The big news on the U.S. Olympic front Thursday had to do with the women's hockey team, who fell 3-2 to Canada in the gold medal game. While medals are fun for everyone, it really is a disappointment for the Americans, who dominated throughout the tournament and who can blame controversial late-game penalties (the game-winner was scored during 5-on-3 play) and bad luck (empty netter hit the post) for a lot of their troubles.
Which brings me to a sidenote. It seems to me that the most disappointing medal for athletes is actually silver. It shouldn't be, right? I mean, a silver is better than a bronze. But to win a bronze, you just edged out the No. 4 finisher, aka the first non-medalist. To get a silver, you just missed on winning a gold. That's a pretty evident sentiment in team sports, where the gold and bronze medals are given to teams that just won their last game and silver goes to someone who just lost. But a lot of times, the same can be said of individual sports. I don't really have a wise point to all this, just an observation. First world problems, indeed.
The good news for the U.S. came from the skier with the Katniss braid, Maddie Bowman, who took gold in the inaugural even of freestyle skiing halfpipe. The event was tinged with a bittersweet aroma, since the skier who was most responsible for its inclusion in the games - Canadian Sarah Burke - died in a training accident before she was able to compete. A lot of the competitors had connections to her: Bowman talks about gushing over Burke the first time she met the freeski legend, while silver medalist Marie Martinod of France credits Burke with convincing her to return to the sport after having her child. Burke's parents were there to witness the event that their daughter was so integral to create.
Medals Awarded Yesterday
Curling - Women's
Gold: Canada
Silver: Sweden
Bronze: Great Britain
Figure Skating - Women's
Gold: Adelina Sotnikova (Russia)
Silver: Yuna Kim (South Korea)
Bronze: Carolina Kostner (Italy)
Skiing - Men's Freestyle Skicross
Gold: Jean Frederic Chapuis (France)
Silver: Arnaud Bovolenta (France)
Bronze: Jonathan Midol (France)
Skiing - Women's Freestyle Halfpipe
Gold: Maddie Bowman (U.S.)
Silver: Marie Martinod (France)
Bronze: Ayana Onozuka (Japan)
Hockey - Women's
Gold: Canada
Silver: U.S.
Bronze: Switzerland
Nordic Combined - Team
Gold: Norway
Silver: Germany
Bronze: Austria
Medal Count
G - S - B - Total
U.S. 8 - 6 - 11 - 25Russia 7 - 9 - 7 - 23
Netherlands 6 - 7 - 9 - 22
Norway 10 - 4 - 7 - 21
Canada 7 - 9 - 4 - 20
France 4 - 4 - 7 - 15
Sweden 2 - 6 - 4 - 12
Switzerland 6 - 3 - 2 - 11
Austria 2 - 6 - 2 - 10
Czech Republic 2 - 4 - 2 - 8
Japan 1 - 4 - 8 - 8
Italy 0 - 2 - 6 - 8
Belarus 5 - 0 - 1 - 6
South Korea 2 - 2 - 1 - 5
Great Britain 1 - 0 - 2 - 3
Latvia 0 - 1 - 2 - 3
Slovakia 1 - 0 - 0 - 1
Croatia 0 - 1 - 0 - 1Ukraine 0 - 0 - 1 - 1
Kazakhstan 0 - 0 - 1 - 1
Biathlon - Women's 4x6km Relay
Curling - Men's
Skiing - Women's Alpine Slalom
Skiing - Women's Freestyle Skicross
Speedskating - Men's 500m Short Track
Speedskating - Women's 1000m Short Track
Speedskating - Men's 5000m Short Track Relay
U.S.'s Best Chance to Medal
Mikaela Shiffrin, who many are touting as the next face of women's skiing (see ya, Lindsey Vonn!), could leave her mark in the slalom, where she has a very good chance of taking home the gold. Before the Games started, the U.S. men had a shot to medal in the 5000m relay, but given the performance thus far of the speedskating team, I think they're officially the underdogs.
Televised Coverage
3 a.m. - Skiing: women's freestyle skicross
Men's Curling: China vs. Sweden Bronze Medal Game (NBC Sports)
6:30 a.m. - Men's Hockey: Sweden vs. Finland (NBC Sports)
9:30 a.m. - Biathlon: women's 4x6km relay
Skiing: women's freestyle skicross (NBC Sports)
11:45 a.m. - Men's Hockey: USA vs. Canada
Speedskating: women's team pursuit (NBC Sports)
3 p.m. - Skiing: women's freestyle skicross
Biathlon: women's 4x6km relay (NBC)
5 p.m. - Men's Curling: Canada vs. Great Britain Gold Medal Game (CNBC)
8 p.m. - Skiing: women's alpine slalom
Speedskating: men's 500m short track
Speedskating: women's 1000m short track
Speedskating: men's 5000m short track relay (NBC)
Interesting Reads
Yahoo Sports has a bevy of interesting stories: from the controversy surrounding the women's figure skating judging and gold medalist Adelina Sotnikova's response to Maddie Bowman's badass grandma to Johnny Weir's fashion faux pas to Ukrainian athletes protesting the violence in their homeland.
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