Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Daily Olympic Reviews, Ice Hockey, Olympics, Short Track Speed Skating, Sochi 2014, Speed Skating

February 21st – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

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Five days. Five gold medals. It’s been an amazing week for the US in Sochi.

Alpine Skiing

Events:

  • Women’s Slalom Run 1
  • *Women’s Slalom Run 2

In the women’s slalom first run Mikaela Shiffrin went sixth overall and put up a mark that would stand with a 52.62. She held a 0.49 second lead after the first run. Resi Stiegler finished in 56.81, 4.19 off the lead in 20th. Megan McJames was unable to complete the run and received a DNF. Julia Ford went 58.88, 6.26 off the lead and in 30th.

In run two Ford finished in 53.99, 24th best. She ended up 24th overall with a time of 1:52.87, 8.33 seconds behind the winner. Stiegler straddled a gate near the end of her run and took a DNF. Finally Shiffrin went last in the run and had a big lead on the top time at that point. She made a major mistake in the middle of her run but recovered to still have the sixth best time with a 51.92 in the run. Her overall time of 1:44.54 was the best by 0.53 seconds as she won a gold medal.

Results Summarized:

  • Megan McJames – Was unable to finish the first run and received a DNF.
  • Resi Stiegler – In the second run she straddled a gate and took a DNF. Finished the first run in 56.81, 20th place.
  • Julia Ford – Placed 24th with a total time of 1:52.87. In the second run she finished in 53.99, 24th best. Finished the first run in 58.88, 30th place.
  • Mikaela Shiffrin – Placed 1st with a total time of 1:44.54. In the second run she finished in 51.92, 6th best. Finished the first run in 52.62, 1st place.

Biathlon

Events:

  • *Women’s 4x6km relay

The US got off to a strong start in the relay with Susan Dunklee leading off. Dunklee had to reload three times in her rounds of shooting. She finished the first run fourth with a time of 17:02.6 and 12.9 seconds back. Hannah Dreissigacker went next and had to reload six times in her shooting. The US was sixth after her leg but was 58.2 seconds off the lead. Sara Studebaker had perfect shooting in the third leg and moved the US up to fifth but they were then 1:12.9 off the lead. Finally Annelies Cook had to reload four times and the US finished seventh overall in 1:12:14.2, 2:11.7 off the lead. Results Summarized:

  • USA Team – Finished in 7th with a time of 1:12:14.2, 2:11.7 behind the winner, after reloading 13 times. Susan Dunklee had to reload three times and finished in 17:02.6. Hannah Dreissigacker had to reload six times and finished in 18:08.3. Sara Studebaker did not have to reload at all and finished in 17:55.6. Annelies Cook had to reload four times and finished in 19:07.7.

Ice Hockey

Events:

  • Men’s Semifinal – USA vs. Canada

The US men struggled to find their offense against Canada. The US did manage 31 shots but they didn’t threaten the Canadians too much and never did find a goal. The only goal of the game came early in the second period. Jonathan Quick was fantastic for the US making 36 saves. It was the first time the US had been shutout at the Olympics since 1976.

They’ll now face Finland in the bronze medal game at 10 AM ET on Saturday.

Results Summarized:

  • USA Men – Lost to Canada 1-0. Will face Finland at 10 AM ET on Saturday for the bronze medal.

Short Track Speed Skating

Events:

  • Men’s 500m Quarterfinals
  • Women’s 1000m Quarterfinals
  • Men’s 500m Semifinals
  • Women’s 1000m Semifinals
  • *Men’s 500m Finals
  • *Women’s 1000m Finals
  • *Men’s 5000m Relay Finals

In the men’s 500m quarterfinals, J.R. Celski fell and looked to be out of the running. Instead after finishing in third he watched the second place skater get eliminated due to a penalty and ended up advancing to the semifinals after all. In the semifinals he finished fourth in his heat and did not make the main final, making the Final B again. In the Final B he came in second to place sixth in the Olympics.

In the women’s 1000 m Emily Scott got eliminated by finishing third but Jessica Smith advanced by winning her heat . Smith finished second in her semifinal to reach the main final. Only one person in the final would not win a medal and it ended up being Smith as she finished fourth.

The US relay team of Celski, Eddy Alvarez, Jordan Malone, and Chris Creveling got a great start in the relay as China, the Netherlands, and Kazakhstan all fell in the beginning of the race and the US and Russia opened up a major lead. The two would never be close to caught but the US spent most of the time in second and only led briefly as the won the silver medal after finishing 0.271 seconds behind Russia.

Results Summarized:

  • J.R. Celski – Was in the B final and came in second to finish 6th overall. In the semifinals he came in fourth in his heat. He only advanced to the semifinals after finishing third in his quarterfinal heat because the second place skater was penalized.
  • Jessica Smith – Finished fourth in the final. Reached the final by finishing second in her semifinal heat and winning her quarterfinal heat.
  • Emily Scott – Was eliminated after finishing 3rd in her heat.
  • USA Men’s Relay – Won the silver medal after breaking away with Russia after a crash took out the other two teams. Finished second by 0.271 seconds.

Speed Skating

Events:

  • Men’s Team Pursuit Quarterfinals
  • Women’s Team Pursuit Quarterfinals

In the men’s team pursuit quarterfinal the US team of Shani Davis, Brian Hansen, and Jonathan Kuck lost to Canada by almost three seconds in a time of 3:46.82. The US is eliminated but will be in the D Final on Saturday at 8:51 AM ET against France to determine who finishes 7th and who finishes 8th.

In the women’s team pursuit quarterfinal the US team of Brittany Bowe, Heather Richardson, and Jilleanne Rookard lost to the Netherlands by around 3.5 seconds. The Netherlands did set a new Olympic record and the US team was actually close to some of the other teams that won their quarterfinal. Tough matchup. They’ll be in the C Final on Saturday at 9:14 AM ET against Canada.

Results Summarized:

  • USA Men – Finished in 3:46.82 and 3.52 seconds behind Canada. Will face France for the 7th place at 8:51 AM ET.
  • USA Women – Finished in 3:02.21 and 3.6 seconds behind the Netherlands. Will face Canada for the 5th place at 9:14 AM ET.

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