This blog has not been updated in 6 months.. Here are two major updates at the end of 2014.
Earlier this month - On Dec. 7 and 8 in Monaco, the Olympics 2020 agenda was passed unanimously by the IOC.
The biggest change would be the IOC allowing two cities within the host country to host the games, or two countries together can host the games. This was passed so smaller countries could host the games. It was also passed to lower the cost of future games.
A proposal was passed in the Olympics 2020 agenda to reform the bidding process. Bidding will be more like an invitation process, there will be less presentations made by games bidding cities to lower the cost, along with more costs incurred by the IOC related to this process. Cities are invited to present an Olympic bid that matches their economic and long term needs.
Sustainability of the bids will be stressed as several cities pulled out of the running to host the 2022 winter Olympic games because of cost. Emphasis on bids will appeal to cities that already have the facilities to host the games instead of the cost to build new facilities that rarely are used after the games by former host cities.
Also the IOC voted to cap the amount of Individual sport disciplines and athletes but allowing the number of sports to grow from the current 28 sports allowed.
An anti-discriminatory clause was updated to include sexual orientation in response to the Russian exclusion of gay athletes at the 2014 Sochi games.
An all Olympic channel will be launched at some time in the future.
The USOC has decided to bid on the 2024 summer Olympic games and the four host cities are San Francisco, Los Angeles, Washington DC and Boston. A decision on which USA city that will represent the USA in the bidding process on the 2024 Summer Olympic games will be made in January 2015. Each city made hour long presentations earlier this month. A decision by the IOC will come in 2017.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Sunday, June 29, 2014
Olympic updates
Some Olympic updates..
The IOC has awarded the broadcasting rights to NBC and its affiliates through the 2032 Olympic games. The extension took place in May. NBC previously had been awarded the Olympics through the 2020 games in Tokyo. In extending the rights of NBC to broadcast the 2022, 2024, 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2032 Olympic games, the IOC shored up its financial future. NBC will pay 7.65 billion dollars for the games from 2021 to 2032. This includes internet streaming, mobile and subscription television as well..
The USOC has narrowed the USA bid cities to four in bidding on the 2024 summer Olympic games.
Boston, Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles are the final four cities. Dallas and San Diego were the last two cities eliminated. Now the USOC will weigh bids from these cities to narrow it to one city by 2017.
The IOC has awarded the broadcasting rights to NBC and its affiliates through the 2032 Olympic games. The extension took place in May. NBC previously had been awarded the Olympics through the 2020 games in Tokyo. In extending the rights of NBC to broadcast the 2022, 2024, 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2032 Olympic games, the IOC shored up its financial future. NBC will pay 7.65 billion dollars for the games from 2021 to 2032. This includes internet streaming, mobile and subscription television as well..
The USOC has narrowed the USA bid cities to four in bidding on the 2024 summer Olympic games.
Boston, Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles are the final four cities. Dallas and San Diego were the last two cities eliminated. Now the USOC will weigh bids from these cities to narrow it to one city by 2017.
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Sochi games - Final thoughts
The Sochi games are complete and I wanted to share some of my opinions of the games. Overall the medal count wasn't too bad for the USA. Russia won 4 medals on the games last day to stretch their medal lead over the USA from 2 to 5. Russia was first with 33 total medals and the USA was second with 28 total medals.
The USA did very well at snowboarding and slopestyle events winning 9 medals. Jamie Anderson won gold in women's slopestyle and Sage Kotsenberg won gold in men's slopestyle. Devin Logan won silver in women's slopestyle skiing, which is different than slopestyle where they use boards. Kaitlyn Farrington won gold and Kelly Clark won silver in women's halfpipe. In men's ski slopestyle the USA men swept the podium. Joss Christensen won gold, Gus Kenworthy won silver and Nick Goepper won bronze. Alex Deibold won bronze in men's snowboard cross.
Figure Skating was a mixed result as Meryl Davis/Charlie White win gold in Ice Dance over Virtue/Moir of Canada. Gracie Gold finished 4th after the short program and free skate to Russian gold medal winner Adelina Sotnikova. The controversy is she was seen hugging a Russian judge afterwards. Yuna Kim of Korea, who won gold in Vancouver had to settle for silver. Although it was explained that Sotnikova had a tougher program in the free skate than Kim, Sotnikova made a few minor mistakes on jumps while Kim did not make any. A petition was started at change.org and had well over a million people on it complaining of unfair, biased judging. Also Ashley Wagner and Polina Edmunds were steady but not spectacular, hence the 7th and 9th place performances. On the men's side, Jason Brown and Jeremy Abbott were good but also not spectacular, hence their 9th and 12th place finishes. The USA did win a team bronze medal, however. Meryl Davis and Charlie White were spectacular as were their Canadian rivals Virtue and Moir.
The USA did well in skiing as well with Ted Ligety winning gold in men's Giant Slalom and Mikaela Shiffrin winning gold in women's slalom. Julia Mancuso winning bronze in women's Super Combined Slalom and Bode Miller and Andrew Weibrecht winning bronze and silver, respectively in men's Super G.
It was a bit disappointing to see the USA lose 3 times to the Canadians in the games final days. Two were medals. Canada beat the USA in both men's and women's hockey and in women's 2 man bobsled. The high point of USA hockey was the USA men's team beat Russia 3-2 in a shootout. Russia thought they scored the game winning goal but it was not allowed because the goal was moved. After a scoreless overtime, T.J. Oshie scored on 4 of 6 shots in the shootout to win it for the USA.
A bit disappointing was that the USA women's team had a 2 goal lead on Canada and then Canada came back to beat the USA 3-2 in OT. to win gold. The USA had to settle for silver. The USA men's team lost to Finland 5-0 and finished 4th.
The USA won only one medal in speedskating while the Netherlands won over 20 speedskating medals. The USA won silver in the 5000M men's relay. J.R. Celski and Shani Davis mostly came away with no medals(Celski won 1 silver). There was a flap about the uniforms which were made by UnderArmour. The USA changed uniforms from the newer uniforms with an air vent to their older uniforms but it did not make much difference. I'd say it was mostly the athletes themselves than the uniforms which were also being furnished to the bobsledders, who did medal. Viktor Ahn, formerly of South Korea, now of Russia won several speedskating medals to tie Apolo Ohno at 8 speedskating medals a piece. A bit disappointing at the track.
As far as predictions go, I had predicted 38 total medals and 12 gold, 14 silver and 12 bronze. I did get 12 bronze correctly. The USA had a shot at 12 gold with 3 days left and did not win any gold since. The USA has never won more than 10 gold in a Winter Olympics(2002 Salt Lake City). The USA has received 9 gold in each of the last 2 winter games. 38 total medals was out of reach by Day 5. I did not predict Russia coming in first in the total medal count. I predicted the USA would finish first in the total medal count, which did not happen(they finished second).
The Netherlands, Norway and Canada had great Olympics while Germany slipped a bit. This was Russia's Olympics in more ways than one.
NBC's coverage improved some over 2012 London. NBC's coverage of the Opening Ceremony was much less edited than the closing ceremony. While Bob Costas was out with pinkeye for a week Matt Lauer and Merideth Viera filled in nicely. NBC did show live events on The NBC Sports network and NBC showed live weekend events but taped figure skating for prime time. The last day of the games NBC showed a documentary of the 20th anniversary of the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan debacle which lasted for weeks. This was quite relevant and interesting because I had forgot some of the details of how it all went down. NBC did cut the closing ceremony to air a new show. The closing ceremony was heavily edited and came across as incomplete. Overall, NBC did a bit better job with their coverage at the Sochi games.
The USA did very well at snowboarding and slopestyle events winning 9 medals. Jamie Anderson won gold in women's slopestyle and Sage Kotsenberg won gold in men's slopestyle. Devin Logan won silver in women's slopestyle skiing, which is different than slopestyle where they use boards. Kaitlyn Farrington won gold and Kelly Clark won silver in women's halfpipe. In men's ski slopestyle the USA men swept the podium. Joss Christensen won gold, Gus Kenworthy won silver and Nick Goepper won bronze. Alex Deibold won bronze in men's snowboard cross.
Figure Skating was a mixed result as Meryl Davis/Charlie White win gold in Ice Dance over Virtue/Moir of Canada. Gracie Gold finished 4th after the short program and free skate to Russian gold medal winner Adelina Sotnikova. The controversy is she was seen hugging a Russian judge afterwards. Yuna Kim of Korea, who won gold in Vancouver had to settle for silver. Although it was explained that Sotnikova had a tougher program in the free skate than Kim, Sotnikova made a few minor mistakes on jumps while Kim did not make any. A petition was started at change.org and had well over a million people on it complaining of unfair, biased judging. Also Ashley Wagner and Polina Edmunds were steady but not spectacular, hence the 7th and 9th place performances. On the men's side, Jason Brown and Jeremy Abbott were good but also not spectacular, hence their 9th and 12th place finishes. The USA did win a team bronze medal, however. Meryl Davis and Charlie White were spectacular as were their Canadian rivals Virtue and Moir.
The USA did well in skiing as well with Ted Ligety winning gold in men's Giant Slalom and Mikaela Shiffrin winning gold in women's slalom. Julia Mancuso winning bronze in women's Super Combined Slalom and Bode Miller and Andrew Weibrecht winning bronze and silver, respectively in men's Super G.
It was a bit disappointing to see the USA lose 3 times to the Canadians in the games final days. Two were medals. Canada beat the USA in both men's and women's hockey and in women's 2 man bobsled. The high point of USA hockey was the USA men's team beat Russia 3-2 in a shootout. Russia thought they scored the game winning goal but it was not allowed because the goal was moved. After a scoreless overtime, T.J. Oshie scored on 4 of 6 shots in the shootout to win it for the USA.
A bit disappointing was that the USA women's team had a 2 goal lead on Canada and then Canada came back to beat the USA 3-2 in OT. to win gold. The USA had to settle for silver. The USA men's team lost to Finland 5-0 and finished 4th.
The USA won only one medal in speedskating while the Netherlands won over 20 speedskating medals. The USA won silver in the 5000M men's relay. J.R. Celski and Shani Davis mostly came away with no medals(Celski won 1 silver). There was a flap about the uniforms which were made by UnderArmour. The USA changed uniforms from the newer uniforms with an air vent to their older uniforms but it did not make much difference. I'd say it was mostly the athletes themselves than the uniforms which were also being furnished to the bobsledders, who did medal. Viktor Ahn, formerly of South Korea, now of Russia won several speedskating medals to tie Apolo Ohno at 8 speedskating medals a piece. A bit disappointing at the track.
As far as predictions go, I had predicted 38 total medals and 12 gold, 14 silver and 12 bronze. I did get 12 bronze correctly. The USA had a shot at 12 gold with 3 days left and did not win any gold since. The USA has never won more than 10 gold in a Winter Olympics(2002 Salt Lake City). The USA has received 9 gold in each of the last 2 winter games. 38 total medals was out of reach by Day 5. I did not predict Russia coming in first in the total medal count. I predicted the USA would finish first in the total medal count, which did not happen(they finished second).
The Netherlands, Norway and Canada had great Olympics while Germany slipped a bit. This was Russia's Olympics in more ways than one.
NBC's coverage improved some over 2012 London. NBC's coverage of the Opening Ceremony was much less edited than the closing ceremony. While Bob Costas was out with pinkeye for a week Matt Lauer and Merideth Viera filled in nicely. NBC did show live events on The NBC Sports network and NBC showed live weekend events but taped figure skating for prime time. The last day of the games NBC showed a documentary of the 20th anniversary of the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan debacle which lasted for weeks. This was quite relevant and interesting because I had forgot some of the details of how it all went down. NBC did cut the closing ceremony to air a new show. The closing ceremony was heavily edited and came across as incomplete. Overall, NBC did a bit better job with their coverage at the Sochi games.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Day 16 and Closing Ceremony
The USA 4- man bobsled team of Steven Holcomb, Curtis Tomasevicz, Steven Langton and Christopher Fogt wins bronze. Russia wins gold and Latvia wins silver.
The Closing Ceremony was a reflection of Russian history and culture. The Russians re-created the Olympic rings that had malfunctioned when one of the stars did not open into the fifth Olympic ring with performers on the ground. Then to "fix things" the performers created the fifth ring to an ovation from the crowd.
A children's choir sung the Russian national anthem and then flag bearers from each country came into the stadium followed by the athletes. There was a tribute to Russian artist Marc Chagall. An upside down house reflected how Chagall saw the world. There was ballet dancers and mirrors to reflect on Russian history and culture. There was also a tribute to Russian writers Tolstoy, Gogol,and Dostoyevsky. The Olympic flag is carried out of the stadium. The Korean flag is raised to the Korean national anthem. Then there was also a touch of Korean history and culture. IOC President Bach announced that the games were closed. References to a bear, hare and leopard followed as the bear represents the past- the 1980 Moscow games. Then the bear blew out the Olympic flame and a tear ran down its face. The flame is now extinguished. At the conclusion of NBC's coverage all of the athletes were mingling together in a party like atmosphere.
This was a very good closing ceremony. It was as good as the opening ceremony and in my opinion, second best to the Chinese in 2008. NBC cut and edited out parts and it ended at 10:35 pm eastern time to premiere a new show. In this regard NBC cut out several performances just like in 2012 and 2010.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Final Medal Count
Russia 13 gold, 11 silver, 9 bronze - 33 total
USA 9 gold, 7 silver, 12 bronze - 28 total
Norway 11 gold, 5 silver, 10 bronze - 26 total
Canada 10 gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze - 25 total
Netherlands 8 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 24 total
Final Medal Count
Russia 13 gold, 11 silver, 9 bronze - 33 total
USA 9 gold, 7 silver, 12 bronze - 28 total
Norway 11 gold, 5 silver, 10 bronze - 26 total
Canada 10 gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze - 25 total
Netherlands 8 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 24 total
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Day 15
The USA did not win any medals today.
The USA men's hockey team lost in the bronze medal game to Finland, 5-0. The USA finished 4th in the tournament.
After 2 runs of the 4-man bobsled the USA team of Steven Holcomb, Curtis Tomasevicz, Steven Langton and Christopher Fogt is in 4th place.
In Alpine Skiing men's Slalom, Nolan Kasper, of the USA finished 13th. Ted Ligety of the USA did not finish.
In the Biathlon men's 4 by 7.5km relay, the USA finished 16th.
The USA speedskating team of Brittany Bowe, Heather Richardson and Jilleanne Rookard finished 6th in women's Team Pursuit.
The USA speedskating team of Brian Hansen, Jonathan Kuck and Joey Mantia finished 7th in men's Team Pursuit.
Medal Standings after Day 15
Russia 11 gold, 10 silver, 8 bronze - 29 total
USA 9 gold, 7 silver, 11 bronze - 27 total
Norway 11 gold, 5 silver, 10 bronze - 26 total
Canada 9 gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze - 24 total
Netherlands 8 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 24 total
The USA men's hockey team lost in the bronze medal game to Finland, 5-0. The USA finished 4th in the tournament.
After 2 runs of the 4-man bobsled the USA team of Steven Holcomb, Curtis Tomasevicz, Steven Langton and Christopher Fogt is in 4th place.
In Alpine Skiing men's Slalom, Nolan Kasper, of the USA finished 13th. Ted Ligety of the USA did not finish.
In the Biathlon men's 4 by 7.5km relay, the USA finished 16th.
The USA speedskating team of Brittany Bowe, Heather Richardson and Jilleanne Rookard finished 6th in women's Team Pursuit.
The USA speedskating team of Brian Hansen, Jonathan Kuck and Joey Mantia finished 7th in men's Team Pursuit.
Medal Standings after Day 15
Russia 11 gold, 10 silver, 8 bronze - 29 total
USA 9 gold, 7 silver, 11 bronze - 27 total
Norway 11 gold, 5 silver, 10 bronze - 26 total
Canada 9 gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze - 24 total
Netherlands 8 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 24 total
Friday, February 21, 2014
Day 14
American Mikaela Shiffrin wins gold in womens Alpine Skiing Slalom. Marlies Schild of Austria wins silver and Kathrin Zettel, also of Austria wins bronze.
In the men's short track speedskating 5000M relay, the United States team of Eduardo Alvarez, J.R. Celski, Chris Creveling and Jordan Malone win silver. Russia wins gold and China wins bronze.
The USA men's hockey team lost to Canada 1-0 and will advance to the bronze medal game vs. Finland on Saturday.
Americans Jessica Smith finished 4th and Emily Scott finished 11th in women's short track speedskating 1000M.
J.R. Celski of the USA finished 6th in men's short track speedskating 500M.
The USA finished 7th in the biathlon women's 4 by 6km relay.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal standings after Day 14
USA 9 gold, 7 silver, 11 bronze - 27 total
Russia 9 gold, 10 silver, 7 bronze - 26 total
Canada 9 gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze - 24 total
Norway 10 gold, 4 silver, 8 bronze - 22 total
Netherlands 6 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 22 total
Medal standings after Day 14
USA 9 gold, 7 silver, 11 bronze - 27 total
Russia 9 gold, 10 silver, 7 bronze - 26 total
Canada 9 gold, 10 silver, 5 bronze - 24 total
Norway 10 gold, 4 silver, 8 bronze - 22 total
Netherlands 6 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 22 total
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Day 13
American Maddie Bowman wins gold in Womens Ski halfpipe. Marie Martinod of France wins silver and Ayana Onozuka of Japan wins bronze.
The USA womens' hockey team lost to Canada 3-2 in OT. The USA was up 2-0 in the third period and then Canada scored 2 goals to tie it and won it in OT. The USA wins silver, Canada wins gold. Switzerland beat Sweden 4-3 for bronze.
At the end of the free skate in womens figure skating, Americans Gracie Gold, Ashley Wagner and Polina Edmund finished 4th, 7th and 9th, respectively. Adelina Sotnikova of Russia wins gold. Yuna Kim of South Korea wins silver and Carolina Kostner of Italy wins bronze.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal Count after Day 13
USA 8 gold, 6 silver, 11 bronze - 25 total
Russia 7 gold, 9 silver, 7 bronze - 23 total
Netherlands 6 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 22 total
Norway 10 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze - 21 total
Canada 7 gold, 9 silver 4 bronze - 20 total
Germany 8 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze - 16 total
Medal Count after Day 13
USA 8 gold, 6 silver, 11 bronze - 25 total
Russia 7 gold, 9 silver, 7 bronze - 23 total
Netherlands 6 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 22 total
Norway 10 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze - 21 total
Canada 7 gold, 9 silver 4 bronze - 20 total
Germany 8 gold, 4 silver, 4 bronze - 16 total
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Day 12
Ted Ligety of the USA wins gold in men's Alpine Skiing Giant Slalom. Steve Missillier of France wins silver and Alexis Pinturault also of France, wins bronze. Jared Goldberg of the USA finished 19th. Bode Miller of the USA finished 20th.
In 2 man bobsleigh, the USA women's teams of Elana Meyers/Lauryn Williams and Aja Evans/Jamie Gruebel wins silver and bronze respectively. Kaillie Humphries/Heather Moyse of Canada wins gold. The other USA women's bobsleigh team of Jazmine Fenlator/
Lolo Jones finished 11th.
After the women's Figure Skating short program, Gracie Gold of the USA is in 4th place. Americans Ashley Wagner is in 6th place and Polina Edmunds is in 7th place.
in the Biathlon 2x6km Women 2x7.5km Men Mixed Relay the USA finished 9th.
The USA men's hockey team beat the Czech Republic 5-2 and now advance to the Semifinals vs. Canada Friday.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal Count After Day 12
USA 7 gold, 5 silver, 11 bronze - 23 total
Russia 6 gold, 9 silver, 7 bronze - 22 total
Netherlands 6 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 22 total
Norway 9 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze - 20 total
Canada 5 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze - 18 total
Germany 8 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze - 15 total
Medal Count After Day 12
USA 7 gold, 5 silver, 11 bronze - 23 total
Russia 6 gold, 9 silver, 7 bronze - 22 total
Netherlands 6 gold, 7 silver, 9 bronze - 22 total
Norway 9 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze - 20 total
Canada 5 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze - 18 total
Germany 8 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze - 15 total
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Day 11
In men's freestyle ski halfpipe, David Wise of the USA wins gold. Mike Riddle of Canada wins silver and Kevin Rolland of France wins bronze.
American Alex Diebold wins bronze in men's Snowboard Cross. Pierre Vaultier of France wins gold and Nikolay Olyunin of Russia wins silver.
In 2 man bobsleigh, the USA women's team of Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams is in first place after the first 2 runs.
Mikaela Shiffrin of the USA finished 5th in women's alpine skiing Giant Slalom.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal Count after Day 11
USA 6 gold, 4 silver, 10 bronze - 20 total
Netherlands 6 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze - 20 total
Russia 5 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze - 19 total
Norway 7 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze - 18 total
Canada 4 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze - 17 total
Germany 8 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze - 15 total
Medal Count after Day 11
USA 6 gold, 4 silver, 10 bronze - 20 total
Netherlands 6 gold, 6 silver, 8 bronze - 20 total
Russia 5 gold, 8 silver, 6 bronze - 19 total
Norway 7 gold, 4 silver, 7 bronze - 18 total
Canada 4 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze - 17 total
Germany 8 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze - 15 total
Monday, February 17, 2014
Day 10
American Ice Dancers Charlie White/Meryl Davis win gold. Canadians Scott Moir/Tessa Virtue win silver and Elena Ilinyh/Niita Katsalapov of Russia wins bronze. Its the first Ice dancing gold for the USA.
In 2 man bobsleigh, Americans Steven Holcomb and Steven Langton win bronze. Alexey Voevoda and Alexander Zubkov of Russia win gold while Alex Baumann and Beat Hefti of Switzerland wins silver. It was the first USA 2 man bobsleigh medal since 1952.
Mac Bohonnon of the USA finished 5th in men's freestyle skiing aerials.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal standings through Day 10
USA 5 gold, 4 silver, 9 bronze - 18 total
Russia 5 gold, 7 silver, 6 bronze - 18 total
Netherlands 5 gold, 5 silver, 7 bronze - 17 total
Norway 5 gold, 3 silver, 7 bronze - 15 total
Canada 4 gold, 7 silver, 4 bronze - 15 total
Germany 8 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze - 13 total
Medal standings through Day 10
USA 5 gold, 4 silver, 9 bronze - 18 total
Russia 5 gold, 7 silver, 6 bronze - 18 total
Netherlands 5 gold, 5 silver, 7 bronze - 17 total
Norway 5 gold, 3 silver, 7 bronze - 15 total
Canada 4 gold, 7 silver, 4 bronze - 15 total
Germany 8 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze - 13 total
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Day 9
In men's Alpine Skiing Super G, Americans Andrew Weibrecht wins silver and Bode Miller ties for bronze. Bode tied Jan Hudec of Canada. Kjetil Jansrud of Norway wins gold.
USA men's hockey team beat Slovenia 5-1. The USA wins group A.
Americans Faye Gulini finished 4th and Lindsey Jacobellis finished 7th in ladies Snowboard Cross.
In figure skating, Charlie White and Meryl Davis of the USA are in 1st place after the Ice dancing short dance. Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates are in 8th place and Americans Alex and Maia Shibutani are in 9th place.
Heather Richardson of the USA finished 7th and Brittany Bowe, also of the USA finished 14th in ladies 1500M speedskating.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal Count after Day 9
Netherlands 5 gold, 5 silver, 7 bronze - 17 total
Russia 4 gold, 7 silver, 5 bronze - 16 total
USA 4 gold, 4 silver, 8 bronze - 16 total
Norway 5 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 14 total
Canada 4 gold, 6 silver, 4 bronze - 14 total
Germany 7 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze - 12 total
Medal Count after Day 9
Netherlands 5 gold, 5 silver, 7 bronze - 17 total
Russia 4 gold, 7 silver, 5 bronze - 16 total
USA 4 gold, 4 silver, 8 bronze - 16 total
Norway 5 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 14 total
Canada 4 gold, 6 silver, 4 bronze - 14 total
Germany 7 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze - 12 total
Saturday, February 15, 2014
Day 8
Matthew Antoine wins bronze for the USA in men's skeleton. Alexander Tretjyakov of Russia wins gold and Martins Dukurs of Latvia wins silver.
The USA men's hockey team beat Russia in a shootout 3-2. TJ Oshie scored 4 of 6 goal attempts in the shootout.
Julia Mancuso of the USA finished 8th in the ladies Alpine Skiing Super G. Leanne Smith of the USA finished 18th.
Brian Hansen of the USA finished 7th in men's 1500M speedskating while Shani Davis also of the USA finished 11th.
Chris Creveling of the USA finished 10th in men's short track 1000M speedskating. Americans Eduardo Alvarez and JR Celski finshed 11th and 13th, respectively.
Emily Scott of the USA finished 5th and Jessica Smith also of the USA, finished 7th in womens short track speedskating 1500M.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal Count after Day 8
Russia 4 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze - 15 total
Netherlands 4 gold, 4 silver, 6 bronze - 14 total
USA 4 gold, 3 silver, 7 bronze - 14 total
Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 13 total
Germany 7 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze - 12 total
Canada 4 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze - 12 total
Medal Count after Day 8
Russia 4 gold, 6 silver, 5 bronze - 15 total
Netherlands 4 gold, 4 silver, 6 bronze - 14 total
USA 4 gold, 3 silver, 7 bronze - 14 total
Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 13 total
Germany 7 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze - 12 total
Canada 4 gold, 5 silver, 3 bronze - 12 total
Friday, February 14, 2014
Day 7
In the women's skeleton, Noelle Pikus-Pace of the USA wins silver. Elizabeth Yarnold of Great Britain wins gold and Elena Nikitina of Russia wins bronze. Katie Uhlaender of the USA finished 4th.
Jason Brown and Jeremy Abbott, both of the USA, finish 9th and 12th respectively in the men's figure skating free skate.
In the men's Super Combined Slalom, Bode Miller of the USA finished 6th while Americans Jared Goldberg finished 11th and Ted Ligety finished 12th.
Americans Emily Cook and Ashley Caldwell finished 8th and 12th place respectively in women's freestyle skiing aerials.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal Count after Day 7
USA 4 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 13 total
Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 13 total
Netherlands 4 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze - 12 total
Russia 2 gold, 5 silver, 5 bronze - 12 total
Canada 4 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze - 11 total
Germany 7 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze - 10 total
Medal Count after Day 7
USA 4 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 13 total
Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 13 total
Netherlands 4 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze - 12 total
Russia 2 gold, 5 silver, 5 bronze - 12 total
Canada 4 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze - 11 total
Germany 7 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze - 10 total
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Day 6
The USA sweeps men's ski slopestyle, Joss Christensen wins gold, Gus Kenworthy wins silver and Nicholas Goepper wins bronze.
In ladies short track speedskating 1000M Americans Heather Richardson and Brittany Bowe finished 7th and 8th respectively.
Lowell Bailey of the USA finished 8th in the Biathlon Men's Individual 20 km.
The USA men's hockey team beat Slovokia 7-1.
In Figure Skating, after the men's short program, Americans Jason Brown and Jeremy Abbott are in 6th and 15th place, respectively.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal Count after Day 6
Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 13 total
Netherlands 4 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze - 12 total
USA 4 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze - 12 total
Russia 2 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze - 11 total
Germany 7 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze - 10 total
Canada 4 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze - 10 total
Medal Count after Day 6
Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 6 bronze - 13 total
Netherlands 4 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze - 12 total
USA 4 gold, 2 silver, 6 bronze - 12 total
Russia 2 gold, 5 silver, 4 bronze - 11 total
Germany 7 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze - 10 total
Canada 4 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze - 10 total
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Day 5
Kaitlyn Farrington and Kelly Clark, both of the USA wins gold and bronze respectively in the women's halfpipe. Torah Bright of Australia wins silver. Hannah Teter of the USA finished 4th.
Shani Davis of the USA finished 8th and Brian Hansen also of the USA finished 9th in men's 1000M short track speedskating.
Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir of the USA finished 9th in figure skating pairs free skate while the other USA pairs team Felicia Zhang and Nathan Bartholomay finished 12th.
Julia Mancuso of the USA finished 8th while Laurenne Ross, also of the USA finished 11th in women's downhill skiing.
In men's luge doubles run the USA team of Christian Niccum and Jayson Terdiman finshed 11th while the second US team of Matthew
Mortensen and Preston Griffall finished 14th.
Canada beat the USA 3-2 in women's Ice hockey.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal Standings after Day 5
Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze - 12 total
Canada 4 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze - 10 total
Netherlands 4 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze - 10 total
USA 3 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze - 9 total
Russia 2 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze - 9 total
Germany 6 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 8 total
Medal Standings after Day 5
Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 5 bronze - 12 total
Canada 4 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze - 10 total
Netherlands 4 gold, 2 silver, 4 bronze - 10 total
USA 3 gold, 1 silver, 5 bronze - 9 total
Russia 2 gold, 4 silver, 3 bronze - 9 total
Germany 6 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 8 total
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Day 4
Erin Hamlin of the USA wins bronze in women's singles luge. Natalie Geisenberger of Germany wins gold and Tajiana Huefner of Germany wins silver.
Devin Logan of the USA wins silver in women's ski slopestyle. Dara Howell of Canada wins gold and Kim Lamarre of Canada wins bronze.
In men's halfpipe Shaun White of the USA finished 4th.
Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir are in 9th place after the figure skating pairs short program.
Heather Richardson finished 8th in women's 500M short track speedskating.
Jessica Jerome of the USA finished 10th in women's ski jumping normal hill individual.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal Standings after Day 4
Norway 4 gold, 3 silver, 4 bronze - 11 total
Canada 4 gold, 3 silver, 2 bronze - 9 total
Netherlands 3 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze - 8 total
USA 2 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze - 7 total
Russia 1 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze - 7 total
Monday, February 10, 2014
Day 3
Julia Mancuso wins gold in the women's Super Combined Slalom. Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany wins gold and Nicole Hosp of Austria wins silver.
JR Celski of the USA finished 4th in 1500M short track speedskating.
The USA women's hockey team beat Switzerland 9-0.
Patrick Deneen finished 6th in men's ski moguls.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal Count after day 3
Canada 3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze - 7 total
Netherlands 3 gold, 2 silver 2 bronze - 7 total
Norway 2 gold, 1 silver 4 bronze - 7 total
Russia 1 gold 2 silver 3 bronze - 6 total
USA 2 gold 0 silver 3 bronze - 5 total
Medal Count after day 3
Canada 3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze - 7 total
Netherlands 3 gold, 2 silver 2 bronze - 7 total
Norway 2 gold, 1 silver 4 bronze - 7 total
Russia 1 gold 2 silver 3 bronze - 6 total
USA 2 gold 0 silver 3 bronze - 5 total
Sunday, February 9, 2014
Day 2
Jamie Anderson of the USA wins gold in women's slopestyle. Enni Rukajarvi of Finland wins silver and Jenny Jones of Great Britain wins bronze.
Figure skating team final results:
Gold - Russia with 75 points
Silver - Canada with 65 points
Bronze - USA with 60 points
Gracie Gold of the USA finshed 2nd in women's free skate.
Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the USA finshed 1st in Ice Dancing.
In men's downhill skiing Travis Ganong and Bode Miller of the USA finished 5th and 8th respectively.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal Count after Day 2
Norway 2 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze - 7 total
Netherlands 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 4 total
USA 2 gold 0 silver, 2 bronze - 4 total
Canada 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze - 4 total
Russia 1 gold, 2 silver 1 bronze - 4 total
Medal Count after Day 2
Norway 2 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze - 7 total
Netherlands 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 4 total
USA 2 gold 0 silver, 2 bronze - 4 total
Canada 1 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze - 4 total
Russia 1 gold, 2 silver 1 bronze - 4 total
Day 1- February 8
American Sage Kotsenberg wins gold in men's slopestyle. Stale Sandbech of Norway wins silver and Mark McMorris of Canada wins bronze.
In women's freestyle ski moguls Hannah Kearney of the USA wins bronze. Justine Dufour-Lapointe of Canada wins gold and her sister Chloe Dufour-Lapointe of Canada wins silver.
After the second day of the team Ice skating competition Russia leads with 47 points, Canada is in second place with 41 points, the USA is in third place with 34 points, Italy is in fourth place with 31 points and Japan is in fifth place with 30 points.
The USA women's hockey team beat Finland 3-1.
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Medal Count after day 1
Norway 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 4 total
Canada 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 3 total
Netherlands 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 3 total
USA 1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze - 2 total
Medal Count after day 1
Norway 2 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 4 total
Canada 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 3 total
Netherlands 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze - 3 total
USA 1 gold, 0 silver, 1 bronze - 2 total
Friday, February 7, 2014
Thurs. Feb. 6 and Opening Ceremony
Results from Feb. 6
In women's slopestyle Americans Jamie Anderson and Karly Shoor advanced to the finals.
Jessica Jenson of the USA advanced to the semifinals.
In team figure skating, Jeremy Abbott and pairs Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir have the USA tied for 5th place(7th after tiebreakers) after the first day.
Hannah Kearney of the USA advanced to the finals of women's ski moguls.
Opening ceremony highlights from Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia:
There are 88 countries participating and over 2,800 athletes competing. They are the most ever for a winter Olympics.
The opening ceremony that opened the Games of the XXII Winter Olympiad told the story of Russia's history through the dreams of an 11 year old Russian girl. There was a video of famous Russian artists Chagall, Kandinsky and Malevich, Composer Tchaikovsky and writers Chekhov, Pushkin and Tolstoy, the Russian Space Station and Chemist Mendeleev.
There was a glitch as snowflakes on cables were supposed to form the Olympic rings and one of them failed to open so there was four Olympic rings instead of five.
Next, the Russian state anthem was performed by the Sretensky Monastery Choir which has been around for over 600 years. During the performance Russians in LED costumes made the Russian flag on the floor of the stadium.
Then there was the parade of nations. The nations order was determined by the Cyrillic alphabet which is used in Russia. Greece was the first nation to enter the stadium. The USA had very nice sweaters and hats made by Polo. The USA has 230 athletes which is the second most of all time in a winter Olympics. Russia has 232 athletes, which is the most ever at a winter Olympics. Canada has 220 athletes while Switzerland has 163, Germany has 153, Austria 133, Norway 118, France 114, Japan 113 and Sweden 111.
The second part after the parade of nations was a thousand years of Russian history in three minutes. There was an 80 feet tall and 213 feet long Trioka(three horses pulling a carriage) which is a symbol of power and hope to Russians.
There was a Russian folk tale about the origin of Russia formed in the belly of a whale.
The scene switched from Medieval Russia to Imperialist Russia and Peter the Great and then again moved from the Imperialist age to the 20th century and the Russian revolution.
A white light was used to remember the 20 million who died in World War II.
The little girl appeared again who flied around the stadium chasing after a red balloon. The balloon represented the end of the 20th century dream, saying goodbye to the past.
Russian ballroom dancers performed to Swan Lake.
Next, the Olympic flag was raised and the Olympic hymn was sung. IOC President Thomas Bach of Germany spoke, followed by Russian president Putin who declared the games open.
The next part paid tribute to the athletes. It was called the Olympic gods. A light show depicted different winter games sports. In this part 250 roller skaters were wearing LED costumes.
The torch entered the stadium. Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova handed the torch off to Russian track star Yelena Isinbayeva who handed the torch to Russian wrestler Alexander Karelin who handed it off to Russian gymnast Alina Kabayeva who handed it off to Russian figure skater Irina Rodnina who finally handed it off to Russian hockey goalie Vadislov Tretiak. Rodnina and Tretiak both ran toward the cauldron and Tretiak lit the cauldron, which is outside of the stadium.
Overall, in my opinion this opening ceremony was second best all time to Beijing in 2008. This opening ceremony was creative with lots of moving images on the ground and in the air. I am a fan of these high tech opening ceremonies. Lots of color, artistry, and fireworks. The cauldron was very modern and sleek. The Russian venues are all new and modern looking. Well done Sochi!
Photos credit: Getty Images, UPI and other media sources. For blog use only.
Monday, February 3, 2014
5 days before the games start- Some notes and a few predictions
The Sochi games start in 5 days and although I do not know winter sports as well as in the summer games. I'm going to try and make a prediction in the USA medal count.
The USA has a 230 member Olympic team that I believe is the second largest contingent of any country going to Sochi. That is a big reason why the USA can do very well at these games. Also supporting that is more events than the 2010 Vancouver games. There are 98 total events at the Sochi games and the USA has competitors in 94 out of the 98 events.
I do feel however, that without Lindsey Vonn and Evan Lysacek, Apolo Anton Ohno(retired) and the location of the country hosting the games, Russia(not friendly to us) the USA may not do as well in total gold medals won..I believe performance by USA athletes in countries not friendly to us affect the total gold medals won. In 2008 in Beijing the USA had more total medals than China 110 to 100 but lost the gold medal count 51 to 38. In 2012 in London, UK(our strongest ally) the USA won the total medal count over China 104 to 87 and in the gold medal count 46 to 38.
Ever since 2002 the USA winter Olympic team has been winning 30 medals or more each games.
As the number of athletes and events in winter games increases the number of medal events increases as well. The USA won 37 total medals at the 2010 Vancouver games. The USA won 9 gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze. The USA was first, followed by Germany with 30 total medals, Canada was third with 26, Norway was fourth with 23 and Austria was fifth with 16.
Before I make a prediction in the USA total medal count I am going to talk a bit about our 230 member USA Olympic team.
The complete roster and roster facts is courtesy of teamusa.org.
2014 U.S. Olympic Team:
Alpine Skiing
David Chodounsky
Stacey Cook
Erik Fisher
Julia Ford
Travis Ganong
Jared Goldberg
Tim Jitloff
Nolan Kasper
Ted Ligety
Julia Mancuso
Megan McJames
Bode Miller
Steven Nyman
Laurenne Ross
Mikaela Shiffrin
Leanne Smith
Resi Stiegler
Marco Sullivan
Andrew Weibrecht
Jacqueline Wiles
Biathlon
Lowell Bailey
Lanny Barnes
Tim Burke
Annelies Cook
Russell Currier
Sean Doherty
Hannah Dreissigacker
Susan Dunklee
Leif Nordgren
Sara Studebaker
Bobsled
Cory Butner
Nick Cunningham
Aja Evans
Jazmine Fenlator
Chris Fogt
Jamie Greubel
Steven Holcomb
Lolo Jones
Steve Langton
Elana Meyers
Justin Olsen
Johnny Quinn
Dallas Robinson
Curt Tomasevicz
Lauryn Williams
Cross-Country Skiing
Erik Bjornsen
Sadie Bjornsen
Holly Brooks
Sophie Caldwell
Jessie Diggins
Brian Gregg
Kris Freeman
Simi Hamilton
Noah Hoffman
Torin Koos
Andy Newell
Kikkan Randall
Ida Sargent
Liz Stephen
Curling
Erika Brown
Debbie McCormick
Jessica Schultz
Ann Swisshelm
Allison Pottinger John Shuster
Jeff Isaacson
Jared Zezel
John Landsteiner
Craig Brown
Figure Skating
Jeremy Abbott
Jason Brown
Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir
Madison Chock & Evan Bates
Meryl Davis & Charlie White
Polina Edmunds
Gracie Gold
Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani
Ashley Wagner
Felicia Zhang & Nathan Bartholomay
Freeskiing
Aaron Blunck
Maddie Bowman
Bobby Brown
Joss Christensen
Lyman Currier
Annalisa Drew
Nick Goepper
Keri Herman
Gus Kenworthy
Julia Krass
Devin Logan
Brita Sigourney
John Teller
Angeli Vanlaanen
Maggie Voisin
David Wise
Torin Yater-Wallace
Freestyle Skiing
Mac Bohonnon
Ashley Caldwell
Emily Cook
Patrick Deneen
Hannah Kearney
Heidi Kloser
Heather McPhie
Eliza Outtrim
Bradley Wilson
Ice Hockey
Kacey Bellamy
Megan Bozek
Alex Carpenter
Kendall Coyne
Julie Chu
Brianna Decker
Meghan Duggan
Lyndsey Fry
Amanda Kessel
Hilary Knight
Jocelyne Lamoureux
Monique Lamoureux
Gigi Marvin
Brianne McLaughlin
Michelle Picard
Josephine Pucci
Molly Schaus
Anne Schleper
Kelli Stack
Lee Stecklein
Jessie Vetter
David Backes
Dustin Brown
Ryan Callahan
John Carlson
Justin Faulk
Cam Fowler
Jimmy Howard
Patrick Kane
Ryan Kesler
Phil Kessel
Paul Martin
Ryan McDonagh
Ryan Miller
Brooks Orpik
T.J. Oshie
Max Pacioretty
Zach Parise
Joe Pavelski
Jonathan Quick
James van Riemsdyk
Kevin Shattenkirk
Paul Stastny
Derek Stepan
Ryan Suter
Blake Wheeler
Luge
Summer Britcher
Preston Griffall
Erin Hamlin
Kate Hansen
Aidan Kelly
Chris Mazdzer
Matt Mortensen
Christian Niccum
Jayson Terdiman
Tucker West
Nordic Combined
Billy Demong
Bryan Fletcher
Taylor Fletcher
Todd Lodwick
Skeleton
Matt Antoine
John Daly
Noelle Pikus-Pace
Kyle Tress
Katie Uhlaender
Ski Jumping
Nick Alexander
Nick Fairall
Peter Frenette
Sarah Hendrickson
Jessica Jerome
Anders Johnson
Lindsey Van
Snowboarding
Jamie Anderson
Nick Baumgartner
Greg Bretz
Kelly Clark
Danny Davis
Alex Deibold
Kaitlyn Farrington
Arielle Gold
Taylor Gold
Chas Guldemond
Faye Gulini
Jackie Hernandez
Nate Holland
Trevor Jacob
Lindsey Jacobellis
Jessika Jensen
Sage Kotsenburg
Justin Reiter
Karly Shorr
Ryan Stassel
Hannah Teter
Ty Walker
Shaun White
Speedskating (Long Track)
Brittany Bowe
Lauren Cholewinski
Shani Davis
Tucker Fredricks
Jonathan Garcia
Kelly Gunther
Brian Hansen
Jonathan Kuck
Maria Lamb
Emery Lehman
Joey Mantia
Patrick Meek
Heather Richardson
Anna Ringsred
Jilleanne Rookard
Sugar Todd
Mitchell Whitmore
Speedskating (Short Track)
Eddy Alvarez
Kyle Carr
J.R. Celski
Chris Creveling
Alyson Dudek
Jordan Malone
Emily Scott
Jessica Smith
Team USA has 106 returning Olympians. The USA returns 99 Olympians from the 2010 Vancouver games. Out of the 99 returning Olympians from 2010 49 are Olympic medalists from previous games and 13 are Olympic champions.
There are 105 women and 125 men on the US Team.
Nordic Combined skier Todd Lodwick is competing in his sixth Olympics, another Nordic Combined skier Billy Demong is competing in his fifth Olympics and Alpine skier Bode Miller is competing in his fifth Olympics.
My predictions for the USA medal count:
The USA will win 12 gold, 14 silver and 12 bronze for a total of 38 and finish first. Germany, Russia, Canada and Norway will round out the top 5 in that order.
5 more days until the opening ceremony!
The USA has a 230 member Olympic team that I believe is the second largest contingent of any country going to Sochi. That is a big reason why the USA can do very well at these games. Also supporting that is more events than the 2010 Vancouver games. There are 98 total events at the Sochi games and the USA has competitors in 94 out of the 98 events.
I do feel however, that without Lindsey Vonn and Evan Lysacek, Apolo Anton Ohno(retired) and the location of the country hosting the games, Russia(not friendly to us) the USA may not do as well in total gold medals won..I believe performance by USA athletes in countries not friendly to us affect the total gold medals won. In 2008 in Beijing the USA had more total medals than China 110 to 100 but lost the gold medal count 51 to 38. In 2012 in London, UK(our strongest ally) the USA won the total medal count over China 104 to 87 and in the gold medal count 46 to 38.
Ever since 2002 the USA winter Olympic team has been winning 30 medals or more each games.
As the number of athletes and events in winter games increases the number of medal events increases as well. The USA won 37 total medals at the 2010 Vancouver games. The USA won 9 gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze. The USA was first, followed by Germany with 30 total medals, Canada was third with 26, Norway was fourth with 23 and Austria was fifth with 16.
Before I make a prediction in the USA total medal count I am going to talk a bit about our 230 member USA Olympic team.
The complete roster and roster facts is courtesy of teamusa.org.
2014 U.S. Olympic Team:
Alpine Skiing
David Chodounsky
Stacey Cook
Erik Fisher
Julia Ford
Travis Ganong
Jared Goldberg
Tim Jitloff
Nolan Kasper
Ted Ligety
Julia Mancuso
Megan McJames
Bode Miller
Steven Nyman
Laurenne Ross
Mikaela Shiffrin
Leanne Smith
Resi Stiegler
Marco Sullivan
Andrew Weibrecht
Jacqueline Wiles
Biathlon
Lowell Bailey
Lanny Barnes
Tim Burke
Annelies Cook
Russell Currier
Sean Doherty
Hannah Dreissigacker
Susan Dunklee
Leif Nordgren
Sara Studebaker
Bobsled
Cory Butner
Nick Cunningham
Aja Evans
Jazmine Fenlator
Chris Fogt
Jamie Greubel
Steven Holcomb
Lolo Jones
Steve Langton
Elana Meyers
Justin Olsen
Johnny Quinn
Dallas Robinson
Curt Tomasevicz
Lauryn Williams
Cross-Country Skiing
Erik Bjornsen
Sadie Bjornsen
Holly Brooks
Sophie Caldwell
Jessie Diggins
Brian Gregg
Kris Freeman
Simi Hamilton
Noah Hoffman
Torin Koos
Andy Newell
Kikkan Randall
Ida Sargent
Liz Stephen
Curling
Erika Brown
Debbie McCormick
Jessica Schultz
Ann Swisshelm
Allison Pottinger John Shuster
Jeff Isaacson
Jared Zezel
John Landsteiner
Craig Brown
Figure Skating
Jeremy Abbott
Jason Brown
Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir
Madison Chock & Evan Bates
Meryl Davis & Charlie White
Polina Edmunds
Gracie Gold
Maia Shibutani & Alex Shibutani
Ashley Wagner
Felicia Zhang & Nathan Bartholomay
Freeskiing
Aaron Blunck
Maddie Bowman
Bobby Brown
Joss Christensen
Lyman Currier
Annalisa Drew
Nick Goepper
Keri Herman
Gus Kenworthy
Julia Krass
Devin Logan
Brita Sigourney
John Teller
Angeli Vanlaanen
Maggie Voisin
David Wise
Torin Yater-Wallace
Freestyle Skiing
Mac Bohonnon
Ashley Caldwell
Emily Cook
Patrick Deneen
Hannah Kearney
Heidi Kloser
Heather McPhie
Eliza Outtrim
Bradley Wilson
Ice Hockey
Kacey Bellamy
Megan Bozek
Alex Carpenter
Kendall Coyne
Julie Chu
Brianna Decker
Meghan Duggan
Lyndsey Fry
Amanda Kessel
Hilary Knight
Jocelyne Lamoureux
Monique Lamoureux
Gigi Marvin
Brianne McLaughlin
Michelle Picard
Josephine Pucci
Molly Schaus
Anne Schleper
Kelli Stack
Lee Stecklein
Jessie Vetter
David Backes
Dustin Brown
Ryan Callahan
John Carlson
Justin Faulk
Cam Fowler
Jimmy Howard
Patrick Kane
Ryan Kesler
Phil Kessel
Paul Martin
Ryan McDonagh
Ryan Miller
Brooks Orpik
T.J. Oshie
Max Pacioretty
Zach Parise
Joe Pavelski
Jonathan Quick
James van Riemsdyk
Kevin Shattenkirk
Paul Stastny
Derek Stepan
Ryan Suter
Blake Wheeler
Luge
Summer Britcher
Preston Griffall
Erin Hamlin
Kate Hansen
Aidan Kelly
Chris Mazdzer
Matt Mortensen
Christian Niccum
Jayson Terdiman
Tucker West
Nordic Combined
Billy Demong
Bryan Fletcher
Taylor Fletcher
Todd Lodwick
Skeleton
Matt Antoine
John Daly
Noelle Pikus-Pace
Kyle Tress
Katie Uhlaender
Ski Jumping
Nick Alexander
Nick Fairall
Peter Frenette
Sarah Hendrickson
Jessica Jerome
Anders Johnson
Lindsey Van
Snowboarding
Jamie Anderson
Nick Baumgartner
Greg Bretz
Kelly Clark
Danny Davis
Alex Deibold
Kaitlyn Farrington
Arielle Gold
Taylor Gold
Chas Guldemond
Faye Gulini
Jackie Hernandez
Nate Holland
Trevor Jacob
Lindsey Jacobellis
Jessika Jensen
Sage Kotsenburg
Justin Reiter
Karly Shorr
Ryan Stassel
Hannah Teter
Ty Walker
Shaun White
Speedskating (Long Track)
Brittany Bowe
Lauren Cholewinski
Shani Davis
Tucker Fredricks
Jonathan Garcia
Kelly Gunther
Brian Hansen
Jonathan Kuck
Maria Lamb
Emery Lehman
Joey Mantia
Patrick Meek
Heather Richardson
Anna Ringsred
Jilleanne Rookard
Sugar Todd
Mitchell Whitmore
Speedskating (Short Track)
Eddy Alvarez
Kyle Carr
J.R. Celski
Chris Creveling
Alyson Dudek
Jordan Malone
Emily Scott
Jessica Smith
Team USA has 106 returning Olympians. The USA returns 99 Olympians from the 2010 Vancouver games. Out of the 99 returning Olympians from 2010 49 are Olympic medalists from previous games and 13 are Olympic champions.
There are 105 women and 125 men on the US Team.
Nordic Combined skier Todd Lodwick is competing in his sixth Olympics, another Nordic Combined skier Billy Demong is competing in his fifth Olympics and Alpine skier Bode Miller is competing in his fifth Olympics.
My predictions for the USA medal count:
The USA will win 12 gold, 14 silver and 12 bronze for a total of 38 and finish first. Germany, Russia, Canada and Norway will round out the top 5 in that order.
5 more days until the opening ceremony!
Monday, January 13, 2014
USA Olympic Figure Skating team announced
USA Figure Skating announced the 3 women and 2 men selected to compete in the Sochi games next month.
USA Figure Skating gauges success over an entire year and not just soley based on the US Figure Skating Championships that were held in Boston this past weekend. Most USA federations pick their team based on the USA championships.
The three women selected to compete in Sochi are:
Gracie Gold, 18 - The US Champion 2014
Polina Edmunds, 15
Ashley Wagner, 22 - The US Champion in 2012 and 2013
Ashley Wagner finished fourth in the US Championships after twice falling in competition but was selected based on her overall performance the past year.
Mirai Nagasu, who finished 3rd in the US Championships was not selected to the US team.
The two men selected to the US Figure Skating team are:
Jeremy Abbott, 28 - 2014 US Champion
Jason Brown, 19 - 2nd to the 2014 US champion
Meryl Davis and Charlie White are representing the US in Ice Dancing.
In other USA team selection news:
USA track and field stars Lauryn Williams and Lolo Jones qualified for the USA women's bobsled team.
Shaun White qualified for the US team in Slopestyle.
USA Figure Skating gauges success over an entire year and not just soley based on the US Figure Skating Championships that were held in Boston this past weekend. Most USA federations pick their team based on the USA championships.
The three women selected to compete in Sochi are:
Gracie Gold, 18 - The US Champion 2014
Polina Edmunds, 15
Ashley Wagner, 22 - The US Champion in 2012 and 2013
Ashley Wagner finished fourth in the US Championships after twice falling in competition but was selected based on her overall performance the past year.
Mirai Nagasu, who finished 3rd in the US Championships was not selected to the US team.
The two men selected to the US Figure Skating team are:
Jeremy Abbott, 28 - 2014 US Champion
Jason Brown, 19 - 2nd to the 2014 US champion
Meryl Davis and Charlie White are representing the US in Ice Dancing.
In other USA team selection news:
USA track and field stars Lauryn Williams and Lolo Jones qualified for the USA women's bobsled team.
Shaun White qualified for the US team in Slopestyle.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Olympic updates for Sochi 2014: USA Men's and Women's Ice Hockey teams announced, Lindsey Vonn out of Sochi games
In early January the USA Men's 2014 Olympic Ice hockey team was announced.
Here is the USA roster:
Forwards:
David Backes, St. Louis Blues
Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings
Ryan Callahan, New York Rangers
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks
Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs
T.J. Oshie, St. Louis Blues
Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens
Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild
Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks
Paul Stastny, Colorado Avalanche
Derek Stepan, New York Rangers
James van Riemsdyk, Toronto Maple Leafs
Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets
Defensemen
John Carlson, Washington Capitals
Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes
Cam Fowler, Anaheim Ducks
Paul Martin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers
Brooks Orpik, Pittsburgh Penguins
Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis Blues
Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild
Goalies
Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings
Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
USA Women's 2014 Olympic Ice hockey team:
Goalies: Brianne McLaughlin; Molly Schaus; Jessie Vetter
Defense: Kacey Bellamy; Megan Bozek; Gigi Marvin; Michelle Picard; Josephine Pucci; Anne Schleper; Lee Stecklein.
Forwards: Alex Carpenter; Kendall Coyne; Julie Chu; Brianna Decker; Meghan Duggan; Lyndsey Fry; Amanda Kessel; Hilary Knight; Jocelyne Lamoureux; Monique Lamoureux; Kelli Stack
USA Skier Lindsey Vonn had to withdraw from the Sochi games this week after re-injuring her right knee.
She tore two ligaments in her right knee and broke a bone in that leg during a crash at the world championships in February 2013. Vonn then re-tore her surgically repaired ACL in a crash during training in November 2013. She competed at three World Cup races at Lake Louise, Alberta, in early December 2013, Vonn sprained her MCL during a downhill competition in France two weeks later.
Vonn will have knee surgery soon and will be ready to compete in the World Championships in Colorado in February 2015.
Here is the USA roster:
Forwards:
David Backes, St. Louis Blues
Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings
Ryan Callahan, New York Rangers
Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Ryan Kesler, Vancouver Canucks
Phil Kessel, Toronto Maple Leafs
T.J. Oshie, St. Louis Blues
Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens
Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild
Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks
Paul Stastny, Colorado Avalanche
Derek Stepan, New York Rangers
James van Riemsdyk, Toronto Maple Leafs
Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets
Defensemen
John Carlson, Washington Capitals
Justin Faulk, Carolina Hurricanes
Cam Fowler, Anaheim Ducks
Paul Martin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers
Brooks Orpik, Pittsburgh Penguins
Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis Blues
Ryan Suter, Minnesota Wild
Goalies
Jimmy Howard, Detroit Red Wings
Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres
Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings
USA Women's 2014 Olympic Ice hockey team:
Goalies: Brianne McLaughlin; Molly Schaus; Jessie Vetter
Defense: Kacey Bellamy; Megan Bozek; Gigi Marvin; Michelle Picard; Josephine Pucci; Anne Schleper; Lee Stecklein.
Forwards: Alex Carpenter; Kendall Coyne; Julie Chu; Brianna Decker; Meghan Duggan; Lyndsey Fry; Amanda Kessel; Hilary Knight; Jocelyne Lamoureux; Monique Lamoureux; Kelli Stack
USA Skier Lindsey Vonn had to withdraw from the Sochi games this week after re-injuring her right knee.
She tore two ligaments in her right knee and broke a bone in that leg during a crash at the world championships in February 2013. Vonn then re-tore her surgically repaired ACL in a crash during training in November 2013. She competed at three World Cup races at Lake Louise, Alberta, in early December 2013, Vonn sprained her MCL during a downhill competition in France two weeks later.
Vonn will have knee surgery soon and will be ready to compete in the World Championships in Colorado in February 2015.
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Olympic updates
The winter games are about 5 weeks away now. There are a few updates/news items to add.
In 2013 Russia adopted anti-gay laws. The laws were adopted in June and signed by President Putin.
The law bans any pro gay activities(propaganda). Openly gay athletes cannot promote gay rights and anyone connected to the gay rights movement cannot wear buttons or stickers. According to the law fines will be imposed for holding gay rights rallies. The IOC has had to walk a fine line between the rest of the world and Russia. The IOC has asked the Russians to uphold the rights of the athletes while the Russians ask the athletes to respect the laws of its country.
The USA will not be sending a President and or Vice President to the Sochi games for the first time since 2000 in protest to the anti-gay laws. Instead the USA's delegation will send three openly gay athletes to Sochi. The gay athletes who will go to Sochi are: figure skater Brian Boitano, tennis star Billie Jean King and Olympic hockey medalist Caitlin Cahow.
Also, 2010 Olympic champion figure skater Evan Lysacek has suffered a torn labrum in his left hip and cannot compete in the 2014 winter games in Sochi. Lysacek was told by doctors that to train with the injury could cause serious damage to his hip and to stop training. Lysacek also suffered an abdominal tear the season before. Lysacek had competed in the 2006 games and finished fourth. This would have been his third straight Olympic games. Only two other American athletes had competed in three straight Olympics, Brian Boitano, 1984, 1988, and 1994, and Todd Eldredge, 1992, 1998, and 2002.
Only 36 days until the Sochi games!
In 2013 Russia adopted anti-gay laws. The laws were adopted in June and signed by President Putin.
The law bans any pro gay activities(propaganda). Openly gay athletes cannot promote gay rights and anyone connected to the gay rights movement cannot wear buttons or stickers. According to the law fines will be imposed for holding gay rights rallies. The IOC has had to walk a fine line between the rest of the world and Russia. The IOC has asked the Russians to uphold the rights of the athletes while the Russians ask the athletes to respect the laws of its country.
The USA will not be sending a President and or Vice President to the Sochi games for the first time since 2000 in protest to the anti-gay laws. Instead the USA's delegation will send three openly gay athletes to Sochi. The gay athletes who will go to Sochi are: figure skater Brian Boitano, tennis star Billie Jean King and Olympic hockey medalist Caitlin Cahow.
Also, 2010 Olympic champion figure skater Evan Lysacek has suffered a torn labrum in his left hip and cannot compete in the 2014 winter games in Sochi. Lysacek was told by doctors that to train with the injury could cause serious damage to his hip and to stop training. Lysacek also suffered an abdominal tear the season before. Lysacek had competed in the 2006 games and finished fourth. This would have been his third straight Olympic games. Only two other American athletes had competed in three straight Olympics, Brian Boitano, 1984, 1988, and 1994, and Todd Eldredge, 1992, 1998, and 2002.
Only 36 days until the Sochi games!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)