Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Cross-Country Skiing, Daily Olympic Reviews, Figure Skating, Ice Hockey, Olympics, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

February 19th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

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The US won gold on Monday. The US won gold on Tuesday. The US won gold AGAIN on Thursday! It’s been a nice start to the final week of the Olympics for the US.

Alpine Skiing

Events:

  • *Men’s Giant Slalom Run 1
  • *Men’s Giant Slalom Run 2

Ted Ligety was the first American to go in the first run and made his mark with a 1:21.08 that would stand as the best run and was nearly a full second faster than anyone else. Bode Miller went next but couldn’t come close to matching Ligety’s time with a 1:23.64 that placed him just 26th. Tim Jitloff was the second best American with a 21st place, 1:23.23 run. Jared Goldberg was the final American and he placed 27th in 1:23.66.

In run two Goldberg went first for the US and put up a fantastic time of 1:23.82. That ended up being the sixth fastest second run and he finished 19th in a time of 2:47.48. Miller was next for the US and wasn’t as quick as his 1:24.18 was only 13th fastest in the second runs. Miller finished in 20th for the US with a total time of 2:47.82.  Jitloff had a really nice run as well with a eight place second run of 1:23.90 that moved him into 15th overall with a 2:47.13.

When it came time for Ligety’s final run he knew he wouldn’t even need to be nearly the best as his margin gave him some breathing room. When he got to the finish he was only 14th fastest in the second runs but the 1:24.21 was fast enough as his overall time of 2:45.29 gave him the gold by a 0.48 second margin.

Results Summarized:

  • Bode Miller – Finished 20th with a time of 2:47.82. Was 26th in the first run with a 1:23.64 and 13th fastest in the second run with a 1:24.18.
  • Jared Goldberg – Finished 19th with a time of 2:45.29. Was 27th in the first run with a 1:23.66 and 6th fastest in the second run with a 1:23.82.
  • Tim Jitloff – Finished 15th with a time of 2:47.13. Was 21st in the first run with a 1:23.23 and 8th fastest in the second run with a 1:23.90.
  • Ted Ligety – Won the gold medal with a time of 2:45.29. Was fastest in the first run with a 1:21.08 and 14th fastest in the second run with a 1:24.21.


Biathlon

Events:

  • *2x6km Women + 2×7.5km Men Mixed Relay

The US mixed relay team started well but things didn’t last on Wednesday. Susan Dunklee got the US underway and her leg (featuring just two reloads) saw the US in fourth just seven seconds back. Hannah Dreissigacker wasn’t able to keep things going for the US as she missed a target and had to reload four times between her two rounds of shooting.

When she passed things off to Tim Burke the US was in tenth and 1:51.6 behind the leaders. Burke had to reload four times during his rounds of shooting and handed off to Lowell Bailey in ninth, 3:02.5 behind the leaders. Bailey had to reload three times and brought the US home in ninth.

Results Summarized:

  • US Team – Finished 9th in 1:12:20.1. Susan Dunklee had to reload 2 times and handed off in 4th, Hannah Dreissigacker had to reload 4 times and misses a target. She handed off in 10th. Tim Burke had to reload 4 times and handed off in 9th. Lowell Bailey had to reload 3 times.

Bobsleigh

Events:

  • Women’s Heat 3
  • *Women’s Heat 4

In heat three Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams continued to post strong times with a 57.69. That was second best but it was second to the Canadians who picked up 0.12 seconds and moved within 0.11 seconds of the US heading into the fourth heat. The second US team (Jamie Greubel and Aja Evans) posted a third best time of 58.00. The final US team of Jazmine Fenlattor and Lolo Jones posted a tenth best time in the heat of 58.50 but remained in 11th.

In heat four Jazmine Fenlattor and Lolo Jones were first to go and posted at 12th best time of 58.74. It was enough though to keep them in 11th in the end with a 3:53.97 total time. Jamie Greubel and Aja Evans went third from the end and had a fifth best time of 58.16. It was enough though to give them a bronze with a total time of 3:51.61. Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams went last and had a chance to win the gold medal. They couldn’t keep their run clean though and the mistakes were too much as the 58.13 time was just third fastest and they fell to the silver with a 3:50.71 total time. Results Summarized:

  • Jazmine Fenlattor and Lolo Jones – Finished 11th in 3:53.97 and were 3.36 seconds behind the winner. In heat three was 10th fastest with a 58.50. In heat four was 4th fastest with a 58.74.
  • Jamie Greubel and Aja Evans – Won bronze with a time of 3rd in 3:51.61 and were 1 second behind the winner. In heat three was 3rd fastest with a 58.00. In heat four was 5th fastest with a 58.16.
  • Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams – Won silver with a time of 3:50.71 and were 0.10 seconds behind the winner. In heat three was 2nd fastest with a 57.69. In heat four was 3rd fastest with a 58.13.

Cross-Country Skiing

Events:

  • Women’s Team Sprint Classic Semifinals
  • Men’s Team Sprint Classic Semifinals
  • *Women’s Team Sprint Classic Final
  • *Men’s Team Sprint Classic Final

In the women’s team sprint semifinals the US team of Sophie Caldwell and Kikkan Randall didn’t face too many problems as they were never worse than third after a leg and led after two of the legs. They finished third in their heat in 16:51.36 and advanced on time as the second fastest team not in the top two of the heats. The final did not go as well were fourth after the first leg but fell to eighth in the end finishing in 16:48.08, a better time than the semifinals but 44.03 seconds behind the winners.

In the men’s team sprint semifinals the US team of Simeon Hamilton and Erik Bjornsen took advantage of a fast heat where they were never higher than fourth or fifth at the end of a leg to easily advance on time in fifth place at 23:29.14. The US had about twenty seconds to spare in time. In the final the US team hung around for four legs before the leaders pulled away. The US finished sixth with a time of 23:49.95, 35.06 seconds behind the winners. Results Summarized:

  • Women’s Team – Finished eighth in 16:48.08, 44.03 seconds behind the winners. In the semifinals they finished third in their heat in 16:51.36 and advanced as the second fastest lucky loser.
  • Men’s Team – Finished sixth in 34:49.95, 35.06 seconds behind the winners. In the semifinals they finished fifth in their heat in 23:29.14 and advanced as the third fastest lucky loser.

Figure Skating

Events:

  • Ladies’ Short Program

The first American on Wednesday was the young 15-year old Polina Edmunds. If there were any questions about how Edmunds would compete on such a major stage (she’d never competed in an international senior event before) they were quickly answered. She looked composed and confident as she posted an awesome 61.04, seventh best in the short program. Gracie Gold went next and put up a strong score of 68.63 to place fourth in the short program. Finally we saw Ashley Wagner who scored a 65.21 and placed sixth.

  • Polina Edmunds –  In the short program scored a 61.04, 7th best.
  • Gracie Gold – In the short program scored a 68.63, 4th best.
  • Ashley Wagner – In the short program scored a 65.21, 6th best.

Ice Hockey

Events:

  • Men’s Quarterfinals – USA vs. Czech Republic

The US got off to a flying start as just 1:39 into the game James van Riemsdyk scored on assists from Ryan Kesler and Patrick Kane. It was a great start but the lead only lasted a few minutes as the Czech Republic scored on a goal when the US tried to clear a puck from the crease and it hit a US player’s skate and deflected back into the net. The response from the US was strong as Dustin Brown scored with 5:22 left in the half off of David Backes and Ryan Suter. Backes himself scored in the closing seconds as he beat the clock for a goal with 1.8 seconds left to make it 3-1 US at the first intermission. Suter had another assist and Ryan McDonagh picked one up as well.

In period two the US added another, this time from Zach Parise with assists to Suter again and Joe Pavelski. In the third period the US added a goal from Phil Kessel with Kesler and Kevin Shattenkirk grabbing assists. The Czechs scored one more but it didn’t matter as the US cruised to a 5-2 win. Jonathan Quick was back in goal and made 21 saves in goal.

Now the US faces Canada in the semifinals at 12 PM ET on Friday. Win and they have a medal and will play for gold on Sunday. Lose and they have a chance to win bronze on Saturday. Either way we’ll see the US play two more in Sochi. Results Summarized:

  • US Men – Beat Czech Republic 5-2 and advanced to face Canada in the semifinals on Friday at 12 PM ET.

Snowboarding

Events:

  • Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Qualification

Justin Reiter competed in the parallel giant slalom on Wednesday but he wasn’t able to last very long. In the qualification round he went 20th on the blue course in 50.35 and then had some problems on the red course before trying to rally but finishing 23rd quickest in 50.90. The combined 1:41.25 was only 24th and about 1.5 seconds behind where he needed to be to reach the top 16 and move on. Results Summarized:

  • Justin Reiter – Finished 24th in 1:41.25. Was 20th best on blue course in 50.35 and 23rd best on the red course in 50.90.

Speed Skating

Events:

  • Women’s 5000m

Maria Lamb was the only American in the 5000m on Wednesday. Her time of 7:29.64 was last of the 16 skaters but she was about a second behind 15th and 38.10 behind the winner. Results Summarized:

  • Maria Lamb – Finished 16th in 7:29.64.

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