Right now, the overall winner of these Olympics is the weather, as the Men's Downhill finals and the Women's Slopestyle qualifying were canceled and/or postponed. High winds are to blame, and this will back-up the runs for the forseeable future. In fact, the Women's Slopestyle will only do two, rather than the ordinary three runs.
That did not stop the fact that the first medals of the Olympics were awarded today. Of note for my audience, the United States won its first gold, in a true "rags-to-riches" fashion. Seventeen year old Red Gerard, who was in last place after two runs in the Men's Slopestyle, turned in the ride of his young life win gold and top Canadian superstars Max Parrot and Mark McMorris, who settled for silver and bronze respectively.
Gerard was not the first gold medal of this Olympics. That honor goes to Sweden's Charlotte Kalla, who won gold in the 15KM Skiathlon. This was her 6th Olympic medal, and third gold, having won her previous 5 medals in cross-country skiing, including a gold in the 10KM individual and a silver in the team sprint in Vancouver, and a gold in the 4 x 5KM relay and silver in both the 10KM and 15KM individual races in Sochi.
South Korea is on the board with Lim Hyo-jun winning gold in the men's 1500M short track speed skating; a fascinating race that featured an unheard of 9 starters in the Finals.
The most dominant performance was put on by the Dutch women in the 3000M speed skating event, as Carlijn Achtereekte, Ireen Wust, and Antoinette De Jon swept the gold, silver and bronze respectively.
None of these events are the moment of the day. That honor goes to Norwegian cross-country skier Marit Bjoergen after winning the silver medal in the women's 15KM skiathlon. How could Bjoergen win the honor after losing to Sweden's Charlotte Kalla? Easy. Bjoergen's silver medal was the 11th Olympic medal that she has won (6 gold, 4 silver, 1 bronze) in 5 Olympics (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018), making her the most decorated female Winter Olympian ever, and the third most decorated Winter Olympian regardless of gender, behind only countrymen Ole Einer Bjorndalen and Bjorn Dahlie, with 13 and 12 respectively. We look for more medals from Bjoergen as 2018 continues. Congratulations Marit.
On the other side of the coin is our American Disappointment of the Day. That dubious honor goes to Short Track Speed Skater John-Henry Krueger. Krueger was penalized (read: disqualified) after the race officials adjudged that he made contact with French skater Shaolin Sandor as Sandor tried to pass Krueger in the second semi-final. Contact is common in short track, as penalties occurred in each of the three semi-finals, allowing 3 skaters to advance in addition to the 6 that qualified for the finals. American had high hopes for a medal from Krueger, and hopefully he will fulfill that promise in one of the other distances.
Events Watched: Women's Cross-Country; Men's Luge; Women's Hockey; Mixed Doubles Curling; Women's Biathlon; Men's Short Track Speed Skating; Women's Short Track Speed Skating; Team Figure Skating
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