Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing, Daily Olympic Reviews, Figure Skating, Luge, Olympics, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

February 9th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

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Second day of medals awarded and two more medals for the US, another gold and another bronze. Some disappointments as well though for the US today.

Alpine Skiing

Events:

  • Men’s downhill

In the men’s downhill event Bode Miller was the most likely medal contender while three other Americans were part of the field. Steven Nyman was the first down the slopes, both for the US and for the entire competition. Nyman nearly wiped out a couple of times but made some spectacular saves to keep his footing. He finished with a time of 2:09.15 to lead the way. That lead didn’t last long though and the second man down topped it and after five had gone he was out of medal contention.

Next up for the US was Travis Ganong. Ganong skied an aggressive race and despite some parts not perfect he just edged into first with a time of 2:06.64, 0.07 seconds better than anyone else at that point. Ganong was immediately bumped from the gold medal by the next skier but it took 11 men after him before he was bumped from the medals.

One of those 11 men was Bode Miller. Miller made mistakes in several parts of the course including catching way too much of the flag. It cost him as he was sixth after his run with a time of 2:06.75. The final American was Marco Sullivan who was the 25th man to go. Sullivan just wasn’t nearly fast enough and his time of 2:10.10 placed him 30th in the end. When it was all said and done Nyman was 25th, Miller eighth, and Ganong was in fifth, just 0.31 seconds behind bronze.

Results Summarized:

  • Marco Sullivan – Finished in 30th with a time of 2:10.10
  • Steven Nyman – Finished in 27th with a time of 2:09.15
  • Bode Miller – Finished in 8th with a time of 2:06.75
  • Travis Ganong – Finished in 5th with a time of 2:06.64
Bode Miller will compete for the US in the men's downhill on Sunday.
Bode Miller finished 8th for the US in the men’s downhill on Sunday.

Photo Credit: jonwick04 via Compfight cc

Biathlon

Events:

  • Women’s 7.5 km sprint

In the women’s 7.5 km sprint competition four Americans were in the 84-woman field. They were going for the medals but also trying to finish in the top 60 to qualify for the pursuit event on Tuesday at 10 AM ET. Susan Dunklee did that easily with a 14th place finish. Dunklee missed one target and finished 41.5 seconds behind the leader.

Sara Studebaker did qualify as well for the pursuit event but has a lot of ground to make up as she finished 1:52.7 behind the leader despite missing only one target. Annelies Cook missed two targets but also qualified for the pursuit event as her 53rd place finish left her 2:16.6 behind the leader. The one American who didn’t make the pursuit event was Hannah Dreissigacker. Dreissigacker missed four targets and finished 65th.

Results Summarized:

  • Hannah Dreissigacker – Missed four targets, 65th best time of 23:55. Did not make pursuit event field as she was not in the top 60.
  • Annelies Cook – Missed two targets, 53rd best time of 23:23.4. Starts pursuit (Tuesday at 10 AM ET) 2:17 behind leader.
  • Sara Studebaker – Missed one target, 44th best time of 22:59.5. Starts pursuit (Tuesday at 10 AM ET) 1:53 behind leader.
  • Susan Dunklee – Missed one target, 14th best time of 21:48.3. Starts pursuit (Tuesday at 10 AM ET) 42 seconds behind leader.

Cross-Country Skiing

Events:

  • Men’s 30 km Skiathlon (15 km classic + 15 km free)

Sunday was the men’s skiathlon. In the race of 15 km in the classic style, a switch of equipment, and then 15 km in the freestyle there were four Americans. None of the Americans finished in the top half of the 68-man field. The top American was Noah Hoffman. Hoffman finished 35th in 1:11:28.1 but lost some time on a fall going around a corner in the first half of the race.

Erik Bjornsen was the second American across the finish line with a time of 1:12:42.3 and a 42nd finish. Brian Gregg used a strong second half of the race to reach 47th place in a time of 1:13:26.3. Finally Kris Freeman was 54th with a time of 1:14:34.6. No American was in the top 30 of either half of the race.

Results Summarized:

  • Noah Hoffman – 37th in classic style (37:19.3), 34th in free style (33:34.1). Total time of 1:11:28.1 as he finished in 35th.
  • Erik Bjornsen – 33rd in classic style (37:05.6), 50th in free style (35:05.5). Total time of 1:12:42.3 as he finished in 42nd.
  • Brian Gregg – 53rd in classic style (38579.4), 37th in free style (33:53.3). Total time of 1:13:26.3 as he finished in 47th.
  • Kris Freeman – 41st in classic style (37:30.5), 61st in free style (36:30.8). Total time of 1:14:34.6 as he finished in 54th.

Figure Skating

Events:

  • Team event – Men’s free skate
  • Team event – Ladies’ free skate
  • Team event – Ice dance free dance

The team event wrapped up on Sunday with three last rounds: men’s free skate, ladies’ free skate, and ice dance free dance. The US entered the day in third place with a score of 34, three points ahead of fourth. In the first event of the day the US turned to Jason Brown to compete in the men’s free skate. Brown put up a score of 153.67 but that only placed him fourth. The US maintained their three point lead over fourth place.

In the ladies’ free skate the US switched skaters again as Gracie Gold went today instead of Ashley Wagner. Gold was fantastic for the US and her 129.38 was second best in the group. That gave the US a five point lead on fourth place and clinched the bronze medal for the US. Meryl Davis and Charlie White went in the ice dance free dance though with nothing on the line this time. They still delivered a great show and were top scorers with a 114.34.

In the final standings the US was third with 60 points, 15 behind Russia, 10 behind Canada, but eight ahead of fourth place Italy.

Results Summarized:

  • Jason Brown – Fourth best men’s free skate with a score of 153.67.
  • Gracie Gold – Second best ladies’ free skate with a score of 129.38
  • Meryl Davis and Charlie White – Top ice dance free dance with a score of 114.34.
  • US Team – Finished in third place with an eight point lead on fourth (Italy). Bronze medal for the US.

Luge

Events:

  • Men’s singles run 3
  • Men’s singles run 4

All three of the US competitors in the luge were out of medal contention on Sunday, but that didn’t mean they weren’t going for great times. Christopher Mazdzer was 17th on run three with a 52.369 and was 13th overall after that. Tucker West had a 52.413, 18th best, for his third run and moved up to 20th overall. Aidan Kelly was the last to go for the US and his run of 52.756 was 24th best. He was in 25th after the third run.

In the final run Mazdzer was 10th fastest with a 52.198 and finished 13th overall. Tucker West had a 52.696, 25th best, and fell to 22nd overall. Aidan Kelly finished his run in 52.576, 22nd best, and improved to 24th overall in the final standings.

Results Summarized:

  • Christopher Mazdzer – Mazdzer was 17th in run three (52.369) and 10th in run four (52.198). He finished 13th overall at 3:29.954.
  • Tucker West – West was 18th in run three (52.413) and 25th in run four (52.696). He finished 22nd overall at 3:31.217.
  • Aidan Kelly – Kelly was 24th in run three (52.756) and 22nd in run four (52.576). He finished 24th overall at 3:31.799.

Ski Jumping

Events:

  • Men’s individual normal hill – First round

The US had three competitors in the 50-man field for the ski jumping event on Sunday. To reach the final round they would need to make it into the top 30 after the first jump. Nicholas Alexander was the first competitor to go and scored a 116.0. Alexander’s score was nearly high enough for the top 30 but he ended up 34th, 2.9 points behind 30th.

Next up for the US was Anders Johnson. Johnson scored a 104.2 and ended up 47th. The final American was Peter Frenette who scored a 107.2 and finished 45th. No American competed in the final round later on Sunday.

Results Summarized:

  • Nick Alexander – Finished 34th with a score of 116.0. Failed to qualify for final round.
  • Peter Frenette – Finished 45th with a score of 107.2. Failed to qualify for final round.
  • Anders Johnson – Finished 47th with a score of 104.2. Failed to qualify for final round.

Snowboarding

Events:

  • Women’s slopestyle semifinal
  • Women’s slopestyle final

Two Americans (Jamie Anderson and Karly Shorr) entered Sunday already in the final while two others were looking to get into it from the semifinal. In the semifinal 12 competitors competed for the final four spots in the final. Ty Walker went first for the US and put up a 66.0. That score stood for a while and was 5th after all of the first jumps. The fourth best score belonged to Jessika Jenson with a 72.0. So going into round two Walker knew she needed to go for a bigger score. She put up a good run but slipped on the last landing and scored just a 43.75. She ended up in sixth place. Jenson got bumped from the top four before her final run so she also had to go bigger to qualify. Jenson also slipped on one of her landings and her score of 50.50 couldn’t help her. She ended up fifth and only Anderson and Shorr would compete in the final for the US.

In the final Karly Shorr was the first of the Americans to go and didn’t get a clean run in putting up only a 39. Jamie Anderson did much better but wasn’t perfect with am 80.75. On run two Shorr put together a clean routine but it wasn’t big enough, just a 75 that left her fifth. With just two competitors to follow her Anderson went up knowing she needed to top 92.50. She put together an immense run with some major jumps and went straight to the top with a 95.25. That score held up over the final two competitors and she took home the GOLD MEDAL!

Results Summarized:

  • Ty Walker – Scored a 66.0 on first semifinal run. Ended up sixth and failed to reach final.
  • Jessika Jenson – Scored a 72.0 on first semifinal run. Ended up fifth and failed to reach final.
  • Karly Shorr – Scored a 75 on second semifinal run. Ended up fifth.
  • Jamie Anderson – Scored a 95.25 on second semifinal run. Ended up first to win gold medal.

Speed Skating

Events:

  • Women’s 3000m

The women’s 5000m event was on Sunday. Two Americans were in the 28-woman field. Anna Ringsred was in the second pair but her time of 4:21.57 was fourth best at that point and ended up 26th overall. Jilleanne Rookard was in the tenth pair and her time of 4:10.02 put her in tenth place.

Results Summarized:

  • Jilleanne Rookard – Finished tenth with a time of 4:10.02.
  • Anna Ringsred – Finished 26th with a time of 4:21.57.

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