Two US Skiers get the Podium
The trick about Super G is that while it’s the same course as downhill, the start is lower down and the turns crisper. Plus, the skiers don’t get a warm-up run, just an inspection of the course. In a way, they have to remember how they skied during the downhill competition and adapt their style [...]
Another bad crash
Swede Patrik Järbyn crashed during the Super G and had to be stretchered off of the hill. No further information is currently available. We’ll update as soon as possible.
Today’s Olympic schedule 2/19
It’s Super G day for the men. The U.S. has only won a medal once in this event, way back in the days of Tommy Moe. America’s best shot at a medal is Bode Miller.
Figure skating moves on to ice dancing today. Torino silver medalists Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto hope to upgrade [...]
Women’s halfpipe
Before I get to results, let me make a couple of observations. First, they could sneak Louie Vito in there and how would we know? You can’t tell that those girls are, well, girls. Second, it cracks me up to watch them getting their ipods ready in preparation for their runs and [...]
Multiple Wipe Outs for USA, Aussie Wins Halfpipe
No less than four US women were competing (and had a good chance) in the women’s halfpipe this evening. But there was almost as much wiping out for the competitors as there was solid performances. The qualifying runs had promised a spectacular show for the finals, but it seemed everyone had blown their energy on earlier [...]
Another alpine medal for the American women
No, not Lyndsey Vonn. Today it was teammate Julia Mancuso. She became the first American woman to win three alpine medals. She would be my daughter’s favorite skier, since she’s always wearing a pretty tiara. Who doesn’t love a princess tiara?
No win situation?
I was listening to Jim Rome today in the car because 1. that’s what my husband was listening to the last time he was in the car, so it was on when I got in and 2. he was talking about the Olympics. Specifically, he was talking about Lyndsey Vonn and her discussions about [...]
Today’s events 2/18
This is going to be a very brief rundown of today’s events:
Women’s Super Combined— potentially more medals for Julia Mancuso and Lindsey Vonn.
Biathlon— Could there be a medal for American Tim Burke? Will Norway be happier with their results today?
Men’s Figure Skating—Who’s getting the gold? Evan Lysacek, Evgeni Plushenko, or someone else entirely?
Snowboarding— [...]
Shaun White– Need I say more
I love the snowboarding commentary. “You do not want to land on top of the wall.” Really? No kidding!
Okay, other than the inane announcing, halfpipe tonight was great. Who doesn’t love Shaun White??
I don’t have the video of tonight, but here’s a video of him practicing the Double McTwist 1260:
Lindsey Vonn finally wins gold
Wow, there were incredible crashes in today’s women’s downhill. Two of them wiped out on the final jump of the race. I can’t believe you can hit the ground at 70+ mph and get up and walk away. Unbelievable.
But at the end of it all Lindsey Vonn walked away with the gold, [...]
White and Coach Will Get Matching Tattoos
Shaun White and his coach made a deal. If he won his second gold in the halfpipe they’d get matching tattoos in Vancouver. I wonder what they’ll get?
White locked in the gold on his first run, so the second was just for the crowd, and he delivered. Tempted though he was to just do a [...]
Brothers Win Second Straight Gold
Austrian brothers Andreas and Wolfgang Linger took gold the second time in men’s doubles luge today. A second set of brothers, Andris and Jurcis Sics from Latvia won silver with a time only .2 seconds slower. Bronze went to Patric Leitner and Alexander Resch of Germany.
Linger and Linger are only the second doubles team in [...]
Vancouver Olympics Cross Country 2/17
What a weird start to the women’s cross country. In the qualifying round, Slovenia’s Petra Majdic who was expected to possibly medal, slipped off the track and fell down a small ravine. She injured her back but was given the opportunity to start again at the end of the pack. [...]
Today’s events 2/17
Did you miss me? My “real” job kept me busy this morning, so I’m just now getting around to posting what’s going on today. Fortunately, due to the wonders of tape delay (ha-ha), you won’t be able to see most of these events until ten tonight, anyway.
First up, after days of delays, women’s [...]
No Redemption for Jacobellis
Women’s snowcross was a big disappointment for me. I was really hoping that Lindsey Jacobellis would get to make up for her fall at the end of the race in Turin. Unfortunately, she bobbled in the semifinals and went off course right at the top of the race.
Good news for Canada as [...]
What are all these Alpine Skiing events?
Alpine skiing has so many variations: downhill, Super-G, Giant Slalom, Slalom and Super Combined. If you’re not a skier, this can be confusing.
Downhill is the longest, fastest race. There is a path that skiers need to stay on, but it doesn’t require the precision of slalom. Speeds reach about 90 mph.
Slalom [...]
Olympic Schedule 2/16
So, what’s on today’s schedule?
Today was supposed to be Super Combined in men’s downhill, but due to poor weather conditions (blowing now and low visibility), that event has been pushed to Friday. At this rate, Alpine skiing will finish up sometime in March or April.
Presumably, the snow won’t stop biathlon (it’s still on the [...]
Bode Miller wins bronze!!
American Bode Miller won bronze today, marking only the third time that an American has won ANY medal in downhill. It was an amazingly tight race, with Bode only .02 seconds behind Norway’s Aksel Lund Svindal, who won silver, and .09 seconds behind Didier Defago of Switzerland, who took gold. That amounts to [...]
Seth Wescott wins gold!
If the Olympics wants more viewers, they should come up with a way to milk snowcross a bit more. It’s really exciting, and we love watching it here in our house. This year’s course made things even more exciting, as it melted and refroze throughout the day. Even Seth Wescott (defending gold [...]
Defending Champ Westcott Wins SBX
Seth Wescott came to Vancouver on the heels of a terrible injury and at the ripe old age of 33. He really didn’t have high hopes of winning the Snowboard cross gold. His qualifying run wasn’t that great, and today’s weather practically blinded the competitors. Canada’s Mike Robertson had such a strong lead even the [...]
Diverse Countries Medal in Cross Country
Six different countries were represented in cross country medaling today. It just goes to show that no single country need dominate a sport.
Charlotte Kalla of Sweden won the gold in Women’s 10km freestyle cross country skiing. This is her first major international championship win. Kristina Smigun of Estonia took the silver and Norwegian Marit Bjorgen earned the bronze. [...]
Olympic Downhill– Do you want to know? (no results included in this post)
I’ve already seen the results of the the men’s downhill, which won’t be televised until sometime between 7 and 11 tonight. So, dear readers, the question is— do you want results posted before they’ve been televised? I can post them with a spoiler alert in the subject line, or I can wait to [...]
Graham Watanabe
I like interesting stories about athletes. This may be one you remember. Snowboardcrosser (is that what thye call themselves?) Graham Watanabe did not make the Torino Olympics team, but he paid his way to Italy, anyway, working as an assistant wax technician. Then Jayson Hale tore his ACL, and Graham stepped up [...]
Olympic Schedule 2/15
Today’s schedule is another busy one.
Pairs figure skating finishes up today with the free skate. No Americans are in serious contention, so the sentimental favorites are the Chinese pair of Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao. The three time World Champions and real life married couple came out of retirement to pursue Olympic gold. [...]
Bildeau wins first Canadian gold!
Mogul skier Alexandre Bilodeau became the first Canadian to win gold for Canada in a Canadian Olympics. Bilodeau pulled off an upset, defeating Vancouver native Dale Begg-Smith, who competes for Australia. Begg-Smith took the silver. Also surprising, American Bryon Wilson won bronze.
This is the third Olympics to be held in Canada. [...]
