Day 14 - February 17, 2022
Figure skating, WOW!
So, for those of you living under a rock, fifteen year old Kamila Valieva of the Russian Olympic Committee, who was the first female to land a quad in Olympics history during the team portion of the figure skating competition, tested positive for a performance-enhancing substance on December 25, during Russia's Olympic trials. The results of the sample were finalized just after the team competition ended. The Russian Olympic Committee and the International Olympic Committee went through a dance that included an appeal to the Court for Arbitration in Sports, who, prior to any final decision regarding a suspension for Valieva (and/or stripping the Russian Olympic Committee of their team gold - none of the team figure skating medals have been awarded as of yet because of this) are allowing her to compete pending a final decision/resolution. So, in the women's figure skating competition, Valieva - the overall favorite to win gold - skated superbly in the short program and sat atop the leaderboard above two of her compatriots, and was the last skater in the long program. As the two other Russians finished their performances in the long program to sit 1-2, Valieva took the ice to perform, and fell twice and stumbled on another occasion. She ended up finishing fourth - out of the medals - but the raw emotion from Valieva and the other 3 skaters that won medals (will be named shortly), was absolutely heart-wrenching to watch. These girls, aged 15, 17, 17 and 21, were all put into a situation by others - all adults, in which they should never have been placed. The extra pressure added to the already hot pressure cooker of the premier event in the Winter Olympics caused them all to break down, even the winners!!! All the adults involved in Valieva taking the drugs, and in allowing her to compete, and placing the winners in a situation in which they all had to answer for Valieva, SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF THEMSELVES!!!
Anyway, the winners were - Anna Shcherbakova of the Russian Olympic Committee (gold), Alexandra Trusova of the Russian Olympic Committee (silver) and Kaori Sakamoto of Japan (bronze). Interestingly Shcherbakova's routine was devoid of the more highly athletic quads of the other skaters, but she skated eloquently and clean to win gold.
In the Nordic Combined relay, Norway won gold, defeating Germany by almost 55 seconds, with Japan just behind Germany for bronze.
In freestyle skiing, Eileen Gu won the gold medal in the half-pipe, her second of these Olympics to go with a silver, beating Canadians Cassie Sharpe (silver) and Rachael Karker (bronze). Gu medaled in all three of her freestyle skiing events - with a gold in big air and a silver in slopestyle - to become the first athlete to win three freestyle skiing medals in one Olympics.
In curling, Sweden beat Canada and Great Britain beat the United States in the semi-finals of the men's competition, meaning the defending gold-medalist Americans would not repeat as champions. Then, Canada beat the United States for the bronze medal - with the gold medal game pending. The women's semi-finals are tomorrow.
In speedskating, American Brittany Bowe won the bronze medal in the 1000 meters, finishing behind only Miho Takagi of Japan, who won gold, and Jutta Leerdam of the Netherlands, who earned silver. Bowe, you might recall from earlier in the week, won the 500 meters in the US Olympic trial after favorite Erin Jackson stumbled and finished third, thus not qualifying for the Olympics. Bowe gave up her 500 meter spot, knowing the 1000m and 1500m are her better events. Jackson went on to win gold in the 500m, and now Bowe medaled in the 1000m.
For her sportsmanship, Bowe was named to replace Bobsledder Elana Meyers Taylor as co-flagbearer, along with curler John Schuster, in the Opening Ceremonies. Meyers-Taylor was unable to participate in the Opening Ceremonies due to the fact that she was in Covid isolation. It has now been announced that Elana Meyers Taylor, silver medalist in the monobob and begins the two-woman bobsled competition today, will carry the US flag in the Closing ceremonies.
Athletes of the Day: Eileen Gu, China, Freestyle Skiing, and Anna Shcherbakova, Russian Olympic Committee, Figure Skating
Two opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of their events, freestyle skiing being exactly that, wild, free, and flamboyant, with figure skating being staid, stoic and well, flamboyant. The endings may have been fun versus serious, new school versus old school, and happy versus sad, but both of these athletes came out on top.
Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day: Karma, The Universe, Figure Skating
Kamila Valieva should not have been skating, and had she medaled, there would have been no medal ceremony (as it was they had the ceremony without the medals). Nevertheless, Karma showed extreme teamwork in doing the job that the Russian Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee and the International Court for Arbitration in Sport would not do - keep Valieva from winning.
Olympic Term of the Day: Skating Clean - Figure Skating - An term uttered by Anna Shcherbakova in her interviews after winning gold, but it wasn't a slight to Valieva and her positive drug test. Skating clean means skating error free, as in a clean performance. But, the irony of Shcherbakova's statement was not lost on anyone.
Olympic Events Watched: Curling, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Nordic Combined
USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer(s): Nick Baungartner, Nathan Chen, Kaillie Humphries, Erin Jackson, Lindsey Jacobellis, Chloe Kim, ELANA MEYERS-TAYLOR
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