Monthly Archives: January 2014

Olympic Previews, Olympics, Ski Jumping, Sochi 2014

Ski Jumping Preview

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The US has won just one medal in ski jumping, a bronze 90 years ago in the first ever ski jumping event. The men’s team hasn’t been close to winning medals lately but 2014 will see the debut of a new ski jumping event. A women’s ski jumping event. And the reigning world champion in that event is an American. 2014 might once again see the US win a ski jumping medal, and it might be when the event is being held for the first time, just like it was 90 years ago.

Ski Jumping’s Olympic History

Ski jumping is one of the original Winter Olympic sports having made its debut in 1924. There was only a single event back then, the current men’s individual large hill. The program wasn’t expanded until 52 years later in 1976 when they added a men’s individual normal hill. The two hills remain a staple of the Olympic program to this day. The program changed again in 1998 with the addition of a men’s team event using the large hill. Women have not been included in the Olympic ski jumping program until this year when an individual normal hill event will be held.

While Finland has the most gold medals in ski jumping with ten their 22 total medals is third to Austria’s 23 and Norway’s 29. No other country than these three have more than nine medals. The US has won only a single bronze medal in ski jumping.

A ski jumper at the 2010 Olympics
A ski jumper at the 2010 Olympics

Photo Credit: Marcin Chady via Compfight cc

How the Ski Jumping Competitions Work

If you read the previous section you’ll have noticed the distinction between the two sizes of hills in the ski jumping competition. The normal hill is listed as a hill size of 105 while the large hill has a hill size of 140. There really isn’t any need to know any more about these hills than that one is larger than the other, but if you care more you can explore the wikipedia page on hill size. Ski jumping scores are a combination of the distance jumped and a judges score based on the performance of the jump/

In the men’s individual events there will be a qualifying round of jumping to help narrow the field down to the top 50 competitors. These events then move to where the women’s event begins, a first round of jumping in the final. The top 30 competitors after the first round will have a second jump. The scores from the two jumps are combined to get the final scores for the athletes.

In the team event all teams are made up of four athletes. All the teams compete on the first set of jumps but only the top eight move onto the second jump. The winning team is the one with the most total points from both jumps of all four athletes.

A ski jumper soars through the air
A ski jumper soars through the air

Photo Credit: A.Nilssen Photography via Compfight cc

US Team

The team is made up of four men and three women. All four of the men will compete in all three of the men’s events. Three of the athletes competed in Vancouver while one of them is in his 3rd Olympics after being part of the team in Turin.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

US Ski Jumping

Men:
Nick Alexander*
Nick Fairall
Peter Frenette*
Anders Johnson**

Women:
Sarah Hendrickson
Jessica Jerome
Lindsey Van

* – Was on team in Vancouver
** – Was on team in Vancouver & Turin

A Sochi 2014 Ski Jumping list on twitter including all of these athletes

US Team’s Olympic History

Nick Alexander, Peter Frenette and Anders Johnson all competed for the US in Vancouver. On the normal hill all three moved on from the qualifying round but failed to reach the top 30 on the first jump of the final so none made a second jump. Alexander and Frenette tied for 41st while Johnson finished 49th.

In the large hill event Johnson failed to qualify for the final when he came in 42nd in the qualifying round and only the top 40 moved on. Alexander and Frenette did advance to the final but missed out on the top 30 on the first jump. Frenette finished 32nd and Alexander finished 40th.

They came together in the team event with Taylor Fletcher and were in 11th after the first jump so they didn’t get to take a second jump. Anders Johnson was part of the team event in Turin as well. That team finished 14th after the first jump. Johnson didn’t take part in any of the individual events in Turin.

Schedule

All Times ET, * indicates medals awarded
Saturday, February 8th
11:30 AM – Men’s Normal Hill Individual Qualification Round

Sunday, February 9th
12:30 PM – Men’s Normal Hill Individual 1st Round
*1:30 PM – Men’s Normal Hill Individual Final Round

Tuesday, February 11th
12:30 PM – Ladies’ Normal Hill Individual 1st Round
*1:20 PM – Ladies’ Normal Hill Individual Final Round

Friday, February 14th
12:30 PM – Men’s Large Hill Individual Qualification Round

Saturday, February 15th
12:30 PM – Men’s Large Hill Individual 1st Round
*1:30 PM – Men’s Large Hill Individual Final Round

Monday, February 17th
12:15 PM – Men’s Team 1st Round
*1:15 PM – Men’s Team Final Round

US Team’s Recent World Championship History

Ski jumping is part of the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2013 were held in Val di Fiemme, Italy in late February and early March 2013.

The men’s normal hill event saw Anders Johnson advance from the qualifying round while Peter Frenette missed out by one spot. In the final Johnson finished 37th after the first jump to end his competition.

In the men’s large hill event Johnson advanced from qualifying in 39th place while Frenette advanced in 40th place, both just sneaking into the field. In the final Johnson was 39th after the first jump while Frenette was 50th of the 50 jumpers, eliminating both.

The great news for the US came on the women’s side. All three US Olympians competed and all three did well. Lindsey Van came up third of the Olympians and still finished in 16th place and had the eighth best jump on the second jump. Jessica Jerome came in sixth on the first jump and fourth on the second jump and finished sixth overall. The star though was Sarah Hendrickson who had the best first jump and second best on the next jump. Hendrickson finished first overall to take home the world championship.

Norweigan ski jumper Christian Meyer
Norweigan ski jumper Christian Meyer

Photo Credit: A.Nilssen Photography via Compfight cc

US Olympic History

The men’s individual large hill, the original Olympic ski jumping event, is where the US has won its only medal. That medal was a bronze won by Anders Haugen in 1924. It’s been a long 90 years since then. The US did not have an athlete advance to the second jump of the final in either 2010 or 2006. In 2010 the best finish was by Peter Frenette in 32nd while in 2006 the best finish was by Alan Alborn in 43rd.

The men’s normal hill has also been a struggle for the US lately. No athletes advanced to the second jump of the final in the last two Olympics. The top Americans in 2010 were Frenette and Nick Alexander who tied for 41st. In 2010 the top American was Alborn who finished 40th.

The men’s team event has seen US finishes of 11th and 14th in the last two Olympics with the US not reaching the second jump in either event.

Of course there is no history on the women’s side so far, but hopefully the US will be making a mark in the first event.

Luge, Olympic Previews, Olympics, Sochi 2014

Luge Preview

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The US has struggled to medal in the luge competitions at the Olympics. Their only medals came in 1998 and 2002 in the doubles event. Thy nearly won their first singles medals though in 2006 when they had fourth place finishers in both the men’s and women’s events. Things regressed some in Vancouver though when the top singles finishers were in eighth and 16th. The US has some definite hope coming to Sochi though. At the World Championships last year members of the US team finished in sixth in both men’s and women’s singles. Perhaps this will be the year the US breaks through.

Luge’s Olympic History

Luge first became an Olympic sport in 1964, starting with a men’s singles, women’s singles, and doubles event. These three events have remained the Olympic program until this year when a fourth event will be held for the first time. This event will be a team relay involving a single member from the first three events.

Germany has absolutely totally dominated the luge event. Combining Germany, East Germany, West Germany, and the Unified Team of Germany they have won 70 of the 117 and 27 of the 40 gold medals awarded. Only five other countries (Italy, Austria, the US, Latvia, and the Soviet Union/Russia) have won medals. The US has won four medals (two gold and two silver) in the luge.

An example of a luge sled from the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Photo Credit: couloir via Compfight cc

How the Luge Competitions Work

First of all, what differentiates luge from bobsleigh and skeleton? Luge is on a sled (unlike bobsleigh) and luge is done lying on the back (unlike skeleton). Luge basically looks like the most dangerous sport in the Olympics and it probably is. This is the sport where an athlete died in Vancouver (a Georgian luger named Nodar Kumaritashivili). It goes faster than the skeleton and the view of where you are going is not quite as good since you aren’t facing forward. Lugers start their races sitting on the sled and push-off before lying down for the race.

In the Olympics the men’s singles and women’s singles events are conducted over two days with two runs in each day. The four runs are then totaled with the fastest total time winning. The doubles competition is conducted on one day with only two runs combined for the total time.

The mixed relay making the debut this year is pretty cool. This isn’t just three separate times being combined to get a total time for the team, this is a race where when the first athlete gets to the bottom they will hit a pad that triggers the start of the 2nd athlete. The order of the lugers will be women-men-doubles.

Anke Wischnewski of Germany competes in the luge at the Vancouver Olympics

Photo Credit: jonwick04 via Compfight cc

US Team

The team is made up of seven men and three women. Three of the athletes are returning from the team in Vancouver, two of whom were also on the team in Turin. Another athlete wasn’t part of the team in Vancouver but was part of the team in Turin.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

US Luge

Men:
Preston Griffall& – Doubles
Aidan Kelly – Singles
Chris Mazdzer* – Singles
Matt Mortensen – Doubles
Christian Niccum** – Doubles
Jayson Terdiman – Doubles
Tucker West – Singles

Women:
Summer Britcher – Singles
Erin Hamlin** – Singles
Kate Hansen – Singles

* – Was on team in Vancouver
** – Was on team in Vancouver & Turin
& – Was on team in Turin

A Sochi 2014 Luge list on twitter including all of these athletes

US Team’s Olympic History

While Preston Griffall didn’t make the Olympic team in Vancouver he was part of the team in Turin. Griffall teamed up with Dan Joye. The team finished eighth in the doubles competition.

Chris Mazdzer made his Olympic debut in Vancouver and competed in the men’s singles event. Mazdzer finished run one in 12th, run two in 16th, run three in 13th, and run four in 17th. His total time ended up placing him 13th.

Christian Niccum teamed up with Dan Joye for the doubles event in Vancouver. Niccum’s team was sixth in both the first run and the second and finished sixth overall. In Turin, Niccum competed in the singles event where he finished 23rd.

Erin Hamlin started off her Vancouver Olympics in great fashion with an eight place finish in women’s singles. She wasn’t able to keep it up though as she finished run two in 20th, run three in 24th, and run four in 16th. She wound up 16th overall. Turin was even more successful in Turin where she finished 12th in the women’s singles event.

Schedule

All Times ET, * indicates medals awarded
Saturday, February 8th
9:30 AM – Men’s Singles Run 1
11:40 AM – Men’s Singles Run 2

Sunday, February 9th
9:30 AM – Men’s Singles Run 3
*11:40 AM – Men’s Singles Run 4

Monday, February 10th
9:45 AM – Women’s Singles Run 1
11:35 AM – Women’s Singles Run 2

Tuesday, February 11th
9:30 AM – Women’s Singles Run 3
*11:20 AM – Women’s Singles Run 4

Wednesday, February 12th
9:15 AM – Doubles Run 1
*10:45 AM – Doubles Run 2

Thursday, February 13th
*11:15 AM – Team Relay Competition

US Team’s Recent World Championship History

The 2013 FIL World Luge Championships were held in Whistler, British Columbia.

In the men’s singles competition Chris Mazdzer was the only Olympian to compete for the US. The event was only held over two runs and Mazdzer was in the top eight in both runs and finished in sixth within 0.35 seconds of a bronze medal. Things didn’t go as well in the men’s doubles competition where Matt Mortensen and Preston Griffall teamed up and finished 14th.

Two of the three female Olympians for the US competed in the women’s singles event. Kate Hansen finished in 14th while Erin Hamlin was the top American with a sixth place finish just 0.31 seconds behind the bronze.

The team relay event was a combination effort between Mazdzer, Mortensen/Griffall and Hamlin. The team was third fastest in the women’s portion, fourth in men’s singles, but only seventh in the doubles portion. Still they wound up fifth and just 0.012 seconds out of the bronze.

A luge track can feature some SERIOUS embankment!
A luge track can feature some SERIOUS embankment!

Photo Credit: parker yo! via Compfight cc

US Olympic History

Men’s singles is an event the US has never medaled in. In 2010 their top athlete was Tony Benshoof who came in eighth while in 2006 they nearly medaled when Benshoof came in fourth and missed out on the bronze by 0.153 seconds.

The US has also never medaled in women’s singles. In 2010 the US didn’t come close with their best finish by Erin Hamlin in 16th. 2006 was a different story when Courtney Zablocki came in fourth and missed out on the bronze by 0.392 seconds.

All of the US medals have come in the doubles event. The US grabbed both the silver and bronze medals in 1998 and 2002. Since then the US has achieved an eighth place finish in 2006 and a sixth place finish in 2010.

Davis Cup, Tennis

Davis Cup 2014 – The USA must deal with Great Britain and Andy Murray in Round 1

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The US will face Great Britain (And ANDY MURRAY!) in the First Round of the Davis Cup this weekend. The matchup is being played on the famous clay court of Petco Park. Yes, Petco Park, the home of the San Diego Padres. The US decided to host this match there and built a clay court and grandstands in leftfield of Petco Park to play on.

The US will take on a Great Britain team featuring world #6 Andy Murray this weekend in San Diego
The US will take on a Great Britain team featuring world #6 Andy Murray this weekend in San Diego

Photo Credit: simonw92 via Compfight cc

Interesting… but what the heck is the Davis Cup?

For those who don’t know, the Davis Cup is the yearly men’s tennis tournament that pits nation against nation. It began in 1900 with a matchup between… the US and Great Britain. It’s grown by leaps and bounds and now has 130 countries competing in it. The US is the most successful country having won 32 title and finishing as runner-up another 29 times, but only twice since 1997 has the US reached the final.

Obviously the US isn’t the strongest men’s tennis country anymore. The top 12 players in the world include two Spaniards, two Swiss, two French, a Serbian, an Argentinian, a Brit, a Czechoslovakian, a Canadian, a German… but no Americans. But the Americans are still a decent country in men’s tennis and are certainly capable of beating Great Britain.

Now for a word on quick word on how the Davis Cup works. All matches between countries are in a best of five format with each match being a best of five with no tiebreaker in the 5th set. One match (the 3rd held of the five) will be a doubles match while the other four are singles matches featuring two singles players from each country with the players switching opponents for their second match. Whichever country can win three of the five matches wins the matchup.

The best 16 countries in the world compete in the World Group. The countries will face off in the first round this weekend with the winners moving into the quarterfinals in early April. The losers? Well the result is a little less fun for them. They will be forced to play another country in September that is challenging to get into the World Group. If you lose that match you fall from the World Group for next year and are forced to play in your Zonal Region for a chance to challenge back into the World Group again.

Last year Great Britain was stuck in the European Zonal Regional before a 3-2 win over Russia got them into the World Group Playoffs where they defeated Croatia 4-1 to qualify for the 2014 World Group. As for the US, they have been part of the World Group for every tournament since 1989, a record for the most straight years in the World Group. In 2013 they won in the first round 3-2 over Brazil before losing 3-1 to Serbia in the quarterfinals.

So the first round match is pretty important for the US. Getting a win here guarantees World Group play in 2015 while a loss would see the US have to play a World Group Playoff in September. The US has only had to play in the playoffs four times since they rejoined the World Group in 1989. The most recent playoff was against Colombia in 2010 where the US won 3-1.

USA vs. Great Britain – Who’s playing who?

So now that you know what’s at stake for the US we can get down to talking about who will be taking part in this matchup. The US wanted to go with their two top singles players, 13th ranked John Isner and 49th ranked Sam Querrey, and that was the plan, at least publicly, up until Thursday. That’s when the US announced that Isner, who suffered an ankle injury earlier in the month that forced him to withdraw from the Australian Open, would be replaced in the team by Donald Young. Young had a fairly good Australian Open where he reached the 3rd round and is the third highest ranked American at #79 right now. He’s certainly a very capable player, but he’s not John Isner. For the doubles match the US doesn’t have any issues as they can turn to the world #1 duo of brothers Bob and Mike Bryan.

The American #1 will be Sam Querrey, currently the second highest ranked American in the world.
The American #1 will be Sam Querrey, currently the second highest ranked American in the world.

Photo Credit: angela n. via Compfight cc

For Great Britain the first singles choice is really really easy. It’s Andy Murray, currently the world #6 in that spot. Murray might be ranked even higher but he had back surgery in the fall and missed some tournaments where he would have accumulated ranking points. Their second player was a tougher choice and they went with James Ward who is currently ranked #175. He’s just slightly the third ranked Brit right now behind Daniel Evans (146th). For the doubles match they chose to pair Andy Murray (who doesn’t play a lot of doubles but is #97 in the world) with Colin Fleming (33rd). Murray and Fleming have teamed up twice in the last year in doubles play. They played in the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Canada event in May (a big tournament) and reached the final defeating four different top-twenty doubles along the way. They also played in the Davis Cup playoff against Croatia where they defeated Ivan Dodig/Mate Pavic. So they are certainly not to be taken lightly.

World #175 James Ward might have to pull an upset if the British have any chance of knocking off the US.
World #175 James Ward might have to pull an upset if the British have any chance of knocking off the US.

Photo Credit: f1lou via Compfight cc

So your schedule for this weekend is as follows. All the matches will be on the Tennis Channel, so if you get that you’ll be able to watch!

Friday starting at 2 PM ET:
Match 1 – Donald Young vs. Andy Murray
Match 2 – Sam Querrey vs. James Ward

Saturday starting at 3 PM ET:
Match 3 – Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan vs. Andy Murray/Colin Fleming

Sunday starting at 2 PM ET:
Match 4 – Sam Querrey vs. Andy Murray
Match 5 – Donald Young vs. James Ward

The USA does hold an 11-7 advantage over Great Britain in Davis Cup play, but only three of those matchups were after 1937 and Great Britain has not won since 1935.

USA vs. Great Britain – How do they matchup?

Andy Murray has taken on Donald Young three times, all in 2011. Murray did beat Young in the second two matchups but the first one went to Young in straight sets in the Indian Wells Masters tournament. Murray was going through a somewhat rough stretch though as he lost to another player outside the top 100 in his next match as well.

Sam Querrey has faced James Ward just once in his career. That matchup, in June 2011, was a major upset of the 28th ranked Querrey by Ward who was ranked 216th at the time. Querrey was struggling with injuries at the time and didn’t play another match for three months after that.

Murray has faced the Bryan brothers four times, though never with Colin Fleming, and never won with only a single set won. Their last matchup came in April 2012. Fleming has faced the Bryan brothers seven times, most recently in August 2013 in the quarterfinals of the US Open. The Bryans won in straight sets on that date and have beaten Fleming six straight times with the only loss in June 2009 at the Aegon Championship.

Querrey has battled Murray on six occasions, most recently in August 2012 in the Cincinnati Masters 2nd round where Murray won in straight sets. Querrey’s only victory over Murray came in Los Angeles in July 2010 in a final. It was the only time that Querrey has taken a set off of Murray.

Ward and Young have never met before on the ATP tour.

The Bryan brothers (Mike and Bob) are the best doubles team in the world. They'll look to win the doubles match for the US on Saturday afternoon.
The Bryan brothers (Mike and Bob) are the best doubles team in the world. They’ll look to win the doubles match for the US on Saturday afternoon.

Photo Credit: Francisco Carbajal via Compfight cc

USA vs. Great Britain – What do we expect?

Well it would seem to be pretty easy to call favorites in three of these five matches. Andy Murray is certainly going to be favored in both of his matches while the US doubles team of Bob and Mike Bryan would seem to be better. That leaves the matches between Sam Querrey/Donald Young and James Ward. The US has the higher ranked players in each matchup, but if Murray can take care of his two singles matches Great Britain would need Ward to upset only one of the two to win the match. I don’t expect it to happen though, a home crowd for the USA should help push their players and both Young and Querrey played well in the Australian Open.

I’ll be tweeting updates on whatever matches I’m able to watch live on @WeSupportTheUS and I’ll post recaps as well over the weekend.

Biathlon, Olympic Previews, Olympics, Sochi 2014

Biathlon Preview

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This will be the 15th time that the biathlon is held at the Olympics. The US has never won a medal. They didn’t even have anyone closer than ninth in Vancouver. But there’s hope this year. The US has a reigning world silver medalist and they have one of their best shots at a medal ever. Maybe 2014 will be the year the US finally breaks through in the biathlon.

Biathlon’s Olympic History

Biathlon’s Olympic history really begins with another event held at four Olympics from 1924 to 1948. This event was called military patrol and was very similar to the current biathlon as it involved both skiing and shooting. It never caught on and only once were medals awarded, the other three times it was a demonstration event. In 1960 the modern biathlon made its Olympic debut and it’s been around ever since. It started with just one men’s event and expanded to three by 1980. Women were first involved in 1992 when they were given a program to mirror the men’s. Since then the program has grown to five competitions each for the men and women and for the first time in Sochi there will be a mixed event as well.

Germany has been the best country in biathlon with 59 of the 190 medals if you combine Germany and the former teams of West Germany and East Germany. 21 countries have medaled in biathlon including Kazakhstan. One country you won’t find on that list though? The US.

How the Biathlon Competitions Work

If speed skating is a sport where there is almost no difference other than distance between events, biathlon is a sport where there are a ton of differences between events. One thing to keep in mind through all the events is that there are two styles of shooting: prone and standing. Standing is self-obvious but if you haven’t heard of the prone position it’s basically like lying down.

The first events held are the sprint races. In the sprint races the competitors will be spaced out in 30 seconds intervals at the start and do three loops to complete the race. After the completion of each loop the athlete will have a shooting phase where they must hit a target. Accuracy on the target doesn’t matter, just hitting the target. The first shooting is prone, the second standing. If you miss a target you have to ski a 150-meter penalty loop after you are done shooting. If you miss two targets, two loops. Men will race a 10km race (so 3.3km per loop) while women only go 7.5km (2.5km per loop).

If you thought now that we’ve done the sprint race and awarded the medals we can forget about it, think again. The results of that race establish the starting grid for the pursuit events. Only the top 60 from the sprint race move into the pursuit event. They will start from the same point but each athlete will be delayed at the start as long as they finished sprint race behind the leader. To win this race you have to pass the leader, overcoming as much time as you were behind in the sprint event! How long do you have to do it? Five loops (2.5 km loops for men, 2km loops for women) and four shooting times. The shooting is done in the prone position the first two times and standing the second two times. If you miss a target you face the same 150m penalty as the sprint race.

Next up is the individual events. These will be started the same way as the sprint races but the big difference is the penalty for missing a target. Instead of skiing an extra 150m you are automatically given a one minute penalty to be added to your final time. The men will do five loops of 4km while the women do five loops of 3km. The four rounds of shooting are done from the prone, standing, prone, and standing positions.

The final events that don’t involve teams are the mass-start events. I think you can guess how the field begins the race (don’t worry there are only 30 athletes so it’s not too much chaos). The punishment for missing targets in this event is once again a 150m penalty loop. If you put together a penalty loop and a mass-start what do you get? You get a race where the first person across the finish line is the winner (unlike the individual and sprint races). The variance between the four solo events of whether it’s a race to the finish line or a race against the clock does provide for some interesting finishes and some nice variety. The men will race five 3km loops in this race while the women do five 2.5km loops. In both events the shooting position order is prone, prone, standing, and standing.

Finally we’ve come to the relay events! The first relay event is the mixed relay event, which is making its debut in the Olympics! Teams consist of four skiers, two men and two women, with the women skiing the first two legs. All teams start at the same time and the 150m penalty loop is in effect for this event. Each member of the team skates three loops (2km for the women, 2.5km for the men) with shooting in between loops. The first shooting is done from the prone position, the second from the standing position. The non mixed relays also involve four members and follow the same format as the mixed relay event.

US Team

The team is made up of five men and five women. Four of the athletes are veterans from the Vancouver team while three of them were also on the team in Turin.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

US Biathlon

Men:
Lowell Bailey**
Tim Burke**
Russell Currier
Sean Doherty
Leif Nordgren

Women:
Lanny Barnes**
Annelies Cook
Susan Dunklee
Hannah Dreissigacker
Sara Studebaker*

* – Was on team in Vancouver
** – Was on team in Vancouver & Turin

A Sochi 2014 Biathlon list on twitter including all of these athletes

US Team’s Olympic History

In Vancouver Lowell Bailey competed for the US in three solo events but couldn’t finish any higher than 36th (10km sprint and 12.5km pursuit). Bailey also took part in the 20km individual where he finished 57th. Bailey was part of a 4×7.5km relay team which finished 13th. Bailey was a little more competitive in the individual event in Turin when he finished 27th. Bailey was also in the sprint event (47th) and the pursuit event (48th). He did take part in a top-ten finish by the relay team when they came in ninth.

Tim Burke was also part of the US team in Vancouver. Like Bailey he was part of the 13th place finishing 4×7.5km relay team. In the solo events he had a good finish in the 15km mass start, 18th, while he ended up 45th in the 20km individual, 46th in the 12.5km pursuit and 47th in the 10km sprint. Eight years ago in Turin, Burke was a part of the ninth place finish by the relay team. Burke also came in 36th in the sprint and pursuit events and 58th in the individual event.

Lanny Barnes competed in two solo events for the US in Vancouver. Barnes was 78th in the 7.5km sprint event which meant she didn’t reach the 10km pursuit event. She was much better in the 15km individual event where she finished 23rd. She was also part of the 4x5km relay team that finished 17th. Barnes competed in just two events in Turin. Barnes came in 64th in the individual event and also took part in the relay team which finished 15th.

Vancouver saw the Olympic debut of Sara Studebaker. Studebaker was a member of the 4x5km relay team that finished 17th and also competed individually in three events. Studebaker’s best event was the 15km individual race where she finished 34th. She wound up 45th in the 7.5km sprint event and 46th in the 10km pursuit event.

Schedule

All Times ET, * indicates medals awarded
Saturday, February 8th
*9:30 AM – Men’s Sprint 10km

Sunday, February 9th
*9:30 AM – Women’s 7.5km Sprint

Monday, February 10th
*10 AM – Men’s 12.5km Pursuit

Tuesday, February 11th
*10 AM – Women’s 10km Pursuit

Thursday, February 13th
*9 AM – Men’s Individual 20km

Friday, February 14th
*9 AM – Women’s 15km Individual

Sunday, February 16th
*10 AM – Men’s 15km Mass Start

Monday, February 17th
*10 AM – Women’s 12.5km Mass Start

Wednesday, February 19th
*9:30 AM – 2x6km Women + 2×7.5km Men Mixed Relay

Friday, February 21st
*9:30 AM – Women’s 4x6km Relay

Saturday, February 22nd
*9:30 AM – Men’s 4×7.5km Relay

US Team’s Recent World Championship History

The 2013 Biathlon World Championships were held in Nové Město na Moravě, Czech Republic in February 2013.

The US found some success in the men’s 20km individual event. Four of the Olympic team members were in that event and all finished in the top 60 with Russell Currier in 60th place. Lowell Bailey finished 29th with Leif Nordgren coming in 20th. The top American though was Tim Burke who came in second to win a silver.

Tim Burke was again the top American in the 10km sprint event where he finished in a tie for 28th. Lowell Bailey was second best with a 32nd place finish while Russell Currier was 44th and Leif Nordgren was 53rd.

Using those results to set the field for the 12.5km pursuit event the US had all four of their athletes in the field. Lowell Bailey put together a great performance and didn’t miss a single target to move up from 32nd at the start to finish in 13th. Tim Burke fell from 28th to 32nd while Leif Nordgren moved up from 53rd to 43rd and Russell Currier fell from 44th to 52nd.

The final solo event, the mass start 15km event featured two Americans in the 30 athlete field. Lowell Bailey took another turn as the top American finishing in 13th while Tim Burke ended up 30th.

Bailey, Currier, Nordgren, and Burke teamed up for the relay event but finished 12th.

On the women’s side Susan Dunklee, Sara Studebaker, Annelies Cook, and Hannah Dreissigacker all competed for the US in the 15km individual event. Dunklee was the top American in 15th while Studebaker joined her in the top 30 with a 27th place finish. Cook ended up 38th while Dreissigacker was 56th.

The 7.5km sprint event didn’t go as well for the US as the top American was Annelies Cook and she finished 45th. Susan Dunklee wasn’t far behind her in 49th as they both qualified for the pursuit event. Sara Studebaker came in 65th while Hannah Dreissigacker ended up 71st.

In the pursuit event Susan Dunklee only was able to edge up from 49th to 47th while Annelies Cook fell from 46th to 51st.

Dunklee, Cook, Dreissigacker, and Studebaker combined for the team relay where they ended up 11th.

The US combined Annelies Cook, Susan Dunklee, Lowell Bailey, and Leif Nordgren for the mixed relay team. The mixed team did better than both the men’s and women’s team as they finished 8th and within a minute of the bronze.

US Olympic History

As mentioned at the top, the US has never won a biathlon medal at the Olympics.

In 2010 the closest the US came was in the men’s 10km sprint where Jeremy Teela finished 9th. Teela was also the top American in the 12.5km pursuit in 24th. Tim Burke was the top US competitor in the 20km individual (45th) and the 15km mass start (18th). The US relay team came in 13th.

On the women’s side the closest US athlete to a medal was Lanny Barnes who finished 23rd in the 15 km individual. Sara Studebaker was top for the US in the 7.5km sprint finishing 45th and in the 10km pursuit ending up 46th. The women’s relay team finished 17th.

Olympic Previews, Olympics, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

Speed Skating Preview

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The US has the most gold medals in speed skating at the Olympics but the US has struggled some in recent years, especially on the women’s side. Can an experienced team for the US top the four medals from Vancouver or will the medal count continue to fall off?

Speed Skating’s Olympic History

Speed skating made its Olympic debut at the very first Winter Olympics in 1924, but it nearly began earlier than that. In 1916 speed skating was on the program for the Summer Olympics in Berlin. Unfortunately those Olympics were cancelled because of World War I and speed skating had to wait eight more years for its Olympic debut. Speed skating began with five men’s events, just one less than there is today, and four of the original events are still contested today. Women’s speed skating was a demonstration sport in Lake Placid in 1932 but didn’t become an Olympic sport until 1960 when it had just as many events as men’s speed skating. For a few Olympics there was one more men’s event than women’s, but the number has been balanced since 1988 and today there are six events for men and for women.

Two countries, the Netherlands (82) and Norway (80) have more medals than the 67 won by the US. No country though has more golds than the US with 29. The Netherlands are close behind with 27 while Norway has 25. There have been medals won by 23 different countries with 17 countries winning a gold medal.

How the Speed Skating Competitions Work

While there are a lot of events in speed skating there isn’t a lot of difference between the events other than distance. The individual races involve the athletes doing 400m laps around the rink enough times to cover the distance. Two athletes will go at a time with an inner and outer lane. Since the inside lane is shorter than the outside lane the athletes have to swap lanes after each lap so that they each cover the same distance. The only exception is the 500m races. 500m is not much longer than the track’s 400m length so it’s not possible for each athlete to do a lap on each lane. To overcome this each athlete will skate two races with their second race in the opposite lane as what they used in the first. The combined time from the two races determines the final standings.

The only event not done with this format is the team pursuit events. In the team pursuit events teams of three skaters will take to the ice in head-to-head competition. Whichever team finishes first moves on. The skaters will alternate leading their team as the leader will face the most air resistance. The team’s time is based on when their final skater crosses the finish line. The two teams both start at the same time on opposite ends of the track so there’s no need for an inside and outside lane.

US Team

The team is made up of nine men and eight women. Nine of the 17 athletes were on the team in Vancouver while three of them were also on the team in Turin.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

US Speed Skating

Men:
Shani Davis** – 500m, 1000m, 1500m
Tucker Fredricks** – 500m
Jonathan Garcia – 1000m
Brian Hansen* – 500m, 1000m, 1500m, team pursuit
Jonathan Kuck* – 1500m, 5000m, team pursuit
Emery Lehman – 5000m, 10000m
Joey Mantia – 1000m, 1500m
Patrick Meek – 5000m
Mitchell Whitmore* – 500m

Women:
Brittany Bowe – 500m, 1000m, 1500m, team pursuit
Lauren Cholewinski* – 500m
Kelly Gunther – 1000m
Maria Lamb** – 5000m
Heather Richardson* – 500m, 1000m, 1500m, team pursuit
Anna Ringsred – 3000m
Jilleanne Rookard* – 1500m, 3000m, team pursuit
Sugar Todd – 500m, 1000m

* – Was on team in Vancouver
** – Was on team in Vancouver & Turin

A Sochi 2014 Speed Skating list on twitter including all of these athletes

US Team’s Olympic History

Shani Davis was one of the US stars in Vancouver. Davis competed in four events and had some success and some disappointment. In the first 500m race Davis came in 18th and was too far behind to be in medal contention. There were some issues with the ice so the event had some delays and he choose to pull out of the event since he was out of contention. In the 1000m race Davis took home the gold medal while he grabbed a silver in the 1500m race. Davis also competed in the 5000m race where he ended up 12th. Davis took home the same combination of medals in Turin, and from the same races! A gold in the 1000m and a silver in the 1500m. Davis also competed in the 5000m race and came in seventh.

Tucker Fredricks competed in just one event for the US in Vancouver, the 500m. In the first race he ended up 15th but posted a strong ninth best time in race two to end up 12th overall. Fredricks competed in the same event for the US in Turin. Fredricks was 25th after the first run and ended up 25th in the end.

Vancouver saw the Olympic debut of Brian Hansen, but he competed in just one individual event, the 1500m, where he finished 18th. Hansen’s best moments came though as part of the team pursuit team that beat Japan and the Netherlands before falling to Canada in the final and taking home a silver. Hansen took part in the races against the Netherlands and Canada.

Jonathan Kuck’s Olympic debut in Vancouver was much like that of Hansen. Kuck was also part of the silver medal winning team pursuit team and was part of the three-man team for all three races. Kuck also competed in the 10000m race where he finished eighth.

Another first-time Olympian in Vancouver was Mitchell Whitmore. Whitmore competed in only the 500m event for the US finishing in 39th in race one and 34th in race two for a 37th overall finish.

Lauren Cholewinski also debuted at the Olympics in 2010. Much like Whitmore she competed only in the 500m event and finished 29th in race one and 32nd in race two for a 30th overall finish.

Maria Lamb came to Vancouver with some experience and competed for the US in the 5000m event. She finished in 15th. In Turin she had skated the 1500m event where she finished 27th and took part in the team pursuit event. Lamb competed for each race for a US team that lost their quarterfinal to Canada and lost the fifth place final to the Netherlands to end up sixth.

Heather Richardson took part in three events for the US in Vancouver. She made a good run at a medal in her first Olympics as she finished sixth in the 500m event, ninth in the 1000m event, and 16th in the 1500m event.

The final skater who debuted in Vancouver was Jileanne Rookard. Rookard competed in three individual events for the US and had her best finish (eight) in the 5000m event. She finished 12th in the 3000m event and 24th in the 1500m event. Rookard was also part of the team pursuit event and was part of the US team in all three races they had. The US shocked Canada in the quarterfinals but lost to Germany in the semifinals and missed out on a bronze when they lost to Poland in the 3rd place final.

Schedule

All Times ET, * indicates medals awarded
Saturday, February 8th
*6:30 AM – Men’s 5000m

Sunday, February 9th
*6:30 AM – Ladies’ 3000m

Monday, February 10th
8 AM – Men’s 500m Race 1 of 2
*9:55 AM – Men’s 500m Race 2 of 2

Tuesday, February 11th
7:45 AM – Ladies’ 500m Race 1 of 2
*9:34 AM – Ladies’ 500m Race 2 of 2

Wednesday, February 12th
*9 AM – Men’s 1000m

Thursday, February 13th
*9 AM – Ladies’ 1000m

Saturday, February 15th
*8:30 AM – Men’s 1500m

Sunday, February 16th
*9 AM – Ladies’ 1500m

Tuesday, February 18th
*8 AM – Men’s 10000m

Wednesday, February 19th
*8:30 AM – Ladies’ 5000m

Friday, February 21st
8:30 AM – Men’s Team Pursuit Quarterfinals
9:23 AM – Ladies’ Team Pursuit Quarterfinals
10:12 AM – Men’s Team Pursuit Semifinals

Saturday, February 22nd
8:30 AM – Ladies’ Team Pursuit Semifinals
*8:51 AM – Men’s Team Pursuit Finals
*9:14 AM – Ladies’ Team Pursuit Finals

US Team’s Recent World Championship History

The latest Speed Skating world championship, the 2013 World Single Distance Speed Skating Championship, was held in Sochi in March 2013.

Mitchell Whitmore and Tucker Fredricks both competed for the US in the men’s 500m event. They finished the first race in 24th and 22nd and then went 23rd and 24th in the second race to finish 23rd and 24th in the 24 athlete field.

In the 1000m event Shani Davis, Mitchell Whitmore, and Brian Hansen all competed. Whitmore, who isn’t going to be competing in the 1000m in the Olympics, wound up 22nd while Brian Hansen was ninth and within 0.77 seconds of the winner. Shani Davis nearly took home the gold but came up 0.16 seconds short and won the bronze.

In the 1500m event three Americans who will be competing in the Olympics, Shani Davis, Brian Hansen, and Jonathan Kuck, all took part. Kuck was the furthest away from the top in 22nd while Brian Hansen came very close to a bronze. Hansen finished in fourth 0.43 seconds away from a medal. Shani Davis again came up just short, this time 0.51 seconds, and took home a silver.

Jonathan Kuck and Emery Lehman both took part in the 5000m for the US. Kuck was the top American in the field with a 12th place finish while Lehman ended up 20th.

Kuck also took part in the 10000m event, though he won’t be racing that event in the Olympics. Kuck ended up 12th out of 14 competitors.

On the women’s side Heather Richardson, Brittany Bowe, and Lauren Cholewinski were all part of the 500m event. Cholewinski (20th) and Bowe (14th) were out of medal contention after race one while Richardson’s sixth place finish left her in the mix. Cholewinski finished race two in 22nd and split the difference to finish 21st overall while Bowe was 14th again and ended up 14th. Richardson had a slower time in race two on the inside track and was tenth in race two. That left her in 8th place overall.

Heather Richardson improved on that finish in the 1000m event where she ended up eight while Anna Ringsred, who won’t compete in the 1000m at the Olympics, ended up in 21st. The big story though was Brittany Bowe who was impressive for the US taking home the bronze and finishing 0.43 seconds away from the winner.

Anna Ringsred, who will be competing for the US in only the 3000m event in the Olympics, was the only US athlete in the 1500m event where she finished last in the 18 athlete field.

Maria Lamb competed for the US in the 5000m event and ended up 11th but just eight seconds behind fourth place.

US Olympic History

In Salt Lake City US took home eight speed skating medals. It was their largest haul since 1980. They nearly matched that in Turin when they took home seven medals, their third most all-time. Vancouver didn’t go quite as well as the US took home just four medals but when you consider the US never won more than three from 1984 through 1998 it’s not so bad!

In the men’s 500m event the US has taken home 16 medals and won golds in 2002 in 2006, but they didn’t finish in the top ten in Vancouver with Tucker Fredricks the top American in 12th.

The 1000m event has been an US specialty with half of the ten gold medals going to the US. Shani Davis is the two-time defending champion in this event, the US has won multiple medals in back-to-back Olympics and the US has now medaled in three straight Olympics.

After only winning three medals in the first 18 1500m Olympic events the US has now won four medals in the last three Olympics and has won silver or better in all three. Shani Davis is the two-time defending silver medalist.

The 5000m event has been another tough one for the US before a silver in Salt Lake City and a gold in Turin. In Vancouver three Americans were in the top 15, but none finished higher than 11th (Chad Hedrick).

A similar story can be told of the 10000m event where the US has only medaled once since 1980, a silver by Chad Hedrick in Turin. Vancouver’s best was Jonathan Kuck who finished eighth.

Team pursuit has only been held twice and the US got their first medal, a silver, in Vancouver. Two of the members of that team, Brian Hansen and Jonathan Kuck, are back in Sochi.

On the women’s side the US medaled ten times in the first ten 500m events including half of the gold medals. Since Bonnie Blair won her 3rd gold in a row in 1994 the US has been held off the medal stand altogether. Heather Richardson came close in 2010 with a sixth place finish and will look to get a medal this time.

The US medaled in the 1000m event in nine of the ten Olympics from 1968 to 2002. Since then, nothing. In Vancouver Jennifer Rodriguez was the closest to getting there with a seventh place finish.

After a medal drought from 1976 to 1998 in the 1500m event the US had bronze medalists in Nagano and Salt Lake City. Since then though, again no medals for the US. No US athletes were in the top 15 in Vancouver with Heather Richardson the closest in 16th.

The 3000m event has only seen US medalists twice and the most recent was Beth Heiden in 1980. Nancy Swider-Peltz, Jr. came closest in Vancouver with a ninth place finish but the US is still staring at a 34 year medal drought in this event.

The 5000m event has been held seven times but the US has never medaled. Jilleanne Rookard was the top US athlete in Vancouver finishing in 8th.

The team pursuit event has been held twice with no medals so far for the US. In 2010 the US reached the semifinals before two straight losses left them in 4th. Jilleanne Rookard is the only member of this team back for 2014.

Cross-Country Skiing, Olympic Previews, Olympics, Sochi 2014

Cross-Country Skiing Preview

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21 Winter Olympics. 145 events. 1 silver medal. That’s the history the US is facing as they head into the cross-country competition in Sochi. The US hasn’t won a medal in 38 years and has never won a gold medal. Could Sochi finally see the US go to the medal stand and maybe even find themselves on top?

It might just be possible. While the US didn’t have a great showing in Vancouver the results of the 2013 World Championships provide some hope. It was only one medal, but it was a gold. Jessica Diggins and Kikkan Randall in women’s team sprint. If one year later they can recapture that mojo, it could be the first US medal in nearly four decades, and perhaps the first ever gold. While the team sprint might be the best chance for the US they also have chances in other events and look to have a chance at one of their best Olympics in years.

Cross-Country Skiing’s Olympic History

Cross-Country Skiing was an Olympic sport for the first time when the Winter Olympics began in 1924. The program back then consisted of just two events, both for men. The program expanded to three events in 1936 but didn’t include women until 1948 when they got their first event. There was not an equal number of events for men and women until 1984 and the current program has only been unchanged since 2006. The program now contains six events for men and six events for women.

Norway is the dominant country in cross-country skiing having grabbed 96 of the 421 medals, 23 more than 2nd place Finland. Norway’s 35 gold medals are eight more than 2nd place Sweden’s 27. As for the US… you’ll find us in 18th place. One medal. A silver in 1976 by Bill Koch.

How the Cross-Country Skiing Competitions Work

Cross-country skiing events are held over a wide range of distances and in different formats. Oh and there are two techniques too. There are a lot of differences between the twelve different events that will be held in Sochi! The first technique is known as classic. Think of it as the skis staying in a parallel track going forward. It might be more clear after I explain that the freestyle technique is like you would see in speed skating, pushing off to the side.

The first events contested will be the skiathlon. The men race 30km, the women race 15km. The first half of the race is done using the classic technique. Halfway through the athletes will stop, change skis (because you don’t use the same kind of skis for classic and freestyle technique), and then do the other half with the freestyle technique. This format of course means some athletes will excel in one half, some in the other. The  men’s winner in Vancouver was 11th after the classic technique.

The next events will be the individual sprint competitions. These will start with a qualifying round where each athlete will put up a time to determine the top 30 for the quarterfinal round. The men’s races are over a slightly longer distance than the women’s races, but both are under 1.6km and the winning times will be under 3:40. In the quarterfinal rounds there will be five groups of six. The top two finishers in each group will advance to the semifinals. Additionally the next two best times will also move. In the semifinal round there will be two groups of six and once again the top two in each group will move on to the final as well as the next two best times. The final is self-explanatory.

Then the program moves to the classical races. The men’s race is 15km, the women’s race is 10km. These races are done with each athlete starting individually, spaced out by 30 seconds. The best athletes from the season of competitions go last, so you’ll know what time they need to beat to get on the medal stand.

The team relay event involves four legs, the first two done using the classic technique and the last two with the freestyle technique. Men race 10km legs while the ladies race 5km legs. All athletes begin at the same time.

Another team event will come next as the team sprint relay is held. This event involves two athletes per team who will each race three legs, switching off in between. The semifinal round will involve two heats in which the top three teams move into the final, along with the next four best times.

The final events will be freestyle technique events using mass-starts. The men race 50km, the women race 30km. Vancouver’s men’s race saw five athletes finish within 1.6 seconds after a little over two hours.

US Team

The US team is made up of seven men and seven women. Seven of the athletes are returning from the team in Vancouver while four of them also competed in Turin. Three of those four are now on their fourth Olympics after having competed in Salt Lake City as well!

At this time I haven’t seen any information online about which athletes are going to compete in which events. Erring on the side of caution I’m not going to make any assumptions about this.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

US Cross-Country Skiing

Men:
Erik Bjornsen
Kris Freeman***
Brian Gregg
Simi Hamilton*
Noah Hoffman
Torin Koos***
Andy Newell**

Women:
Sadie Bjornsen
Holly Brooks*
Sophie Caldwell
Jessie Diggins
Kikkan Randall***
Ida Sargent
Liz Stephen*

* – Was on team in Vancouver
** – Was on team in Vancouver & Turin
*** – Was on team in Vancouver, Turin, & Salt Lake City

A Sochi 2014 Cross-Country Skiing list on twitter including all of these athletes

US Team’s Olympic History

Kris Freeman competed for the US in Vancouver in three different events. His best finish came in the 30km skiathlon where he finished in 45th with a time of 1:23:02.6. He finished 59th in the 15km freestyle event and did not finish the 50km classical event. Freeman was part of the US team in Turin as well where he finished 21st in the 15km classical event, 61st in the 50km classical event, and was part of a 4x10km relay team which finished 12th. Freeman’s first Olympic experience game in Salt Lake City where he was very competitive finishing 14th in the 20km skiathlon, 22nd in the 15km classical event, and was part of a 4x10km relay team that was 30 seconds away from a medal finishing in fifth.

Vancouver saw the debut of Simi Hamilton at the Olympics. He finished 64th in the 15km freestyle event in 36:41.6 and was part of the 4x10km relay team that finished 13th.

Torin Koos was part of the US team in Vancouver competing in that 4x10km team relay event where the US team finished 13th. Koos also was in the individual sprint event where he finished 36th for the third straight Olympics (more on that in a second), missing the quarterfinal round by 0.94 seconds. Koos also competed in the team sprint competition where he and Andrew Newell finished second in their semifinal group before being unable to match that time in the final and finishing ninth. In Turin, Koos was competing in the men’s individual sprint event where he finished 36th in the qualifying round, missing out on the quarterfinals by 1.01 seconds. Koos also finished in 36th in Salt Lake City in the same event.

As I just mentioned, Andy Newell teamed up with Torin Koos in Vancouver for a ninth place finish in the team sprint competition. Newell also competed in the individual sprint competition but finished 45th in the qualifying round to end his run. Newell was also teamed up with Koos as part of the team that finished 13th in the 4x10km team relay. Newell had a much better qualifying round in the Turin Olympics when he had the second highest qualifying time in the individual sprint event. Newell finished fourth in his quarterfinal group, eliminating him from the Olympics. Newell also teamed up with Chris Cook in the team sprint event. They finished seventh in their semifinal, not advancing to the final.

Holly Brooks competed for the US in five events in Vancouver. Her best individual finish was 36th in the 30km classical event with a time of 1:38:14.5. She also finished 42nd in the 10km freestyle, 56th in the 15km skiathlon, and 38th in the individual sprint event. She was also part of the women’s 4x5km relay team that finished 11th.

An experienced veteran, Kikkan Randall was the best competitor in cross-country for the US in Vancouver. Her best individual finish came in the individual sprint competition where she finished 10th in the qualifying round, advanced from her quarterfinal group after finishing third, and was eliminated when she finished fourth in her semifinal. Randall also competed as part of the 4x5km relay team that finished 11th and raced in the 30km classical event where she finished 24th, the best finish by any American in the non-sprint races. Randal teamed with Caitlin Compton in the team sprint competition. They finished third in their semifinal and sixth in the final.

Randall competed in four events in Turin. Her best individual finish was in the individual sprint event where she reached the semifinals before finishing fifth in her semifinal. She also finished 53rd in the 10km classical race and was part of a 4x5km relay team that finished 14th. She partnered with Wendy Kay Wagner to reach the final in the team sprint competition, ending up in tenth place. Randall made her Olympic debut in Salt Lake City where she didn’t finish in the 5km skiathlon and finished 44th in the individual sprint competition.

Making her Olympic debut in Vancouver, Liz Stephen competed in two events for the US. Stephen finished in 50th in the 10km freestyle event with a time of 27:41.1 and finished 58th in the 15km skiathlon.

Schedule

All Times ET, * indicates medals awarded

Saturday, February 8th
*5 AM – Ladies’ Skiathlon 7.5km Classic + 7.5 km Free

Sunday, February 9th
*5 AM – Men’s Skiathlon 15km Classic + 15km Free

Tuesday, February 11th
5 AM – Ladies’ Sprint Free Qualification
5:25 AM – Men’s Sprint Free Qualification
7 AM – Ladies’ Sprint Free Quarterfinals
7:25 AM – Men’s Sprint Free Quarterfinals
7:56 AM – Ladies’ Sprint Free Semifinals
8:06 AM – Men’s Sprint Free Semifinals
*8:22 AM – Ladies’ Sprint Free Finals
*8:30 AM – Men’s Sprint Free Finals

Thursday, February 13th
*5 AM – Ladies’ 10km Classic

Friday, February 14th
*5 AM – Men’s 15km Classic

Saturday, February 15th
*5 AM – Ladies’ Relay 4x5km

Sunday, February 16th
*5 AM – Men’s Relay 4x10km

Wednesday, February 19th
4:15 AM – Ladies’ Team Sprint Classic Semifinals
5:06 AM – Men’s Team Sprint Classic Semifinals
*6:45 AM – Ladies’ Team Sprint Classic Final
*7:15 AM – Men’s Team Sprint Classic Final

Saturday, February 22nd
*4:30 AM – Ladies’ 30km Mass Start Free

Sunday, February 23rd
*2 AM – Men’s 50km Mass Start Free

US Team’s Recent World Championship History

The FIS Nordic World Ski Championship is held every couple of years with the most recent in February 2013 in Val di Fiemme, Italy.

The men’s individual sprint competition started off well as Andy Newell posted the seventh best time in qualifying. He was the only American to reach the quarterfinals as Simi Hamilton finished 34th (1.08 seconds out of a quarterfinal spot) and Erik Bjornsen was 51st. Newell’s run didn’t last long though as he ended up fifth in his quarterfinal group, 0.9 seconds out of a semifinal group.

In the 15km freestyle event the top US competitor was Noah Hoffman who wound up with a solid 15th place finish. Erik Bjornsen also competed in this event and finished 48th.

In the 30km skiathlon the top US athlete was Kris Freeman who finished in 41st. He was followed closely by Noah Hoffman in 43rd.

Noah Hoffman was again the best US competitor in the 50km classical race when he finished 27th. Kris Freeman followed him in 37th while Erik Bjornsen finished 52nd.

Erik Bjornsen and Andy Newell teamed up for the team sprint event. They came in seventh in their heat and missed out on the final.

Newell also competed in the 4x10km relay with Kris Freeman, Noah Hoffman, and Tad Elliot. The group finished in 10th place about a minute behind the top three.

On the women’s side Kikkan Randall and Sophie Caldwell both advanced into the quarterfinals of the individual sprint event by finishing in 28th and 30th in the qualifying round respectively. Sadie Bjornsen and Ida Sargent both just missed the quarterfinals as they finished in 32nd and 33rd, both within 2/3 of a second of Caldwell. Caldwell and Randall both finished fourth in their quarterfinals to end their hopes.

In the 10km freestyle event Liz Stephen nearly got a medal for the US when she finished fifth, less than nine seconds off the bronze medal. Jessica Diggins (23rd), Holly Brooks (27th), and Kikkan Randal (30th) all also had good finishes for the US.

Liz Stephen was also the top finisher for the US in the 15km Skiathlon event where she took 20th place. Sadie Bjornsen and Ida Sargent again finished one-after-the-other (37th and 38th) while Holly Brooks finished 49th.

The 3okm classical event was a lot like the previous two events as Liz Stephen was once again the top American, this time in 16th place. Ida Sargent finished 25th while Jessica Diggins did not finish.

In the team sprint event Kikkan Randall teamed up with Jessica Diggins and posted not only the top time in their semifinal heat, but the top time in the semifinals by nearly seven seconds. Randall and Diggins backed that up in the final when they took home the gold for the US by a full 7.8 seconds.

Randall and Diggins teamed up with Liz Stephen and Sadie Bjornsen for the 4x5km team relay. The US team put up a great effort but finished fourth about 30 seconds behind Russia’s bronze medal winning team.

US Olympic History

As mentioned earlier, the US has only won one medal in cross-country skiing and that was a silver 38 years ago. Vancouver was tough for the US with no individuals reaching a sprint final or finishing a longer race any higher than 24th. The best US team finished in 6th.

On the men’s side in the 15km freestyle event the top US finisher was James Southam in 48th. Southam was also best in the 30km skiathlon where he finished 34th and the 50km classic event where he finished 28th. The US 4x10km relay team finished in 13th.

In sprint events the US sprint team did reach the final but finished 9th while the top individual was Simi Hamilton, the only American to reach the quarterfinal but finished 6th in his group.

Among US women in the 10km freestyle event the best athlete was Caitlin Compton who finished 30th. In the 15km skiathlon Compton was topped by Morgan Arritola who finished 38th. Kikkan Randall was the 3rd American to be the best from the US in an event when she was 24th in the 50km classic competition.

Randall again was tops in the individual sprint competition when she reached the semifinals before finishing 4th in her group, and she teamed with Compton to reach the final of the team sprint event before finishing 6th.

Ice Hockey, Olympic Previews, Olympics, Sochi 2014

Ice Hockey Preview

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It’s been a gold medal drought of 34 years for US men’s hockey and 16 years for US women’s hockey. After grabbing silver in both in Vancouver can the US finally overcome their neighbors from the North and take home a gold, or maybe even two, in Sochi?

Ice Hockey’s Olympic History

Ice hockey is one of the original Winter Olympic sports and, like figure skating, actually began at the Summer Olympics! Ice hockey was held for the first time at the 1920 in Antwerp before making the move to the Winter Olympics when they began in 1924. It’s been held ever since then but somewhat surprisingly the women’s event was not held until 1998 due to cost concerns.

Not surprisingly ice hockey has been dominated by two places known as hockey countries… Canada and the Soviet Union. Canada won six of the first seven men’s gold medals and has won three of the four women’s gold medals. Overall their 11 gold medals and 18 overall can not be matched. The Soviet Union competed in nine Olympics and medaled in all of them with seven gold medals and their only time not finishing in the top two came in 1960, not the 1980 “Miracle On Ice” tournament. The US does have the 2nd most total medals (15) though they have only won gold twice on the men’s side (and not since 1980) and once on the women’s side (16 years ago in the debut event in Nagano in 1998).

Since the breakup of the Soviet Union the men’s tournament has been wide open with four different teams winning it and three others finishing with the silver. The women’s tournament has seen less parity with the US and Canada taking home all but one of the golds and silvers in the four Olympics so far.

How the Ice Hockey Competitions Work

The men’s and women’s ice hockey competitions don’t work the same at the Olympics so we’ll have to discuss them separately. We’ll start with the women’s tournament as it will start four days before the men’s tournament.

The women’s tournament features eight teams in two groups of four. The US is in Group A with Canada, Finland, and Switzerland. Now if you know a lot about international women’s ice hockey you might notice those four nations are all ranked in the top five right now and includes all of the top three. Group of death you ask? Nope. The Olympics is structured in such a way that all four of these teams will advance to the knockout rounds where they will be joined by only two teams from Group B. In addition to that the top two teams from this group will be given byes to the semifinals while the bottom two teams from this group face the top two from Group B in the “quarterfinals”. The US will be tested in the group stage, but if they can finish in the top two they will have the inside track to the final.

On the men’s side we have 12 teams in three groups of four and no group is given an advantage over any other. After the group stage is complete all 12 teams will be ranked to seed the knockout round. The teams that win their groups will be the top three with the runner-ups four through six, and so on. Those groups of three are seeded based on the points in the group (three for a regulation win, two for an OT/shootout win, one for an OT/shootout loss, zero for a regulation loss) and goal differential is the tiebreaker. The top four will get byes to the quarterfinals while the bottom eight have to face off in the qualification playoffs first. From there on it’s just your standard tournament to get us to our medalists.

On the men’s side the US (IIHF ranking of #6) is joined in their group by Russia (#3), Slovakia (#8) and Slovenia (#17). The US will be fighting hard to try and top the group to make sure they get that bye into the quarterfinals.

US Team

The US men’s team is 25 strong with 13 returning from the silver medal team in Vancouver. The women’s team is 21 strong with 11 returning from their silver medal team in Vancouver and one player, Julie Chu, a three-time medalist looking to finally grab that gold medal.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

US Ice Hockey

Men:
David Backes* – Forward
Dustin Brown* – Forward
Ryan Callahan* – Forward
John Carlson – Defender
Justin Faulk – Defender
Cam Fowler – Defender
Jimmy Howard – Goalie
Patrick Kane* – Forward
Ryan Kesler* – Forward
Phil Kessel* – Forward
Paul Martin  – Defender
Ryan McDonagh – Defender
Ryan Miller* – Goalie
Brooks Orpik* – Defender
T.J. Oshie – Forward
Max Pacioretty – Forward
Zach Pairse* – Forward
Joe Pavelski* – Forward
Jonathan Quick* – Goalie
Kevin Shattenkirk – Defender
Paul Stastny* – Forward
Derek Stepan – Forward
Ryan Suter* – Defender
James van Riemsdyk – Forward
Blake Wheeler – Forward

Women:
Kacey Bellamy* – Defender
Megan Bozek – Defender
Alex Carpenter – Forward
Julie Chu*** – Forward
Kendall Coyne – Forward
Brianna Decker – Forward
Meghan Duggan* – Forward
Lyndsey Fry – Forward
Amanda Kessel – Forward
Hilary Knight* – Forward
Jocelyne Lamoureux* – Forward
Monique Lamoureux* – Forward
Gigi Marvin* – Defender
Brianne McLaughlin* – Goalie
Michelle Picard – Defender
Josephine Pucci – Defender
Molly Schaus* – Goalie
Anne Schleper – Defender
Kelli Stack* – Forward
Lee Stecklein – Defender
Jessie Vetter* – Goalie
* – Was on team in Vancouver
*** – Was on team in Vancouver, Turin, & Salt Lake City

A Sochi 2014 Ice Hockey list on twitter including all of these athletes

US Team’s Olympic History

The team the US is bringing to Sochi has a lot of experience with 13 members of the team returning from Vancouver. The US brings back the top goaltender from Vancouver, Ryan Miller. Miller had a GAA (Goals Against Average) of 1.35 which was second best by .01… not bad. He also led the Olympics with a 94.56% save percentage, recorded one shutout, was named to the all-tournament team and was named MVP. Jonathan Quick didn’t make an appearance in Vancouver but was part of the team.

On the defensive side Brooks Orpik appeared in every game for the US but didn’t register a goal or an assist. Ryan Suter got some defense started from the defense as he had four assists in the tournament.

Up front the US returns nine forwards from Vancouver, this should be a strong area for the US in Sochi. Dustin Brown didn’t score for the US at all but was an assistant captain there and returns as one of the veterans on this team. The multiple goal scorers for the US were Patrick Kane (3 goals, 2 assists), Zach Pairse (4 goals, 5 assists), and Ryan Kessler (2 goals). David Backes also scored (1 goal, 2 assists), as did Phil Kessel (1 goal, 1 assist) and Paul Stastny (1 goal, 2 assists). Ryan Callahan had 1 assist for the US while Joe Vaelski added 2 assists. Pairse was named to the all-tournament team as one of the top forwards.

On the women’s side the US returns all three goalies from Vancouver. Molly Schaus and Brianne McLaughlin each played in the 12-1 win over China before Jessie Vetter started the final four games for the US recording two shutouts and posting a 0.75 GAA and a 95.77% save percentage.

In defense the US has two returning players. Kacey Bellamy and Gigi Marvin. Marvin was a forward with the team in 2010 who had three assists while Bellamy is the only returning defender from a team that only gave up four goals. Bellamy had an assist herself in Vancouver.

Up front the US returns six players, all of whom scored for the US in Vancouver. The top goal scorers returning are Meghan Duggan who had 4 goals and Monique Lamoureux who had 4 goals and 6 assists. Kelli Stack had 3 goals herself to go along with 5 assists. Both Jocelyne Lamoureux and Julie Chu had 2 goals and 4 assists in Vancouver. Finally Hillary Knight had a whopping 7 assists but only registered a single goal.

Julie Chu is the only player on either the men’s or women’s team who has been to multiple Olympics. She was part of the bronze medal winning team in Turin where she had five assists for the US. She also won a silver in Salt Lake City when she had two goals and two assists for the US.

Schedule


All Times ET, * indicates medals awarded
Saturday, February 8th
3 AM – Women’s Preliminary Round – Group A – USA vs. Finland – Ice Hockey

Monday, February 10th
5 AM – Women’s Preliminary Round – Group A – USA vs. Switzerland – Ice Hockey

Wednesday, February 12th
7:30 AM – Women’s Preliminary Round – Group A – USA vs. Canada – Ice Hockey

Thursday, February 13th
7:30 AM – Men’s Preliminary Round – Group A – USA vs. Slovakia – Ice Hockey

Saturday, February 15th
7:30 AM – Men’s Preliminary Round – Group A – USA vs. Russia – Ice Hockey

Sunday, February 16th
7:30 AM – Men’s Preliminary Round – Group A – USA vs. Slovenia – Ice Hockey
Women’s Quarterfinals – TBD

Monday, February 17th
Women’s Semifinals – TBD

Tuesday, February 18th
Men’s Qualification Playoffs – TBD

Wednesday, February 19th
Men’s Quarterfinals – TBD

Thursday, February 20th
7 AM – Women’s Bronze Medal Game
12 PM – Women’s Gold Medal Game

Friday, February 21st
Men’s Semifinals – TBD

Saturday, February 22nd
10 AM – Men’s Bronze Medal Game

Sunday, February 23rd
7 AM – Men’s Gold Medal Game

US Recent World Championship History

The most recent world hockey championships were held in 2013. The men’s tournament was held in Sweden and Finland in May 2013 while the women’s tournament was held in Canada in early April.

The US men’s team was part of a eight-team group with Russia, Finland, Slovakia, Germany, Latvia, France, and Austria. The US came in as the fourth highest ranked team in that group but impressed by going 5-2 with the only losses to Russia (5-3) and Slovakia (4-1) to finish 3rd in their group and reach the playoff round. In the playoff round the US was forced to square off with Russia again and responded with a thumping 8-3 victory. The US then faced a Switzerland side that had come into the tournament ranked ninth but who had won every game they played in the tournament. The US fell 3-0 to fall into the bronze medal game against Finland. That game finished 2-2 but the Americans won a shootout to grab the bronze. Paul Stastny was named to the All-Tournament Team for the US with 15 points in the ten games.

The women’s tournament was conducted with the same format as the Olympics will be, so the US was in Group A with the other top three teams in the world. The US opened with a 2-2 game with Canada which they lost in a shootout before knocking off Finland 4-2 and Switzerland 5-0. That gave the US a 2nd place finish in their group and a bye into the semifinals. In the semifinals the US beat Finland 3-0 to advance to a rematch with Canada on their home turf. Three minutes into the third period with the score tied 2-2 Amanda Kessel scored for the US. The US held on for the 3-2 win and won the world championship over Canada. Amazingly despite winning the gold medal the US only placed one player, forward Brianna Decker, on the All-Tournament Team.

US Olympic History

On the men’s side the US has been to 21 Olympics (the most of any country out of 22 that have been held) and have had varying levels of success. The US has medaled in 11 of those 21 Olympics, including silvers in both Salt Lake City and Vancouver, but seven of those medals came in the first nine Olympic hockey tournaments. Before Salt Lake City the US went through a stretch of 22 years where they never finished higher than 4th and only once higher than 6th. In all the US has only medaled four times in the 13 Olympics since 1960. Their last medal away from North America was a silver in Sapporo, Japan… 42 years ago. Their last time with medals in consecutive Olympics was part of a stretch of three straight from 1952-1960. Needless to say the US can make some history on the men’s side in this Olympics.

On the women’s side the US has never finished worse than third and won the inaugural event in 1998. Still the US hasn’t been able to top Canada when it matters since that first tournament 16 years ago losing the gold medal games to them in 2002 and 2010. In 2006 the US lost their semifinal to Sweden 3-2. The US has an all-time record of 18-3 at the Olympics.

Figure Skating, Olympic Previews, Olympics, Sochi 2014

Figure Skating Preview

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The US has won multiple medals in figure skating at every Olympics except for one since 1994. The last time they won more than three though was in 1960. With a new event this year can the US win their most medals in 54 years?

The reigning Olympic men’s gold medalist is an American, but he’s not here this time. The US has been great in the ladies’ event, but they were held without a medal in Vancouver. Ice dancing has become a strong point for the US in recent years, but can the US medal for the third straight Olympics after not medaling in seven straight? If the US can medal in those three events (and that’s a big if of course) then a medal in the team event would give the US four. Certainly a possibility for the US in Sochi…

Figure Skating’s Olympic History

Figure Skating has been a part of the Olympics games longer than the Winter Olympics have existed! The first figure skating competitions were held at the 1908 Summer Olympics and again in the 1920 Summer Olympics. When the first Winter Olympics were held in 1924 men’s singles, ladies’ singles, and pairs events were a part of it and have remained ever since. Ice dancing became an Olympic event in 1976 and the program had remained unchanged since then until the new mixed team event will debut this year.

The US tops the medal chart by quite a bit with 46 medals. Their closest competitor is Russia who has 22 medals. Of course that doesn’t count the medals won by the old Soviet Union (24)  which shows you just how intense the rivalry between the US and Russia/the Soviet Union has been. 92 of the 240 total medals have been won between them. The US has 14 gold medals to the 12 by Russia. With Russia its been pretty make or break… 12 of their 22 medals are gold while the US has been pretty even with 14 golds, 16 silvers, and 16 bronzes.

How the Figure Skating Competitions Work

In mens, ladies, and pairs figure skating the short program is 2 minute and 50 seconds and the free skating is four minutes for ladies and 4 and a half minutes for men and pairs. In the short program there is a list of required elements that must be performed and if you go over the time limit you are penalized. In the free skating you are not, as you might think from the name, free to do whatever elements you want. There is more freedom, but they still restrict the types of elements they want in a program. You are to finish within 10 seconds of the limit either way in free skating.

These programs are scored using the ISU Judging System and to try and explain that in depth would take ages. Just know that there is no “perfect score” in figure skating anymore… this is not going for a perfect 6. Scores will be based on what elements are completed and how well they are executed. Sum the scores from the two parts (short and free) and you have your final scores. In these events the free skating competition will be limited to only the top performers from the short program. In Vancouver this was the Top 24.

Ice dancing uses the same scoring system but doesn’t involve throws and jumps. Think of it as… dancing… on ice. It involves a short dance, which is 1/2 a required pattern and 1/2 your own routine, and a free dance which is more up to the skaters (with the obvious required elements).

This will be the first time the team event is contested at the Olympics. It will involve one man, one woman, one pair, and one ice dancing couple competing in both the short and free routines. Add up the scores from everyone and you’ll have the team score.

US Team

The US Team is composed of two men and three women who will compete individually. There are also two couples who will be competing in the pairs event and three who will be competing in the ice dancing event. Four people on the team are back from Vancouver.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

US Figure Skating

Men:
Jeremy Abbott*
Jason Brown

Ladies:
Polina Edmunds
Gracie Gold
Ashley Wagner

Pairs:
Nathan Bartholomay & Felicia Zhang
Marissa Castelli & Simon Shnapir

Ice Dancing:
Evan Bates* & Madison Chock
Meryl Davis* & Charlie White*
Alex Shibutani & Maia Shibutani
* – Was on team in Vancouver

A Sochi 2014 Figure Skating list on twitter including all of these athletes

US Team’s Olympic History

Jeremy Abbott competed for the US in the men’s singles event in Vancouver. Abbott fell behind in the short program when he finished 15th but was better in the free program when he finished 9th and was able to pull his total score up enough to finish 9th overall, well behind 8th.

In Vancouver we saw Evan Bates compete in the ice dancing competition, but with a different partner in Emily Samuelson. Their compulsory dance (the event has changed some) routine left them in 14th and out of medal contention. They did improve on that in the original dance portion with an 11th place finish. Then there was a 3rd part, a free dance, where they also finished 11th. They ended up in 11th for their final standings.

Meryl Davis & Charlie White are back for their 2nd straight Olympics and will look to improve on Vancouver, though there isn’t much room for that! They started things off with a 3rd in the compulsory dance and despite finishing 2nd in both the original dance and free dance portions they couldn’t get any higher than 2nd overall.

Schedule

All Times ET, * indicates medals awarded

Thursday, February 6th
10:30 AM – Team Men’s Short Program
12:10 PM – Team Pairs’ Short Program

Saturday, February 8th
9:30 AM – Team Ice Dance Short Dance
11:10 AM – Team Ladies’ Short Program
1:05 PM – Team Pairs’ Free Skating

Sunday, February 9th
10 AM – Team Men’s Free Skating
11:05 AM – Team Ladies’ Free Skating
*12:10 PM – Team Ice Dance Free Dance

Tuesday, February 11th
10 AM – Pairs’ Short Program

Wednesday, February 12th
*10:45 AM – Pairs’ Free Skating

Thursday, February 13th
10 AM – Men’s Short Program

Friday, February 14th
*10 AM – Men’s Free Skating

Sunday, February 16th
10 AM – Ice Dance Short Dance

Monday, February 17th
*10 AM – Ice Dance Free Dance

Wednesday, February 19th
10 AM – Ladies’ Short Program

Thursday, February 20th
*10 AM – Ladies’ Free Skating

Saturday, February 22nd
11:30 AM – Gala Exhibition

US Team’s Recent World Championship History

The World Figure Skating Championship is held every year with the most recent in March 2013 in London, England.

Two of the ladies’ singles team competed in the World Championship. Ashley Wagner was 5th after the short program while Gracie Gold was in 9th. Wagner was 6th in the free program but still finished 5th overall while Gold was 5th in the free program and ended up 6th overall.

In the pairs’ event one of the US Olympic couples, Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir, competed and finished 13th in the short program and 12th in the free program to end up 13th overall.

Ice dancing is the most interesting to look at as all three US Olympic couples, Evan Bates & Madison Chock, Meryl Davis & Charlie White, and Alex Shibutani & Maia Shibutani, took part. The Shibutanis came in 8th in the short dance and 9th in the free dance to place 8th overall. Chock and Bates finished 7th in the short dance and 6th in the free dance but ended up 7th overall. Finally, Davis and White were the top couple in both the short dance and free dance to take home the gold medal. Davis and White were the only Americans to medal at the World Championship.

US Olympic History

The US as a country has won the men’s singles competition seven times, but only once since 1988. That was just four years ago when Evan Lysacek ended a Russian run that had reached four Olympics in a row. The US only has one bronze and one silver in addition to Lysacek’s gold since 1988. 

The US has had seven gold medals as well on the ladies’ side, but their success has been more recent with 3 of the 5 gold medal winners from 1992-2002 coming from the US. The last two Olympics have not been kind for the US though as Sasha Cohen’s silver in Torino is the only medal for the US. In Vancouver the US was held without a medal on the ladies’ side for the first time since 1964; though Mirai Nagasu came close, finishing in 4th.

The US has never won the pairs competition and all three of their silver medals were won by 1984. The last US pair to medal, Jill Watson and Peter Oppegard, won bronze in 1988. In Vancouver the top scoring US team of Amanda Evora/Mark Ladwig finished in 10th.

For many years ice dancing was perhaps the hardest figure skating event for the US to medal in. After grabbing a bronze in the debut of the event in 1976 the US did not win another medal until 2006. Now the US has won 2 straight silver medals and is looking to grab that elusive gold in Sochi. Meryl Davis and Charlie White are back for their 2nd straight Olympics after grabbing the silver in Vancouver.

The new team event has no Olympic history so far.

Freestyle Skiing, Olympic Previews, Olympics, Sochi 2014

Freestyle Skiing Preview

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The US has the most medals of all countries in freestyle skiing and won four medals in Vancouver including a gold in women’s moguls. That was the first time the US had won a gold though since they won 3 in Nagano 16 years ago and was a huge improvement on winning only a single bronze in Turin. Can the US duplicate their success from Vancouver and take home another gold in Sochi?

Freestyle Skiing’s Olympic History

Freestyle skiing started as a demonstration event in 1988 and became an official event in 1992. After having 4 events from 1994 through 2006 two made a debut in 2010 while four more events will debut this year. Only men’s and women’s moguls and aerials have been part of the freestyle skiing program since its debut.

The US has been the top country in freestyle skiing with 14 medals, but that’s only a share of the 72 total medals awarded. 16 countries othr than the US have been awarded medals including 12 who have won gold medals. The US does have the most gold medals as well with six of the 24 awarded.

How the Freestyle Skiing Competitions Work

The first freestyle skiing events will be in the moguls category. Moguls involves the athlete skiing down a hill that has a lot of moguls (bumps) on it. An athlete is not just judged based on their speed in moguls (though that is an element). They are also judged on how well they turn through the moguls and how they do on two jumps in the course. Their will be a qualifying run to get the field down to the top 20 and then a final run that will determine the medal winners.

Next up will be the ski slopestyle competition. This is a new event this year in the Olympics. If you read the snowboarding preview you’ll know most of how this works. The athletes ski down a slope that has various obstacles and jumps on it. They’ll perform tricks on the obstacles and be judged on their tricks. Athletes will get two runs to try to get their best score. There will be a qualifying round and then a final round to determine the medalists.

After the slopestyle competition the Olympics will return to one of the original events, aerials. In aerials an athlete will make two runs, each consisting of a single jump and be judged on those jumps. And these jumps are pretty legit with some great air, no moguls here. Combining the score from the two jumps will determine each athletes total score. In qualifying the top 12 athletes based on their two jumps will move on to the final round. The final round is contested the same way to determine the medal winners.

Next up will be another newcomer, the ski halfpipe event. This event is run just like the aforementioned slopestyle competition, except in a halfpipe instead of on a slope with obstacles. Essentially it’s the same event as the snowboard halfpipe event, just on skis.

The final competition is the ski cross competition. This event is back for its 2nd straight Olympics. This analogous event here is snowboard cross. An individual run down the course will determine the top 32 times and the four man groups for the 1/8 finals. Once we reach this point the top two in each four man run will advance to the next round as we go from 32 to 16 to 8 to 4 and then our medalists.

US Team

The team is made up of 12 men and 14 women. Only five of the 26 athletes were part of the team in Vancouver while two of them were part of the team in Salt Lake City.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

US Freestyle Skiing

Men:
Aaron Blunck – Halfpipe
Mac Bohonnon – Aerials
Bobby Brown – Slopestyle
Joss Christensen – Slopestyle
Lyman Currier – Halfpipe
Patrick Deneen* – Moguls
Nick Goepper – Slopestyle
Gus Kenworthy – Slopestyle
John Teller – Ski cross
Bradley Wilson – Moguls
David Wise – Halfpipe
Torin Yater-Wallace – Halfpipe

Women:
Maddie Bowman – Halfpipe
Ashley Caldwell* – Aerials
Emily Cook** – Aerials
Annalisa Drew – Halfpipe
Keri Herman – Slopestyle
Hannah Kearney** – Moguls
Heidi Kloser – Moguls
Julia Krass – Slopestyle
Devin Logan – Slopestyle
Heather McPhie* – Moguls
Eliza Outtrim – Moguls
Brita Sigourney – Halfpipe
Angeli VanLaanen – Halfpipe
Maggie Voisin – Slopestyle
* – Was on team in Vancouver
** – Was on team in Vancouver & Turin

A Sochi 2014 Freestyle Skiing list on twitter including all of these athletes

US Team’s Olympic History

Patrick Deneen is the only man on the freestyle skiing team with previous Olympic experience. Deneen was on the team in Vancouver competing in moguls where he qualified in 10th for the finals. Deneen was unable to land a clean run in the final and thus was not scored finishing in 19th.

In Vancouver Ashley Caldwell competed in the aerials event. After finishing 16th on her first jump Caldwell posted a top ten jump on her 2nd and qualified for the finals in the 12th and final place. In the finals Caldwell finished 10th.

Emily Cook also competed in that same aerials event. Cook did a bit better in qualifying where she finished fifth including the third best score on the second jump. Unfortunately Cook couldn’t keep that same form in the final where she ended up 11th of 12 competitors. Cook’s 11th place finish was an improvement on Turin where she was unable to get out of the qualifying phase as she finished 19th.

One of the US stars in Vancouver was Hannah Kearney who had the best qualifying run in moguls and followed that back up with the top final run to win the gold medal by almost a full point with a score of 26.63. Kearney’s success was a big accomplishment after a disappointing Turin Olympics where she finished 22nd in the qualifying run and didn’t advance to the final.

Heather McPhie was also in the moguls competition for the US in Vancouver and did post the third best qualifying run. Unfortunately for McPhie she wasn’t able to duplicate that run in the final and after some mistakes finished in 18th place.

Schedule

All Times ET, * indicates medals awarded
Thursday, February 6th
9 AM – Women’s Moguls Qualification 1

Saturday, February 8th
9 AM – Women’s Moguls Qualification 2
1 PM – Women’s Moguls Final 1
1:35 PM – Women’s Moguls Final 2
*2:10 PM – Women’s Moguls Final 3

Monday, February 10th
9 AM – Men’s Moguls Qualification 1
9:50 AM – Men’s Moguls Qualification 2
1 PM – Men’s Moguls Final 1
1:35 PM – Men’s Moguls Final 2
*2:10 PM – Men’s Moguls Final 3

Tuesday, February 11th
1 AM – Women’s Ski Slopestyle Qualification
*4 AM – Women’s Ski Slopestyle Final

Thursday, February 13th
1:15 AM – Men’s Ski Slopestyle Qualification
*4:30 AM – Men’s Ski Slopestyle Final

Friday, February 14th
8:45 AM – Women’s Aerials Qualification 1
9:30 AM – Women’s Aerials Qualification 2
12:30 PM – Women’s Aerials Final 1
12:55 PM – Women’s Aerials Final 2
*1:12 PM – Women’s Aerials Final 3

Saturday, February 15th
8:45 AM – Men’s Aerials Qualification 1
9:30 AM – Men’s Aerials Qualification 2
12:30 PM – Men’s Aerials Final 1
12:55 PM – Men’s Aerials Final 2
*1:12 PM – Men’s Aerials Final 3

Tuesday, February 18th
8:45 AM – Men’s Ski Halfpipe Qualification
*12:30 PM – Men’s Ski Halfpipe Final

Thursday, February 20th
2:45 AM – Men’s Ski Cross Seeding
4:30 AM – Men’s Ski Cross 1/8 Finals
5:05 AM – Men’s Ski Cross Quarterfinals
5:25 AM – Men’s Ski Cross Semifinals
*5:39 AM – Men’s Ski Cross Finals
9:30 AM – Women’s Ski Halfpipe Qualification
*12:30 PM – Women’s Ski Halfpipe Final

US Team’s Recent World Championship History

The FIS Freestyle World Ski Championship is held every couple of years with the most recent in March 2013 in Voss, Norway.

The men’s moguls event featured US Olympians Patrick Deneen and Bradley Wilson. Both had great first qualifying runs and reached the final without needing a second run. In the final Wilson came in eighth but Deneen put up a great time and took home the bronze.

In ski cross John Teller had a good qualifying run, 11th best overall, and easily qualified for the 1/8 round. Teller won his 1/8 final and then snuck through to the semifinals with a second place finish in his quarterfinal group. He then got into the final by finishing second in his semifinal. In the final he came in 3rd to take home the bronze.

Three of the four US Olympians in the halfpipe event took part in the world championship. All three made it through to the final with David Wise second in qualifying, Torin Yater-Wallace in third, and Aaron Blunck in ninth. All three were very competitive in the final with only Blunck not medaling in sixth. The US ended up going one-two as David Wise took the gold and Torin Yater-Wallace taking the silver.

In the slopestyle competition two US Olympians competed with both Nick Goepper (1st) and Gus Kenworthy (5th) advancing to the final. Kenworthy slipped to sixth in the final while Goepper slipped as well but still took home the bronze medal.

On the women’s side in the moguls competition three of the four US Olympians were part of the field. All three made the final after qualifying as Hannah Kearney finished first, Heather McPhie was third, and Eliza Outtrim was sixth. Kearney was able to keep her place at the top in the final while McPhie had a poor second run and finished fourth. Outtrim had a poor first run and ended up 13th.

Two US Olympians took part in the halfpipe event. Angeli VanLaanen put up a good first run so second run problems still left her in seventh and qualified for the final. Annalisa Drew didn’t score as high in qualifying but still was tenth, moving her into the final as well. In the final neither skiier could match their qualifying scores and VanLaanen ended up sixth with Drew ending up ninth.

In the aerials event Emily Cook was going for the US. Cook used her second qualifying run to reach the final. She wasn’t able to reach the top eight in the final though after one run so she was eliminated and finished in 10th.

US Olympic History

The men’s moguls competition is one of the originals and the US has medaled in five of the six competitions so far, only failing in 1994. Unfortunately these five medals have only resulted in one gold (1998) and one silver (2002). In Vancouver Bryon Wilson came in third for the US to grab the bronze.

In the five Olympics that have had the men’s aerials competition the US has won three medals, a gold (1998) and two silvers, and has medaled in three of the last four Olympics. In Vancouver Jeret Peterson was top dog for the US as he grabbed the silver.

With only one Olympics so far ski cross doesn’t have a deep medal history, and that history doesn’t include the US at all. The US had two skiers in the field but after Casey Puckett led the way by qualifying 18th both were knocked out in the 1/8 round. Nowhere but up from there for John Teller this year!

The women’s side has been a bit brighter lately for the US. The Americans won two medals in moguls for the first time in Vancouver with Hannah Kearney taking the gold and Shannon Bahrke grabbing bronze. They have now won five medals overall including two golds in women’s moguls. Duplicating the two medals this time will be a challenge for the US!

Women’s aerials hasn’t been so kind to the US with only one medal by the US out of the five Olympics its been contested in. That was a gold won by Nikki Stone in 1998. In Vancouver the US placed three in the final 12 but all struggled in the final with Lacy Schnoor the top finisher from the US in 9th.

The halfpipe and slopestyle competitions are in their first year, so of course there’s no history at the Olympics in those events.

Olympic Previews, Olympics, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014

Snowboarding Preview

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The US has been the best nation in snowboarding at the Olympics, but with four new events this year the program has changed again. The US holds the record with seven snowboarding medals in Turin. With 20 competitors competing in a combined 22 events, can the US top that in Sochi?

Snowboarding’s Olympic History

Snowboarding is one of the newer sports in the Olympics having made its debut in 1998. Snowboarding began with just four events: halfpipe and giant slalom for both men and women. The events have changed some since then and with four new events this year there are now ten, five each for men and women. Only the halfpipe competitions remain from the original program in 1998.

The US has dominated in snowboarding winning 22 of the 63 available medals. The closest competitor is Switzerland who has won nine medals and five golds (compared to seven for the US). In all 14 nations have medaled in snowboarding with seven of them winning golds.

How the Snowboarding Competitions Work

The first events held in Sochi will be in the slopestyle category. It will be the debut of this even in the Olympics. Athletes will snowboard down a slope that involves jumps, rails, and other obstacles that allow them to perform tricks and jumps. They are then judged on these tricks and jumps and given a score. The competitions involve a qualifying round, a semifinal round, and then a final round. In each round the competitors get two runs and the best scoring athletes move into the next round.

The halfpipe competition is conducted similarly, though the runs are in a halfpipe instead of down a mountain slope. In Vancouver they took the top nine scorers from two qualifying heats to advance to the semifinals. They gave the top three from each heat byes into the final round while the other 12 snowboarders competed in the semifinals for six more spots in the final round.

Snowboard cross is a race event over a course that includes obstacles such as jumps and moguls. On the women’s side qualifying runs will determine the top 16 competitors and they’ll be divided into groups of four for quarterfinal runs where the top two finishers in each group move on. After the same is down with two groups of four semifinalists we’ll have the field for the final group of four for the medal race.  The men’s side is conducted the same way except their qualifying gets them down to 32 and they have one more round of group of four racing before the quarterfinals.

Parallel giant slalom is another racing event, but this time instead of competing in groups of four the athletes will compete head-to-head with the winner moving on. The qualifying runs for this event setup a bracket featuring the top 16 athletes. The quicker athlete down the course in the matchups after that move on. Red and blue flags dictate which side an athlete must go causing the back and forth turning down the slope.

Parallel slalom is conducted similarly to the parallel giant slalom event. The difference is the flags are closer together and the course a lot shorter. This requires the athletes to make quicker cuts back and forth than in giant slalom where they can go faster down the course overall.

US Team

The US team is 12 men and 11 women. Eight of the athletes were part of the team in Vancouver while five were also on the team in Turin and one was even part of the team in Salt Lake City.

Links are to twitter accounts for the athletes.

US Snowboarding

Men:
Nick Baumgartner* – Snowboard cross
Greg Bretz* – Halfpipe
Danny Davis – Halfpipe
Alex Deibold – Snowboard cross
Taylor Gold – Halfpipe
Chas Guldemond – Slopestyle
Nate Holland** – Snowboard cross
Trevor Jacob – Snowboard cross
Sage Kotsenburg – Slopestyle
Justin Reiter – Parallel giant slalom and parallel slalom
Ryan Stassel – Slopestyle
Shaun White** – Halfpipe and slopestyle

Women:
Jamie Anderson – Slopestyle
Kelly Clark*** – Halfpipe
Kaitlyn Farrington – Halfpipe
Arielle Gold – Halfpipe
Faye Gulini* – Snowboard cross
Jackie Hernandez – Snowboard cross
Lindsey Jacobellis** – Snowboard cross
Jessika Jensen – Slopestyle
Karly Shorr – Slopestyle
Hannah Teter** – Halfpipe
Ty Walker – Slopestyle
* – Was on team in Vancouver
** – Was on team in Vancouver & Turin
*** – Was on team in Vancouver, Turin & Salt Lake City

A Sochi 2014 Snowboarding list on twitter including all of these athletes

US Team’s Olympic History

Nick Baumgartner is back for his 2nd straight Olympics in the men’s snowboard cross event. In Vancouver Baumgartner finished 13th in qualifying, 2nd best of all Americans, but was eliminated when he came in last in his 1/8 final.

In Vancouver Greg Bretz competed in the men’s halfpipe competition. He qualified in 4th from his heat into the semifinals and reached the finals after finishing 2nd in the semifinals. Unfortunately he couldn’t put a solid run together in the final and finished 12th.

Nate Holland competed for the US in snowboard cross in Vancouver. Holland came in 15th in the qualification round but finished 1st in his group in the 1/8 finals, 2nd in the quarterfinals, and 1st in the semifinals to reach the final round. Sadly he came in last in the final, the only one of the final four not to medal. It was an improvement though on his Turin performance. In Turin he was better in qualifying (7th) but got knocked out when he finished 4th in his quarterfinal group. He went on to be ranked 14th in the final standings.

Shaun White was one of the show stealers in Vancouver. White put up the top qualifying score to advance straight to the finals. In the finals his first run was better than what anyone else could do through two runs, leaving him at the top of the halfpipe with a gold medal guaranteed. This allowed him to really go for it on his 2nd run… and the result was a spectacular 48.4 score.  In 2006 White competed in the same halfpipe competition in Turin. He was 7th after his first run (top 6 automatically moved you to the final) but he put up a 45.3 on his 2nd run to post the top score of any qualifying run and reach the final. In the final he was by far the best and won the gold.

In Vancouver Kelly Clark was the top US athlete in qualifying in the halfpipe competition. Her score of 45.4 was good enough to get her straight to the final. Unfortunately she couldn’t match that score in the final and her top score of 42.2 was only enough for a bronze. Clark’s bronze though was an improvement on Turin. After being the best athlete on her first qualifying run her two runs in the final left her in 4th with a 41.1, knowing her qualifying run would have gotten her a silver if she’d done it during the finals. Clark does have a gold medal in her history though, won on American soil when she had the best qualifying run and best final run (47.9) in Salt Lake City.

Faye Gulini is back for her 2nd straight Olympics in the snowboard cross event. In Vancouver Gulini was 12th in qualifying but finished 3rd in her quarterfinal to end her Olympics.

Lindsey Jacobellis was the most successful US woman in snowboard cross in Vancouver. Jacobellis qualified in 2nd place and won her quarterfinal, but her semifinal run found her in 4th in her group and despite winning the consolation final she placed just 5th. Competing in the same event in Turin she was 3rd in qualifying and after advancing through the quarterfinals and semifinals she was 2nd in the final to win a silver medal.

Hannah Teter just out did her teammate Kelly Clark in the halfpipe in Vancouver. After finishing 4th in the qualifying runs she moved straight to the final where her score of 42.4 just edged out Clark to get a silver medal. The silver though was a step down from Turin where she raised her score significantly from 39.9 in qualifying to 46.4 on her 2nd run in the final, taking home a gold medal with the best run of the event.

Schedule

All Times ET, * indicates medals awarded
Thursday, February 6th
1 AM – Men’s Slopestyle Qualification
5 AM – Women’s Slopestyle Qualification

Saturday, February 8th
12:30 AM – Men’s Slopestyle Semifinals
*3:45 PM – Men’s Slopestyle Finals

Sunday, February 9th
1:30 AM – Women’s Slopestyle Semifinals
*4:15 AM – Women’s Slopestyle Finals

Tuesday, February 11th
5 AM – Men’s Halfpipe Qualification
10 AM – Men’s Halfpipe Semifinals
*12:30 PM – Men’s Halfpipe Finals

Wednesday, February 12th
5 AM – Women’s Halfpipe Qualification
10 AM – Women’s Halfpipe Semifinals
*12:30 PM – Women’s Halfpipe Finals

Sunday, February 16th
2 AM – Women’s Snowboard Cross Seeding
4:15 AM – Women’s Snowboard Cross Quarterfinals
4:31 AM – Women’s Snowboard Cross Semifinals
*4:45 AM – Women’s Snowboard Cross Finals

Monday, February 17th
2 AM – Men’s Snowboard Cross Seeding
4:30 AM – Men’s Snowboard Cross 1/8 Finals
5:01 AM – Men’s Snowboard Cross Quarterfinals
5:13 AM – Men’s Snowboard Cross Semifinals
*5:17 AM – Men’s Snowboard Cross Finals

Wednesday, February 19th
12:15 AM – Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Qualification
4 AM – Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom 1/8 Finals
4:24 AM – Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Quarterfinals
4:37 AM – Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Semifinals
*4:48 AM – Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Finals

Saturday, February 22nd
12:15 AM – Men’s Parallel Slalom Qualification
4:15 AM – Men’s Parallel Slalom 1/8 Finals
4:31 AM – Men’s Parallel Slalom Quarterfinals
4:50 AM – Men’s Parallel Slalom Semifinals
*5:03 AM – Men’s Parallel Slalom Finals

US Team’s Recent World Championship History

The FIS Snowboarding World Championship is held every couple of years with the most recent in January 2013 in Stoneham-et-Tewkesbury, Quebec. I’m sure you’re all familiar with that locale. Not all of the top competitors competed, at least in part because the Winter X Games ran during some of the same time. Why anyone would allow that to happen is beyond me…

In the men’s halfpipe competition the only US Olympian to compete was Taylor Gold. Gold finished in 20th place in the qualifying round just missing out on a chance to move into the semifinals.

The snowboard cross event did feature US Olympian Nick Baumgartner. Baumgartner had the fifth best qualifying round run and won his 1/8 final to reach the quarterfinals. He placed second in his quarterfinal to reach the semifinals but his run ended there as he finished last in his semifinal group. He did win the small (consolation) final to finish seventh overall.

In the slopestyle competition three US Olympians, Ryan Stassel, Sage Kostenburg, and Chas Guldemond all made it through the qualifying round into the final. In the final Kostenburg never landed a clean run and finished 20th, Guldemond finished 11th, and Ryan Stassel came in seventh.

In the parallel giant slalom event Justin Reiter had a solid qualifying run to place himself 10th for the elimination bracket. He was however knocked out by the seven seen in the round of 16.

Reiter was also competing in the parallel slalom event where his qualifying run was even a little better placing him seventh. Reiter knocked off the ten seed and then beat the #15 seed and the three seed to reach the final. In the final Reiter finished 0.6 seconds too late and ended up with the silver medal.

On the women’s side in the snowboard cross competition the only US Olympian was Faye Gulini. Gulini placed 15th in her qualifying run to reach the quarterfinals but finished 4th in her group to end her stay.

There were two US Olympians in the halfpipe competition, Arielle Gold and Kaitlyn Farrington. Both qualified for the final in their qualifying run though neither could match their qualifying scores in the final. For Farrington that meant finishing in 4th but Gold was still able to post the top score in the final and take home the world championship.

The slopestyle competition featured two of the American Olympians, Ty Walker and Jessika Jenson. Jenson finished the qualifying round in 9th place, which unfortunately in this competition doesn’t advance you at all. Walker however finished 4th to move into the six woman final. In the final Walker couldn’t land a clean run and finished 5th.

US Olympic History

The US has dominated the men’s halfpipe competition in the four Olympics where it has been contested. Three straight gold medal winners have come from the US and the US has had multiple medalists the last three times including a sweep of the medal stand in Salt Lake City.

The men’s parallel giant slalom competition hasn’t been so kind. The US has won just won medal, a bronze in 2002, in this competition. In Vancouver there were two men in the round of 16, seeded 7th and 16th, for the US. The 16th seed advanced on a disqualification of his opponent and finished 7th overall while the 7th seed was eliminated in the round of 16.

Men’s snowboard cross has produced back-to-back gold medals from the US, but Seth Wescott is not back to defend those so the US will have to find a new champion if they want to win three straight.

On the women’s side the US has been the best country in halfpipe, though not as dominant as the men. Six of the 12 medals have gone to the US including two of the four golds. The US has won multiple medals in consecutive Olympics, but they haven’t won the gold since 2006.

In the two Olympics where women’s snowboard cross has been contested the US has only a single silver medal so far. Last year Lindsey Jacobellis came in 4th in her semifinal and ended up 5th overall.

The new Olympic events of slopestyle and parallel slalom are in the first Olympics, so no history to speak of there.