Justyna Kowalczyk wins gold for Poland
Poland got their first gold medal of the Vancouver Olympics when Justyna Kowalczyk finished first in women’s 30km mass start. Marit Bjørgen, of Norway, gave her a run for her money, hoping for her fourth gold medal. Bjørgen had to settle for the silver, her fifth medal out of five events. [...]
Another gold for Canada
Canada added yet another gold medal to their haul from the Vancouver Olympics. This one was from Jasey Jay Anderson in Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom. This was his fourth Olympics, so he was certainly due.
It was a race in yet another messy, sloppy foggy day on the mountains surrounding Vancouver. All of [...]
Italy’s 1st gold of the games
Guiliano Razzoli was the last skier down the mountain. Ivica Kostelic of Croatia waited at the bottom, hoping his combined time of 1:39.48 would get him gold. Olympic gold medalist and bon vivant Alberto Tomba also waited with obvious tense nerves. He had advised his friend and student to approach today’s slalom differently, and worried Italy [...]
More sloppy weather for women’s snowboarding & skiing
Women’s Parallel Giant Snowboard Slalom was closer to surfing than snowboarding today. It was wet, wet, wet, and there were tons of wipeouts. But through it all Nicolien Sauerbreij of the Netherlands managed to make it down the hill all ten runs in one piece and with the best final time, winning the first gold [...]
Fog plays a part in Women’s Giant Slalom results
The fog that plagued the first run of the giant slalom and delayed the second run until today returned, giving Viktoria Rebensburg of Germany the edge she needed to win the gold medal. You wouldn’t normally think finishing 6th in the first run would be an advantage, but it enabled her to ski before the [...]
Speedy Peterson lands the “Hurricane” for silver
Alexsei Grishin of Belrus made it look very easy, spinning through the air with incredible control and precision on the landing. There is no question he deserved the gold for his performance.
There was a feeling of deja vu when you saw Jaret “Speedy” Peterson at the top of the hill preparing for his final run [...]
U.S. Nordic Combined Power House?
For a country that had never won a medal in Nordic Combined, the Americans have really had a HUGE Olympics.
The Americans were definitely helped by the weather today. I’m beginning to learn a bit more about ski jumping. A tiny bit. Enough to know that a tail wind is not a good thing. [...]
Queen of the Vancouver Games
Marit Bjoergen now has three gold medals in Vancouver, as she helped lead the Norwegians to a gold in the women’s cross country 4X5 km race. She still has one more race to ski. Oh, and by the way, she has a bronze, as well. That’s not really someone you want to [...]
Women’s speedskating and aerials results
The women skated the 5000m tonight. The Czech Republic’s Martina Sablikova took her second gold, followed by Germany’s Stephanie Beckert and Canada’s 37 year old Clara Hughes (who carried the Canadian flag at the Opening Ceremonies).
Women’s aerials also awarded medals tonight. The Chinese are coming on strong as aerialists, coming in second [...]
Women’s giant slalom was impeded by poor visibility
I don’t know if you caught Giant Slalom tonight, but the fog was INSANE. Coaches reported that the skiers could only see about 4 gates ahead. I wonder if the fog contributed to Lindsey Vonn’s crash where she broke her finger. Lindsey Vonn’s crash definitely contributed to problems for teammate Julia Mancuso, [...]
Sweden hangs on to gold in cross country
Sweden went into the final leg of the relay with a 37.5 second lead over Norway’s Petter Northug. France and the Czech Republic were in second and third. When it was all over Sweden was still in first, but Norway was in second, the Czech Republic had passed France for the bronze. [...]
Ashleigh McIvor wins women’s skicross debut
The first Olympic women’s skicross event came off just as wild as expected. The arrival (finally!) of snow to Cedar Mountain slowed the course and blew around heavily. The competitors raced in sets of four, jostling for position and making for an exciting day overall complete with wipe-outs and face-plants.
Canada’s Ashleigh McIvor came out on [...]
Giant Slalom disappoints USA
Ted Ligety, the US’s best bet for medalling in giant slalom finished a disappointing 9th today. Bode Miller’s risky style didn’t work for him at all; he clipped a gate then ran off course completely. Of course, Miller hasn’t won a giant slalom since December 2005. Plus, he started the season late, so he is [...]
Nordic Combined U.S. Team makes it two!
Two medals in one Olympics for the U.S. Nordic Combined team. Johnny Spillane won silver last Sunday in the Individual Normal Hill event. Now the U.S. took silver in the Team Large Hill. This is a real step forward for the Nordic Combined program here in the United States. Austria took [...]
Olympic events 2/23
Plenty of events to choose from today. What will I be watching?
Men’s Giant Slalom, even though I already know something that I didn’t want to know. Ugh. It’s really difficult to avoid spoilers. Anyway, men’s giant slalom provides another golden opportunity for Ted Ligety and Bode Miller.
Ladies figure skating short program. [...]
Austrian Jumpers Soar
Earlier we reported that the US men’s ski jump team failed to qualify for the eight team final round. It probably wouldn’t have made a difference if we’d gotten in, Austria was so far above everyone else there was no contest. They earned 1107.9 points, 72.1 ahead of the silver placing team from Germany. Norway’s [...]
Cross country results
In the women’s team sprint, German snagged the gold, Sweden the silver and Russia the bronze. Germans Claudia Nystad and Evi Sachenbacher-Stehle are veterans and quite a bit older, but that didn’t slow them down today. This was the fourth Oympics for both. Somewhat surprisingly, the American team finished 6th. That’s [...]
Julia Mancuso
Wondering about Julia Mancuso, the skier with the tiara? If so, you’re not alone. Lots of people are searching for her since her wins earlier this week in alpine skiing.
So, here are the basics about Julia. 25 year old Julia is a native of Lake Tahoe, California, she’s always been quite [...]
Bode Miller Wins Gold!!!
I’m so happy for Bode. I’m also sick of hearing what a disappointment he was in Torino and how he must have been sitting around hanging his head in shame for the past four years. But now commentators can just shut up and leave him alone. He skied a good downhill and [...]
Americans fail to qualify for quarterfinals of ski cross
Huge bummer. Ski cross debuted today at the Olympics. Unfortunately, Casey Puckett and Darren Rahlves failed to qualify for the quarterfinals. I was so looking forward to ski cross, too. And, yes, I’m one of those viewers who has a hard time enjoying once “my” team is out of it.
Michael Schmid, [...]
What are you watching today?
There are six medals being awarded today. Which contests will you be watching?
In alpine skiing, you can watch Men’s Super Combined, which combines one downhill run with one slalom run. American Ted Ligety is the defending Olympic champion, but look for Americans Bode Miller and Andrew Weibrecht to give him a run for [...]
Olympic record set on large hill
Simon Ammann, of Switzerland, became the first Olympic ski jumper to win four individual titles. His bindings had been in dispute, but the powers that be ruled that they did not violate the rules. Some complained that they made him more aerodynamic and, thus, allowed him to jump farther. Poland’s Adam Malysz [...]
Men’s 30km Cross Country
The winning time for the 30 km cross country was 1hr, 15min, 11.4 sec. The silver medallist came in just 2.1 seconds behind. I can’t imagine how completely exhausted Marcus Hellner (Sweden, gold) and Tobias Angerer (Germany, silver) must have been at the end of this race. I’ve commented before how the cross country and [...]
Vonn takes Bronze
Lindsey Vonn may not be disappointed, but I am. I don’t know, I just expected a bigger finish for her this year. Vonn even did well in the middle of the Super G course, which gave the majority trouble, but slowed down at the bottom. Maybe it was the bruised shins from the super-combined wipeout, [...]
Women’s Cross Country 15 km Pursuit
I wasn’t able to catch this one and I’m pretty sorry I didn’t. Pursuit means a mass start, so you don’t have to wait around to see who comes in at the best time. If you finish first, you’re first. Marit Bjorgen of Norway was the clear gold medallist; it got exciting for silver and [...]
