The first day of competition for the US had some bright spots and several not so bright spots. Three of the four events that began were new to the Olympics so let’s dive right in!

Freestyle Skiing

The only event to begin on Thursday was the women’s moguls event. 30 athletes made up the field for the first qualifying round where each athlete got one run and the top ten scores moved into the final. The other twenty will compete for the last ten spots in the final in a second round of qualifying on Saturday.

One of the worst parts of Thursday for the US was the warm-up crash of 21-year-old and first-time Olympian Heidi Kloser. Kloser injured her right knee and had to be taken to the hospital. Knee injuries are no surprise when you watch moguls, but to have one of the Americans go down injured so quickly on day one was really sad to see.

Things got better though as Eliza Outtrim and Heather McPhie were the first two competitors to take to the slope. Outtrim put up a great 21.51 score that led the field for quite a while before she ended up finishing fourth and easily moving into the final. McPhie put up a good score as well but her 19.92 didn’t stay in the top ten for too long and she ended up 14th. The good news is that makes her fourth best of those who will have to try to qualify again on Saturday and perhaps this will be some good extra practice. She should make the final.

The final American to go was the favorite, Hannah Kearney. Kearney delivered another knockout run and easily qualified for the final on Saturday with a first place score of 23.05.

Results Summarized:

• Heidi Kloser – Injured right knee in warm-up crash and did not start event.
• Eliza Outtrim – Fourth best run with a 21.51. Into final beginning at 1 PM ET on Saturday.
• Heather McPhie – 14th best run with a 19.92. Will have to try to qualify for the final in qualifying round two at 9 AM ET on Saturday.
• Hannah Kearney – Top run with a score of 23.05. Into final beginning at 1 PM ET on Saturday.

Figure Skating

Thursday was the debut of the new team event and featured both the men’s and pairs’ short programs. The men started things off and the US picked Jeremy Abbott as their participant. Abbott struggled in his program as he fell and received just a 65.65 to place seventh and grab only four points for the US. In the pairs’ program Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir put together a cleaner program but still only scored a 64.25 to grab fifth place and six points. It’s worth noting that the pairs’ event is the weakest for the US so this was a good result and let the US catch both Germany and France to reach a three-way tie for fifth place. That’s important since only the top five get to continue after the short programs.

Photo Credit: nabechiko29 via Compfight cc

Results Summarized:

• Jeremy Abbott – Only the seventh best in men’s short program with a score of 65.65
• Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir – Fifth place in the pair’s short program with a 64.25.
• US Team – Currently in a tie for fifth place with Germany and France. The next two competitions are the ice dance short dance (9:30 AM ET Saturday) and the ladies’ short program (11:10 AM ET Saturday). After these two rounds the bottom five countries are cut before the top five will have the pairs’ free skate at 1:05 PM ET on Saturday.

Snowboarding

Another event debuted on Thursday, the men’s and women’s slopestyle competitions. Before the men’s event had even begun Shaun White had pulled out leaving just three Americans in the field. Chas Guldemond was in the first heat where he put up an 86.00 on his first run to place second. Unfortunately he got topped by three guys on their second runs and he couldn’t improve so his score left him in fifth place, just missing out on an automatic berth into the final. Guldemond will be in the semifinal which begins at 12:30 AM ET Saturday morning.

Heat two featured Sage Kotsenburg and Ryan Stassel. This heat saw some top scores in the first run and Kotsenburg’s 86.50 left him fifth while Stassel scored 81.00 and was still sixth. Neither athlete could improve on the second run and they slid to eighth and ninth in the heat so both will be in the semifinal on Saturday morning at 12:30 AM ET.

On the women’s side all four Americans were in heat two. Ty Walker was first up but decided not to try to make the final today due to some injuries she’s suffered this week. Instead she just came down the course not attempting jumps in order to qualify for the semifinal on Sunday morning at 1:30 AM ET. She’s hoping she’ll be feeling better by then and can make a run at a berth in the final.

Jamie Anderson was healthy on the other hand and her first run of 93.50 was the best of the first runs. She was so far ahead of most of the field that she elected to skip her second run and go with that score. She was plenty safe in the end as she ended up second and fifth place was all the way back at 77.75, no danger at all. Anderson will be in Sunday’s final at 4:15 AM ET.

That left Karly Shorr and Jessika Jenson who were the last two on each set of runs. Run one left Shorr with a 45 and Jenson with a 34 knowing they’d have to land a better run to advance straight to the final. Shorr’s second run needed to beat 77.75 and she did that easily by posting a 84.75 and moving into fourth. Jenson was the only one left who could bump her from advancing straight to the final but Jenson scored only a 58.50 and finished seventh. Shorr moved straight into the final at 4:15 AM ET on Sunday while Jenson will have to try and qualify for it out of the semifinal at 1:30 AM ET on Sunday.

Results Summarized:

• Chas Guldemond – Fifth best in his heat with an 86.00. Will have to qualify out of semifinal on Saturday at 12:30 AM ET.
• Sage Kotsenburg – Eighth best in his heat with an 86.50. Will have to qualify out of semifinal on Saturday at 12:30 AM ET.
• Ryan Stassel – Ninth best in his heat with an 81.00. Will have to qualify out of semifinal on Saturday at 12:30 AM ET.
• Ty Walker – Dealing with injuries scored a 1.00 by skipping tricks. That allows her to try again in semifinals though. Will have to qualify out of semifinal on Sunday at 1:30 AM ET.
• Jamie Anderson – After scoring a 93.50 on her first run she skipped her second and finished second in her heat to advance to the final on Sunday at 4:15 AM ET.
• Karly Shorr – Scored a 84.75 on her second run to jump into fourth. She held on for the last spot from the heat into the final on Sunday (4:15 AM ET).
• Jessika Jenson – Second run score of 58.50 was only good enough for seventh in her heat. Will have to qualify out of semifinal on Sunday at 1:30 AM ET.