from an interview that Sasha Cohen gave to People Magazine, saying that the two American women, Rachael Flatt and Marai Nagasu are "good skaters, they're just not at the same level as the international girls" and do not have a chance to medal at the Olympics. I really don't know what this controversy is all about, because it's true. They are great skaters, but right now, there are better skaters out there. I'm predicting an all Asian podium for ladies figure skating.
The second controversy is a two-parter, with 2006 Olympic Champion Evgeni Plushenko stuck in the middle of each part. Part 1: The International Skating Union recently created educational videos and one of them featured a performance of Plushenko's in which commentators made some negative remarks about the presentation side. Team Plushenko got upset and demanded that the performance be removed from the video. Part 2: After winning the European Championships last month, Plushenko commented on the higher marks the judges gave to silver medalist, Frenchman Brian Joubert on some of the non-jumping aspects than Plushenko received. Plushenko seems to have suggested that judges don't base the presentation scores on reality since only the jumps matter. This lead American judge Joe Inman (who will not be judging in Vancouver) to send an email out to other judges reminding them to judge each aspect fairly. And for some reason, the French Skating Federation (same people who were involved in the pairs skating scandal in 2002) took that email to be part of a North American lobby. Yeah, I don't get it either.
Friday, February 12, 2010
0 Days! The Olympics starts tonight!
Mark Grimmette, a five-time Olympian in luge has been named the Flag Bearer for the U.S. team at tonight's Opening Ceremonies. Grimette previously won the bronze in 1998 and the silver in 2002. He is only one of four U.S. athletes to compete at the Winter Olympics five times. For more information on Grimette or any other U.S. Olympian, check out teamusa.org, the official website from the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Other flag bearers include speedskater Clara Hughes for Canada, who is one of the few to win Olympic medals in both the Winter and Summer Olympics and figure skater Stephane Lambiel for Switzerland, who won the silver medal in Turino in 2006.
Never before has a city hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The city of Munich, Germany is trying to be the first and will succeed if they win the bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. They previously hosted the 1936 and 1972 Summer Olympics.
No country in the Southern Hemisphere has ever hosted a Winter Olympic Games.
Canada has never won gold at the Olympics on their home turf.
Other flag bearers include speedskater Clara Hughes for Canada, who is one of the few to win Olympic medals in both the Winter and Summer Olympics and figure skater Stephane Lambiel for Switzerland, who won the silver medal in Turino in 2006.
Never before has a city hosted both the Summer and Winter Olympics. The city of Munich, Germany is trying to be the first and will succeed if they win the bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. They previously hosted the 1936 and 1972 Summer Olympics.
No country in the Southern Hemisphere has ever hosted a Winter Olympic Games.
Canada has never won gold at the Olympics on their home turf.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
1 Day
With just one day until the 2010 Winter Olympics, America's star (or the American media's star) Olympian, skier Lindsey Vonn is injured and is unsure of her Olympic plans. As of now, she is still planning to compete in her events, but plans to skip her training sessions. Before this injury, Vonn was expected to go for gold in five different alpine skiing events.
At the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, silver medals were awarded to the winners and bronze to the second place athletes.
The U.S. placed first in the medal count once at the Winter Olympics, in 1932 in Lake Placid
The first Olympic Games to be televised was the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where events were shown on large screens around Berlin. The first Games to be televised worldwide was the 1956 Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The first Winter Games to be broadcast in color was in Grenoble, France in 1968.
Vancouver will be the first Winter Olympics where some events are held at sea level.
The music played in all of NBC's promotional 2010 Olympics commercials is the song, One Day by Matisyahu featuring Akon. Listen to it here.
At the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, silver medals were awarded to the winners and bronze to the second place athletes.
The U.S. placed first in the medal count once at the Winter Olympics, in 1932 in Lake Placid
The first Olympic Games to be televised was the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, where events were shown on large screens around Berlin. The first Games to be televised worldwide was the 1956 Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy. The first Winter Games to be broadcast in color was in Grenoble, France in 1968.
Vancouver will be the first Winter Olympics where some events are held at sea level.
The music played in all of NBC's promotional 2010 Olympics commercials is the song, One Day by Matisyahu featuring Akon. Listen to it here.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
2 Days
Forbes announced their list of the highest money-making athletes who will be competing at the 2010 Winter Olympics (professional athletes like NHL stars not included). The majority of their money comes from endorsements and sponsorships, as Olympic competitions aren't known for their huge paychecks.
At the top of the list is U.S. snowboarder, Shaun White who made $8 million in 2009. His top sponsor, Red Bull, even built Shaun his own half-pipe. White previously won gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics, which certainly helped pick up endorsements coming into this Olympic Games.
Tied at number 1, is South Korean figure skater, Yu-Na Kim. As the 2009 World Champion, Kim is the favorite to win gold in Vancouver and has become a huge star in her home country.
3. Lindsey Vonn (U.S.A.) - skiing: $3 million
4. Ted Ligety (U.S.A.) - skiing: $2 million
5. Apolo Ohno (U.S.A.) - short track speedskating: $1.5 million
6. Bode Miller (U.S.A.) - skiing: $1.3 million
7. Gretchen Bleiler (U.S.A.) - snowboarding: $1 million
7. Lindsey Jacobellis (U.S.A) - snowboarding: $1 million
7. Hannah Teter (U.S.A.) - snowboarding: $1 million
7. Maria Riesch (Germany) - skiing: $1 million
In the Biathlon sprint and relay competitions, athletes stop 2 times at the shooting range.
U.S. speedskater Jennifer Rodriguez started out first as a Roller Skating Champion, and then later an In-line Skating Champion. In 1996, she switched to speed skating and made her first Olympic team only two years later, in 1998. She won two bronze medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
At the top of the list is U.S. snowboarder, Shaun White who made $8 million in 2009. His top sponsor, Red Bull, even built Shaun his own half-pipe. White previously won gold at the 2006 Winter Olympics, which certainly helped pick up endorsements coming into this Olympic Games.
Tied at number 1, is South Korean figure skater, Yu-Na Kim. As the 2009 World Champion, Kim is the favorite to win gold in Vancouver and has become a huge star in her home country.
3. Lindsey Vonn (U.S.A.) - skiing: $3 million
4. Ted Ligety (U.S.A.) - skiing: $2 million
5. Apolo Ohno (U.S.A.) - short track speedskating: $1.5 million
6. Bode Miller (U.S.A.) - skiing: $1.3 million
7. Gretchen Bleiler (U.S.A.) - snowboarding: $1 million
7. Lindsey Jacobellis (U.S.A) - snowboarding: $1 million
7. Hannah Teter (U.S.A.) - snowboarding: $1 million
7. Maria Riesch (Germany) - skiing: $1 million
In the Biathlon sprint and relay competitions, athletes stop 2 times at the shooting range.
U.S. speedskater Jennifer Rodriguez started out first as a Roller Skating Champion, and then later an In-line Skating Champion. In 1996, she switched to speed skating and made her first Olympic team only two years later, in 1998. She won two bronze medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
3 Days
I watched an Olympic preview show on the Universal Sports channel last night and learned about a medal prediction model that Professor Dan Johnson of Colorado College has created. Professor Johnson has had 94% accuracy from 2000 - 2008 with his model. Johnson projects each nation's total medal count and gold medal count based on per-capita income, the country's population, it's political structure, it's climate and home-field advantage. Here's what he's predicting for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Let's see if he's right:
Canada - 27 medals - 5 gold medals
U.S. - 26 medals - 5 gold medals
Norway - 26 medals - 4 gold medals
Russia - most gold medals, with 8
At the Olympic Closing Ceremonies, three national flags are each hoisted onto flagpoles one at a time while their respective national anthems are played: The flag of Greece (honoring the birthplace of the Olympic games), the flag of the host country, and finally the flag of the host country of the next Summer or Winter Olympic Games. The one exception was in 2004, when the Olympic Games were held in Athens and only one flag (that of Greece) was raised.
The U.S. is third on the all time winter medal count with 216 (78 gold, 80 silver, 58 bronze).
Canada - 27 medals - 5 gold medals
U.S. - 26 medals - 5 gold medals
Norway - 26 medals - 4 gold medals
Russia - most gold medals, with 8
At the Olympic Closing Ceremonies, three national flags are each hoisted onto flagpoles one at a time while their respective national anthems are played: The flag of Greece (honoring the birthplace of the Olympic games), the flag of the host country, and finally the flag of the host country of the next Summer or Winter Olympic Games. The one exception was in 2004, when the Olympic Games were held in Athens and only one flag (that of Greece) was raised.
The U.S. is third on the all time winter medal count with 216 (78 gold, 80 silver, 58 bronze).
Monday, February 8, 2010
4 Days
Just 4 days before the 2010 Winter Olympics begin, the site of the Olympic half pipe competition is in serious need of snow. Officials have already cut the training days from 5 down to 3 and have been dumping snow via helicopter. The first half pipe competition is set for February 17 and so far no plans have been made to change the venue.
Only four athletes have ever won medals at both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games: Eddie Eagan (USA - Bobsleigh/Boxing), Jacob Thams (Norway - Ski Jumping/Sailing), Christa Luding (Germany - Long Track Speed Skating/Track Cycling) and Clara Hughes (Canada - Long Track Speed Skating/Cycling).
No Winter Olympian has ever won four gold medals in the same event.
Only four athletes have ever won medals at both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games: Eddie Eagan (USA - Bobsleigh/Boxing), Jacob Thams (Norway - Ski Jumping/Sailing), Christa Luding (Germany - Long Track Speed Skating/Track Cycling) and Clara Hughes (Canada - Long Track Speed Skating/Cycling).
No Winter Olympian has ever won four gold medals in the same event.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
5 Days
The only Olympian ever to medal five consecutive times in the same Olympic event is German Georg Hackl. In 2002, Hackl completed this streak by winning the silver medal in singles luge.
The velocity of the curling rock at top speed is 5 mph.
American speed skater Eric Heiden holds the record for most gold medals in a Winter Olympics with five in 1980. (He and Apolo Anton Ohno both have 5 Winter Olympic medals, the most all-time for an American man. As previously mentioned, Ohno can break that record in Vancouver.)
The velocity of the curling rock at top speed is 5 mph.
American speed skater Eric Heiden holds the record for most gold medals in a Winter Olympics with five in 1980. (He and Apolo Anton Ohno both have 5 Winter Olympic medals, the most all-time for an American man. As previously mentioned, Ohno can break that record in Vancouver.)
Saturday, February 6, 2010
6 Days
Speed skater Bonnie Blair has won six medals at the Olympic Winter Games. That's more than any other American athlete. Speed skater Apolo Ohno has 5 and is hoping to get at least two more to make him the most decorate U.S. Winter Olympian.
6 countries only have one winter Olympic medal: Uzbekistan (gold), New Zealand (silver), Slovakia (silver), Denmark (silver) and Romania (bronze) and Latvia (bronze).
In 2008, six countries won their first ever Olympic medal: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Mauritius, Sudan, Tajikistan and Togo.
6 countries only have one winter Olympic medal: Uzbekistan (gold), New Zealand (silver), Slovakia (silver), Denmark (silver) and Romania (bronze) and Latvia (bronze).
In 2008, six countries won their first ever Olympic medal: Afghanistan, Bahrain, Mauritius, Sudan, Tajikistan and Togo.
Friday, February 5, 2010
7 Days
One week, friends, one week!!!
NBC's website is giving viewers the opportunity to judge the figure skating competitions at the Olympics. Whether viewers watch live, on dvr or online, they will be able to rate each technical element and overall presentation.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/judge/index.html
Vancouver was awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics 7 years ago, in 2003.
The Canadian hockey team has won the Olympic gold medal seven times. They didn't medal in 2006, but are favorites in 2010, especially with home-ice advantage.
7 athletes were caught using illegal substances at the 2002 winter Games, which was more than the combined total of all previous Winter Games since testing began in 1968.
NBC's website is giving viewers the opportunity to judge the figure skating competitions at the Olympics. Whether viewers watch live, on dvr or online, they will be able to rate each technical element and overall presentation.
http://www.nbcolympics.com/judge/index.html
Vancouver was awarded the 2010 Winter Olympics 7 years ago, in 2003.
The Canadian hockey team has won the Olympic gold medal seven times. They didn't medal in 2006, but are favorites in 2010, especially with home-ice advantage.
7 athletes were caught using illegal substances at the 2002 winter Games, which was more than the combined total of all previous Winter Games since testing began in 1968.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
8 Days
Just two weeks before the Olympics, snowboarder Shaun White added his name to the list of injured Olympians, by slamming face first into the half pipe at X-Games practice. Luckily, he did not suffer a concussion and didn't only compete the next day, but won. Last Thursday, Australian snowboarder Torah Bright suffered her second concussion in three days. Snowboarding has seen an increase in head injuries this season, the most notable one being that of American Kevin Pearce who still remains hospitalized with brain injuries. His spill took place back in December.
At the Closing Ceremonies of each Olympics, the mayor of the host city transfers a special Olympic Flag to the president of the International Olympic Committee, who then passes it on to the mayor of the next city to host the Olympic Games. The receiving mayor then waves the flag eight times.
The record for the most medals in a single Olympics is five, which was accomplished by eight different athletes.
At the Closing Ceremonies of each Olympics, the mayor of the host city transfers a special Olympic Flag to the president of the International Olympic Committee, who then passes it on to the mayor of the next city to host the Olympic Games. The receiving mayor then waves the flag eight times.
The record for the most medals in a single Olympics is five, which was accomplished by eight different athletes.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
9 Days
So the US Olympic team is set, with 216 athletes. 87 have previously competed at the Winter Olympics - three of whom will be competing in their fifth Olympics: luger Mark Grimmette, Nordic combined skier Todd Lodwick and alpine skier Casey Puckett who is competing in ski cross this time. 31 athletes have won a combined total of 48 medals: 12 gold, 20 silver and 16 bronze. Short track speed skater Apolo Ohno is the most successful returning Olympian, with 5 medals. Curlers Tracy Sachtjen and John Benton are the oldest Olympians at 40 years, while freestyle aerialist Ashley Caldwell and figure skaters Mirai Nagasu and Caydee Denney are the youngest at 16.
Norwegian biathlete, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen currently has nine Winter Olympic medals, and is hoping to break the all-time record of 12 medals in Vancouver.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, had Michael Phelps competed as his own country, he would have finished tied for 9th in the gold medal count, ahead of countries including France, Netherlands, Spain, Canada, Argentina, Switzerland, Brazil and Mexico. Furthermore, the rest of the world combined won seven golds in men's swimming events. Phelps, of course, won eight.
Norwegian biathlete, Ole Einar Bjoerndalen currently has nine Winter Olympic medals, and is hoping to break the all-time record of 12 medals in Vancouver.
At the 2008 Summer Olympics, had Michael Phelps competed as his own country, he would have finished tied for 9th in the gold medal count, ahead of countries including France, Netherlands, Spain, Canada, Argentina, Switzerland, Brazil and Mexico. Furthermore, the rest of the world combined won seven golds in men's swimming events. Phelps, of course, won eight.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
10 Days
NBC announced that they (NBC affiliates included) will be airing an unprecedented 835 hours of Olympic coverage over the course of the 2010 Winter Olympics in February.
With 10 days to go, instead of giving you stats with the number 10, here are my personal top 10 Winter Olympic athletes/moments. (Keep in mind, that I didn't start watching until 1994. Also keep in mind, while I love all - well, most - Olympic sports, figure skating is by far my favorite.)
10-At Skate America the season prior to the 2006 Olympics, Russian pairs skaters Totmianina and Marinin took a horrific fall during a lift and Totmianina landed on her head and was knocked unconscious. To come back from a fall that could have been devastating and win the Olympics a year later made for a nice feel-good story.
9-Remember when Bode Miller could ski and won Olympic medals?
8-In 1994, professional figure skaters were allowed to compete in the Olympics for the first time. A few attempted comebacks (Viktor Petrenko, Kurt Browning, Brian Boitano failed to medal, while legendary ice dancers Torvil and Dean won the bronze), but the only skaters to win were Gordeeva and Grinkov, who will probably go down in history as the best pairs team ever. Grinkov's death at the young age of 28 was a terrible loss to the skating world.
7-Let's face it. If it weren't for Apolo Ohno, nobody would care about short track speed skating except for the Koreans.
6-Who doesn't remember Dan Jansen taking a victory lap with his baby daughter in his arms after winning gold in speed skating after years and years of failed attempts.
5-I've mentioned this before, but for Austrian skier Hermann Maier to take such a spectacular fall and then come back to win a gold medal so soon afterwards is unbelievable.
4-The 2002 Canadian/Russian pairs skating scandal. While I'm not happy about what it did to the judging system (it pains me that future generations will not know what I mean when I award someone a 6.0 for presentation), it is worth noting that Canadians Sale and Pelletier are the only non-Russian or former Soviet team to win a gold medal in pairs figure skating since 1960.
3-American Tommy Moe winning gold and silver in skiing in 1994. I had a poster of him in my room for years. The first of many Olympic crushes.
2-With all the hullabaloo going on in skating in 1994 with the Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding saga, it was Olympic champion Oksana Baiul's spunky show-tunes long program that really stole the show and piqued my interest in the sport. It's too bad it was all downhill from there for her.
1-Michelle Kwan. There's not much more to say. While I wish she would have won gold back in 1998 (she instead had to "settle" for silver to Tara Lipinski), as a Kwan fanatic, I am thankful for all the years of amazing skating we got to see from her that we might not have seen had she won and retired. Even without a gold medal, to me, she is the best skater in the history of the sport.
What are your favorite Olympic moments?
With 10 days to go, instead of giving you stats with the number 10, here are my personal top 10 Winter Olympic athletes/moments. (Keep in mind, that I didn't start watching until 1994. Also keep in mind, while I love all - well, most - Olympic sports, figure skating is by far my favorite.)
10-At Skate America the season prior to the 2006 Olympics, Russian pairs skaters Totmianina and Marinin took a horrific fall during a lift and Totmianina landed on her head and was knocked unconscious. To come back from a fall that could have been devastating and win the Olympics a year later made for a nice feel-good story.
9-Remember when Bode Miller could ski and won Olympic medals?
8-In 1994, professional figure skaters were allowed to compete in the Olympics for the first time. A few attempted comebacks (Viktor Petrenko, Kurt Browning, Brian Boitano failed to medal, while legendary ice dancers Torvil and Dean won the bronze), but the only skaters to win were Gordeeva and Grinkov, who will probably go down in history as the best pairs team ever. Grinkov's death at the young age of 28 was a terrible loss to the skating world.
7-Let's face it. If it weren't for Apolo Ohno, nobody would care about short track speed skating except for the Koreans.
6-Who doesn't remember Dan Jansen taking a victory lap with his baby daughter in his arms after winning gold in speed skating after years and years of failed attempts.
5-I've mentioned this before, but for Austrian skier Hermann Maier to take such a spectacular fall and then come back to win a gold medal so soon afterwards is unbelievable.
4-The 2002 Canadian/Russian pairs skating scandal. While I'm not happy about what it did to the judging system (it pains me that future generations will not know what I mean when I award someone a 6.0 for presentation), it is worth noting that Canadians Sale and Pelletier are the only non-Russian or former Soviet team to win a gold medal in pairs figure skating since 1960.
3-American Tommy Moe winning gold and silver in skiing in 1994. I had a poster of him in my room for years. The first of many Olympic crushes.
2-With all the hullabaloo going on in skating in 1994 with the Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding saga, it was Olympic champion Oksana Baiul's spunky show-tunes long program that really stole the show and piqued my interest in the sport. It's too bad it was all downhill from there for her.
1-Michelle Kwan. There's not much more to say. While I wish she would have won gold back in 1998 (she instead had to "settle" for silver to Tara Lipinski), as a Kwan fanatic, I am thankful for all the years of amazing skating we got to see from her that we might not have seen had she won and retired. Even without a gold medal, to me, she is the best skater in the history of the sport.
What are your favorite Olympic moments?
Monday, February 1, 2010
11 Days
The events of the 2010 Winter Olympics will be held at eleven different venues throughout Vancouver and Whistler Mountain: B.C. Place Stadium (Opening and Closing Ceremonies), Canada Hockey Place/GM Place (ice hockey), Vancouver Olympic/Paralympics Centre (curling), Pacific Coliseum (figure skating and short track speed skating), UBC Thunderbird Arena (ice hockey), Whistler Celebration Site (victory ceremonies and performances), Whistler Sliding Centre (bobsled, luge and skeleton), Whistler Creekside (alpine skiing), Whistler Olympic Park / Whistler Paralympics Park (cross country skiing, biathlon, Nordic combined and ski jumping), Richmond Oval (speed skating) and Cypress Mountain (freestyle skiing and snowboard).
Marjo Matikainen is a Finnish cross country skier who won the bronze medal in 1984 in the relay and two bronze medals and the gold in 1988 in Calgary. Eleven years after retiring, she went on to become a member of the European Parliament.
Marjo Matikainen is a Finnish cross country skier who won the bronze medal in 1984 in the relay and two bronze medals and the gold in 1988 in Calgary. Eleven years after retiring, she went on to become a member of the European Parliament.
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