Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 17

Day 17 - February 20, 2022

The last day of the entire competition, and then it is on to Milan-Cortina, Italy in 2026 (via the Summer Games in Paris 2024)!!!

Not much actual action on fields, mountains, rinks, venues, etc., today, but there was one medal event, the women's 30km cross-country race.  On a course that was incredibly cold and with a wind that was gusting terribly throughout the course, a breakaway group of 4 that included Norway's Therese Johaug, Jesse Diggins of the United States and Sweden's Ebba Andersson took control of the race early, with Johaug eventually dropping the other skiers and won gold, Norway's Olympics-leading 16th gold medal (and leading 37th overall) of these games.  Johaug herself finished with 3 of those golds!  Diggins skied strong to win silver - her second medal of these games after winning the bronze in the spring free - whereas Andersson was caught by the chase pack with 2 kilometers or so to go.  Kerttu Niskanen of Finland rallied for silver, with American Rosie Brennan finishing 6th.  Andersson came in 8th.  On top of it all, Jesse Diggins contracted food poisoning the day before the race!!!

In one of the more entertaining events of every Olympics, is the free skate, in which notable skaters - women, men, pairs, and dancers, all perform without judges, ratings, and medals on the line.  This tradition allows for more interesting/fun outfits, fun music, and more risky jumps and tricks that are purely for the skaters' - and the audience's - entertainment.

Then, we had the Closing Ceremonies, the snuffing of the Olympic torch, and the traditional "passing" of the games to Italy. 

The final medal count is (using my system of 5 points for gold, 3 points for silver, 1 point for bronze): 

A tiebreaker is most golds/then silvers/then bronzes:

1.  Norway - 117

2.  Germany - 95

3.  Russian Olympic Committee - 80

4.  United States - 77

5.  Sweden - 60

6.  Austria - 60

7.  China - 59

8.  Netherlands - 59

9.  Canada - 58

10.  France - 48

11.  Switzerland - 46

12. Japan - 42

13.  Italy - 39

14.  South Korea - 27

15.  Slovenia - 21

16.  Finland - 20

17.  New Zealand - 13

18.  Australia - 12

19.  Great Britain - 8

20.  Hungary - 7

21.  Belgium - 6

21.  Czech Republic - 6

21.  Slovakia - 6

24.  Belarus - 6

25.  Spain - 3

25.  Ukraine - 3

27.  Estonia - 1

27.  Latvia - 1

27.  Poland - 1 

Athletes of the Day: Therese Johaug, Netherlands, Cross-Country Skiing

She won the gold medal in the only event competed on this final day - the women's 30km cross-country skiing mass start.

Teamwork/Sportsmanship Moment of the Day: Vladimir Putin, President of Russia

He didn't invade another country - in this case the Ukraine - unlike in 2008 when the Summer Olympics were held in Beijing and Putin ordered the invasion of Georgia.  (I am being sarcastic, this isn't sportsmanship, but also with only 1 event contested today, I had to come up with something!) 

Olympic Term of the Day: Classic Skiing.  In cross-country skiing, it is the technique characterized by opposite-leg and opposite-arm motion in a straight-ahead direction.  Also called kick-and-glide, this is the technique primarily associated with cross-country skiing.

Olympic Events Watched: Closing Ceremonies, Cross-Country Skiing, Figure Skating

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer(s):  Nick Baumgartner, Nathan Chen, Jesse Diggins, Kaillie Humphries, Erin Jackson, Lindsey Jacobellis, Chloe Kim, ELANA MEYERS-TAYLOR 

Olympics - Beijing 2022 - Day 2

  Day 2 - February 5, 2022

Day 2, and the first day in which I was able to watch a lot of the competition.  Again, not a lot of medals, yet, but some really good competition to watch.

The first medals were handed out in the women's skiathlon, with Norway's Therese Johaug winning gold, after sprinting ahead of the field at the switch from classic to freestyle method.  American Jesse Diggins, one of the unexpected stars of Pyeongchang, finished 6th.

In the biathlon mixed relay, the United States threatened despite never having won a medal in any biathlon event.  Near flawless shooting rounds from Clare Egan and Sean Doherty put the US in as high as second, but first time Olympian Paul Schommer wasn't as successful, and the United States finished 7th, behind gold medalist favorite Norway, France and the Russian Olympic Committee filling out the podium - in that order.

In its first game since losing Brianna Decker to injury in the opener against Finland, the US women's hockey team defeated the Russian Olympic Committee 5-0, behind a goal and an assist from Hilary Knight, behind a goal and an assist from Hilary Knight, playing in her fourth Olympics.

In short track speedskating, the mixed relay turned out to be incredibly competitive, with host China, the number 1 ranked team in the world, surviving a third-place scare in the semi-finals - only the top 2 advance - when the officials judged they were interfered with not once, but twice, by the Russian Olympic Committee and the United States, the penalty DQing the US team which thought it had qualified for the finals.  China ends up defeating Italy by .05 seconds!

But, the best performance of the day goes to our athlete of the day, in the 3000m speedskating final.  Irene Schouten of the Netherlands wins gold and sets an Olympic record in the process.  Italy's Francesca Lollabrigida and Canada's Isabella Weidemann finished with the silver and bronze, respectively, in a star-studded podium, each edging out fourth-place World Record holder Martina Sabilkova from the Czech Republic.

Athlete of the Day - Irene Schouten, Netherlands, Speed Skating

Schouten broke the Olympic record in the 3000m set by the immortal Claudia Pechstein in Salt Lake City 2002.

Teamwork Moment of the Day - Brianna Decker, USA, Hockey

United States hockey star Brianna Decker suffered an Olympic-ending lower body injury, but that did not keep her from attending today's game against the Russian Olympic Committee.  Seated in a special section, Decker could be seen yelling, encouraging, and cheering her teammates, as they won 5-0.

Olympic Term of the Day: Mogul - A small hard mound of snow on a ski slope, cast up over numerous runs by the skis of skiers as they turn.  One of a set of closely spaced, artificially constructed mounds forming the course for certain competitive skiing events.  A skiing event held on such a course.

Olympic Events Watched:  Biathlon (Mixed Relay), Freestyle Skiing (Mens' Moguls), Hockey, Luge, (Women's), Short Track Speed Skating, Ski Jumping (Men's/Women's Normal Hill)

USA Potential Closing Ceremony Flag-Bearer:  Nathan Chen, Hilary Knight