Day 1 - February 4, 2022
Hello, and welcome to the newest addition of the Daily Olympic blog!!! Those that know me, know that the Olympics are the best part of the sporting calendar to me, and as such, I am going to try to keep up the ambitious schedule of one recap post for each day, focusing on the most important story/ies of the previous day, along with any other interesting or unusual stories. Given the time zone differential between China and me, here in good old Eastern Standard Time, the official days may be off, as I will be reporting on when I see the events, which may be live, but may be off by a half day. Deal with it, as I have to.
We will also have our guest poster return. Those of you that actually read the blog may remember Miss Miss, who wrote a couple of posts during Tokyo 2020 (2021), and since she is just as big a fan of the Olympics as I am - maybe even more - she will return.
Back in Rio of 2016, I made a joke about Ryan Lochte not being selected as the flag-bearer. At that point I decided to make a Ryan Lochte joke every day. That was pretty easy at the beginning, but then became easier with his antics at the Rio gas station/convenience store, you know the one, where they may have taken gas and/or money, pissed on the outside wall and apparently tried to bribe the cops? Boy did I have jokes. I couldn't do that in Pyeongyang 2018, as Ryan Lochte wasn't involved in those Olympics. But, the day 1 story gave me an idea. At the team captains' meeting to decide the US flag-bearer for the Opening Ceremonies, apparently Erin Hamlin, the first American luger to medal in the Olympics and competing in her fourth Olympics tied Shanni Davis, the very talented, multi-medal winning speed-skater. The teams then flipped a coin, which Hamlin won. Davis was insulted and complained about the entire process. So, that gave me the idea to do an "American Disappointment of the Day" segment. I hope that something arises as a common theme for each post this year.
Speaking of flag-bearing, we have great stories with the selection of flag-bearers. That is right, I said "flag-bearerS", plural. (Cue How I Met Your Mother last season running joke). We had three flag-bearers for the first time in history! Why three? Well, bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor and curler John Shuster were selected by the captains of each team (Excellent selections by the way). However, Elana Meyers Taylor is in the Covid protocol, so she was replaced with the next highest vote-getter, speed skater Brittany Bowe.
Brittany Bowe has already shown the world what teamwork and selflessness means. During the US Olympic trials, Brittany Bowe qualified for three individual events, including the 500 meters. The 500 meters, which is not Bowe's specialty, is dominated by teammate Erin Jackson, who has won 4 of the past 8 events leading up to the Olympics. In the Olympic trials, Jackson slipped, causing her to finish third in the trials. Knowing that Jackson has a better chance to win a medal in the 500 meter, and that Bowe's best events are the 1,000 and 1,500 meter, Brittany Bowe resigned her spot in the 500 meter, giving way for Jackson, the third qualifier, to make the Olympic team. Kudos to you Brittany!
Hey - that is my idea. Each day I will feature something selfless, or some show of teamwork.
Not much occurred on the first day of the Olympics, and certainly no medals were awarded, so light blog day today.
Athlete of the Day - Nathan Chen, USA, Figure Skating
Nathan Chen has been the best figure skater in the world for a number of years, however in Pyeongchang in 2018, he fell in his opening skate in the short program, only to not recover despite skating flawlessly afterward. Today, he skated as good a program as anyone in the short program of the team competition, putting the US solidly in first.
Olympic Term of the Day: Salchow - Figure Skating - A jump in figure skating with a backward takeoff from the backward inside edge of one skate to the backward outside edge of the other, with one or more full turns in the air
Olympic Events Watched: Curling (Mixed Doubles), Figure Skating (Team), Opening Ceremonies
USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer: Nathan Chen
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