The Americans got their first sweep of the Games and it was in the new event of slopestyle skiing. Joss Christensen took gold, followed by Gus Kenworthy and Nick Goepper, the latter coming into the event as one of the favorites. They might be three of the most likeable athletes in the Games: the emotional Christensen, driven by the support of his late father; Kenworthy, noted rescuer of stray Russian puppies; and the adorable Goepper, who is adorable.
The wins catapulted the U.S. up in the medal count, tied with the Netherlands for second behind Norway.
But you don't have to medal to be awesome. Men's figure skater Jeremy Abbott got a lot of flak for his sub-par performance in the team event and was justifiably nervous before the individual short program. Then, his worst nightmare came true. Except that he bounced back and skated better than ever, nailing jumps and winning over a crowd that was a little bitter after Russian favorite Evgeni Plushenko withdrew. Olympic spirit, indeed.
Medals Awarded Today
Biathlon - Men's Individual 20km
Gold: Martin Fourcade (France)
Silver: Erik Lesser (Germany)
Bronze: Evgeniy Garanichev (Russia)
Cross Country - Women's 10km Classic
Gold: Justyna Kowalczyk (Poland)
Silver: Charlotte Kalla (Sweden)
Bronze: Therese Johaug (Norway)
Skiing - Men's Freestyle Slopestyle
Gold: Joss Christensen (U.S.)
Silver: Gus Kenworthy (U.S.)
Bronze: Nick Goepper (U.S.)
Luge - Team Relay
Gold: Germany
Silver: Russia
Bronze: Latvia
Speedskating - Women's 500m Short Track
Gold: Jianrou Li (China)
Silver: Arianna Fontana (Italy)
Bronze: Seung-Hi Park (South Korea)
Speedskating - Women's 1000m
Gold: Hong Zhang (China)
Silver: Ireen Wust (Netherlands)
Bronze: Margot Boer (Netherlands)
Medal Count
G - S - B - Total
Norway 4 - 3 - 6 - 13
Netherlands 4 - 3 - 5 - 12
U.S. 4 - 2 - 6 - 12
Russia 2 - 5 - 4 - 11
Germany 7 - 2 - 1 - 10
Austria 1 - 4 - 0 - 5
Sweden 0 - 4 - 1 - 5
France 2 - 0 - 2 - 4
China 2 - 1 - 0 - 3
Czech Republic 0 - 2 - 1 - 3
Czech Republic 0 - 2 - 1 - 3
Japan 0 - 2 - 1 - 3
Italy 0 - 2 - 1 - 3
Poland 2 - 0 - 0 - 2
South Korea 1 - 0 - 1 - 2Latvia 0 - 0 - 2 - 2
Belarus 1 - 0 - 0 - 1
Slovakia 1 - 0 - 0 - 1
Australia 0 - 1 - 0 - 1Finland 0 - 1 - 0 - 1
Great Britain 0 - 0 - 1 - 1
Ukraine 0 - 0 - 1 - 1
Medals Awarded Today
Biathlon - Women's Individual 15km
Cross Country - Men's 15km Classic
Figure Skating - Men's
Skiing - Men's Alpine Super Combined
Skiing - Women's Freestyle Aerials
Skeleton - Women's
U.S.'s Best Chance to Medal
In case you've missed the influx of Nyquil commercials during Olympic broadcasts, Ted Ligety has become the face of U.S. men's skiing and the super combined is probably his best bet to take gold.
After their first two runs, Noelle Pikus-Pace and Katie Uhlaender are in second and fourth, respectively, in the women's skeleton standings.
Televised Coverage
3 a.m. - Men's Curling: USA vs. Germany (NBC Sports)
3 a.m. - Men's Hockey: Czech Republic vs. Latvia (MSNBC)
5 a.m. - Cross Country: men's 15km classic (NBC Sports)
5 a.m. - Women's Curling: USA vs. Denmark (USA)
7:30 a.m. - Men's Hockey: Sweden vs. Switzerland (NBC Sports)
10 a.m. - Figure Skating: men's (NBC Sports)
12 p.m. - Figure Skating: men's (NBC Sports)
12 p.m. - Men's Hockey: Canada vs. Austria (USA)
12 p.m. - Men's Hockey: Norway vs. Finland (MSNBC)
2:15 p.m. - Ski Jumping: men's individual large hill (NBC Sports)
3 p.m. - Biathlon: women's individual 15km
Skiing: women's freestyle aerials (NBC)
5 p.m. - Men's Curling: USA vs. Russia (CNBC)
8 p.m. - Skiing: men's alpine super combined
Skiing: women's freestyle aerials
Skeleton: women's
Figure Skating: mens (NBC)
Interesting Reads
Women's 10km cross country gold medalist Justyna Kowalczyk of Poland didn't just crush the competition...she did so on a broken foot.
Erin Hamlin, who took home the U.S.'s first ever medal in the luge earlier this week, has come a long way from upstate New York.
Before Kaitlyn Farrington won gold in the women's halfpipe, she got some motivation from home.
After Evgeni Plushenko's injury forced him to withdraw from the men's figure skating competition, the outgoing and outspoken Russian decided to call it quits.
No comments:
Post a Comment