Olympics - PyeongChang 2018 - Day 19

Day 19 - February 25

So, we have reached the final day of the Olympics.  Besides the Closing Ceremonies, there is only 1 event remaining, that being the women's 30km mass start.  Norway's Marit Bjoergen won gold after leading an early break, extending the lead to over 2 minutes halfway through the race, and cruising to victory over Finland's Krista Parmakoski and Sweden's Stina Nilsoon, whom captured silver and bronze respectively.  Bjergen, who had earlier in PyeongChang made history by becoming the most decorated Winter Olympian ever, extended that record with her 13th and 14th medals, made more history with this gold.  With her 15th medal, shhe extended her lead among Winter Olympians to 2 over countryman Ole Einar Bjorndaelen.  Bjoergen also won her 8th overall gold medal, which ties the winter record of Bjorndaelen and Bjorn Dahlie.with 8, and she also ties the record of 5 medals in a single games, a feat that has been done 10 times, including by herself in 2010. She also rises into a tie for third of all-time medalists with Soviet gymnast Nikolai Andrianov, who won his 15 medals (7 golds, 5 silver, 3 bronze) from 1972-1980 and just behind Soviet gymnast Larissa Latynina, who won 18 medals (9 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze from 1956-1964.  (Michael Phelps, of course, is the all-time leader with 28 medals  For her gold-medal winning, PyeongChang capping, record setting appearance, Marit Bjoergen is the Performer of the Day, and here she is as she approaches the finish line!

 

I honestly did not watch much of the closing ceremonies, but I was pleased that cross-country skier Jessie Diggins, who had two 5th place finishes to go with the first ever cross-country gold awarded to am American.  I didn't see who the other nominees were, but she was, and is, a fantastic choice.  As a reminder of how close Diggins race finished, after a blistering Diggins sprint brought her into contention for the gold.

The biggest U.S. disappointment is the total medal count, with American athletes winning 23 total medals (9 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze), well behind Norway's 39 medals (14 golds) and Germany's 31 medals (14 gold).  Canada with 29 medals (11 gold) also bested the United States.  For a USOC that had posted a goal of 37 medals, this was a widely disappointing Olympics.  For those not U.S. centric folks, this was an amazing Olympics with hardly any problems or true controversies, and some amazing athletes, events, games, matches, races and finishes.  On to Tokyo in 2020 (summer) and Beijing in 2022 (winter).

Events Watched:  Women's Cross-Country Skiing; Men's Hockey (replay); Closing Ceremonies (hardly any).

Olympics - PyeongChang 2018 - Day 11

Day 11 - February 17

So the middle weekend of the games are upon us.  Lots of action, but only a few stories today.

Slovakian Anastasiya Kuzmina won her third medal of these games, but first gold, in the women's 12.5KM mass start biathlon.  This gold is her third gold and sixth medal in Olympic history.  Kuzmina defeating Darya Domracheva of Belarus and Norway's Tiril Echoff, who joined Kuzmina on the podium.

In freestyle skiing, Norway's Oystein Braaten wins gold, and American Nick Goepper wins silver, followed by Alex Beaulieu-Marchand of Canada.

The US finally wins a medal in short track, with John-Henry Krueger winning the bronze behind Canadian Samuel Girard and just ahead of home-crowd favorite Seo Yira.  South Korea was rewarded later when Choi Min Jeong won gold in the women's 1500m.  Choi's gold medal was well earned after she was disqualified from the 500m final earlier in the Olympics.

Norwegian Alpine skier Marcel Hirshcer won his second gold of these Olympic games in capturing the giant slalom, to go along with his super combined win.

However, the biggest story of the day comes from women's cross-country skiing, where Team Norway defeated Team Sweden in the 4x5Km relay.  This was important as Marjit Bjoergen skied the anchor leg for Norway, thus earning her 13th Olympic medal.  She is now tied with Ole Einar Bjoerndalen as the most decorated Winter Olympian ever.  For those of you that are American-centric - that makes her the Michael Phelps of the Winter Olympics.

The Disappointment of the Day could be one of two things.  First, Gus Kenworthy crashed out of the freestyle skiing slopestyle, finishing 12th of finalists, but crashing is a usual part of that event as the athletes constantly push the envelope of their tricks.  And, given that an American won silver in the event, this is not a major disappointment, especially for Kenworthy who is competing in his first Olympics as an openly gay man, and his coming out seems to have opened up his personality, as well as his skiing.  So, the Disappointment of the Day goes to giant slalom skier Ted Ligety, a medal favorite who nonetheless finished in a tie for 15th place.

Events Watched:  Men's Curling; Men's Freestyle Skiing; Women's Skeleton; Men's Alpine Skiing; Women's Cross-Country Skiing

Olympics - PyeongChang 2018 - Day 9

Day 9 - February 15

To be fair and honest, I didn't see a lot of the Olympics today, and I can only write what I know.

The exciting events that I saw today were limited.  In the women's cross-country 10KM race, Norway's Ragnhild Haga won gold, narrowly defeating Sweden's Charlotte Kalla for gold.  Finland's Krista Parmakowski and Norway's Marit Bjoergen tied for the bronze.  This is Bjoergen's 12 Olympic medal, tying her with Norway's Bjorn Dahlie for second all time in Winter Olympics history, only one behind Norwegian great Ole Einar Bjorndalen.  Bjoergen still has events left in PyeongChang.

For my Athlete of the Day, Men's Hockey's Ryan Donato, one of only four college players on the US team, scored both goals in a 2-1 defeat of Slovakia.  Donato, from Harvard (but that had nothing to do with it), is proving to be a physical presence as well as a goal scorer for this US team, and we are going to need that going into the next game against OAR.

Lots of American Disappointment to choose from today, even in my limited viewing.  Jesse Diggins just missed the podium coming in 5th in cross-country skiing, but that is only a disappointment because she came so close.  The 5th place finish is the highest in cross-country in U.S. History, so it it hard to be truly disappointed in that.  Mikaela Shiffrin announced that she was not participating in the Super Giant Slalom, due to the condensed scheduling of the events because of weather cancellations earlier in the week.  This is disappointing but totally understandable.  Nathan Chen fell in the short program of the men's figure skating, but we have seen that before.  So, the Disappointment of the Day goes to snowboarded Lindsay Jacobellis who failed to podium in the snowboard cross, coming in 4th.

Events Watched:  Women's Cross-Country Skiing; Team Luge, Men's Hockey

Olympics - PyeongChang 2018 - Day 4

Day 4 - February 10

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