Category Archives: Figure Skating

Figure Skating, Olympics, Recaps, Sochi 2014

Sochi Figure Skating Recap – A Gold For The US, but a Down Year for Singles

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The US won two medals in Sochi but it was certainly a disappointing Olympics still as the men weren’t in contention for a medal and the team wasn’t close enough to silver to make the end of the team event interesting. There were disappointing performances in a few events but also some bright moments as well with the first gold in ice dancing and a strong showing by some young women in the ladies’ singles.

Men’s Singles

Mens Singles

In the men’s competition we didn’t necessarily expect the US to be a strong medal contender but we certainly hoped for a better result than we got. The best finisher for the US was Jason Brown, but he finished just 9th in the competition. It was the first time since 1936(!!) that the US didn’t have a finisher in the top six. Brown is young enough that he may be the leading man in 2018 and hopefully if he is he’ll be able to finish a little higher. The US isn’t used to being out of the medal race like this.

Mens Singles Yearly Best

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Daily Olympic Reviews, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Hockey, Nordic Combined, Olympics, Sochi 2014

February 20th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

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The US women came oh so close to gold against Canada but it didn’t mean the US didn’t win gold on Thursday. They did win gold for the fourth straight day. The last time that happened? I’m not sure if it ever did but certainly not in 2006 or 2010!

Figure Skating

Events:

  • Ladies’ free program

All three US ladies had good short programs but the top skaters were all a significant amount better. That meant the US ladies needed strong routines but also some help from other skaters. Polina Edmunds, was first to go and put up a solid but not spectacular 122.21. She was ninth best in the free skate and finished ninth overall with a 183.25. Gracie Gold was next and skated fairly well. Still there were flaws and her 136.90 was only fifth best in the free skate. She finished fourth with a 205.53. Ashley Wagner was unable to capture the magic either. Her routine looked okay but had a lot of technical problems and she scored a 127.99, seventh best, and finished in seventh with a total of 193.20.

Third place came in at 216.73 so even with really really good programs that would have been a hard score for the US ladies to match. The US leaves Sochi with just two medals but a lot of young talents on the ladies’ side especially.

  • Polina Edmunds –  Finished 9th with a score of 183.25. In the free program scored a 122.21, 9th best.
  • Gracie Gold – Finished 4th with a score of 205.53. In the free program scored a 136.90, 5th best.
  • Ashley Wagner – Finished 7th with a score of 193.20. In the free program scored a 127.99, 7th best.

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Daily Previews, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Hockey, Nordic Combined, Olympics, Sochi 2014

February 20th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview

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What’s on tap today? Just four disciplines and competition in five events with five gold medals up for grabs.

In today: nordic combined. Out today: Alpine skiing, biathlon, bobsleigh, cross-country, snowboarding, and speed skating.

All times below are ET.

Figure Skating

Events: All three US ladies had strong short programs. Now they are all in the top seven but all quite a bit behind the top three and probably needing help to reach the medal stand. The free skate begins at 10 AM but Polina Edmunds, seventh in the short program, will be the first American at 17th, fifth in group three. That should be about 12:42 PM.

In the final group going 22nd overall and fourth in the group will be Gracie Gold. Gold is in fourth heading into the free skate and will know if there is room for her to jump onto the medal stand. She will skate at about 1:30 PM. She’ll be followed immediately by Ashley Wagner who is in sixth and will skate at about 1:38 PM.

This is the final event for figure skating in Sochi. There will be a gala still to come on Saturday but that is just for entertainment purposes.

When:

  • *Ladies’ free skate – 10 AM
    • Polina Edmunds – Approx. 12:42 PM
    • Gracie Gold – Approx 1:30 PM
    • Ashley Wagner – Approx 1:38 PM

Live Streaming: A live stream will be available on the NBC Olympics website and on the NBC Sports Live Extra app. You will probably have to authenticate a cable subscription to watch the live streams of the Olympics.

TV Coverage: The figure skating will be shown LIVE on NBCSN from 10 AM-2 PM ET and included in NBC’s primetime coverage from 8-11:30 PM ET.

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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.


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

February 19th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview

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What’s on tap today? Lots of changes in what you’ll see! Eight disciplines and competition in nine events with seven gold medals up for grabs.

In today: Cross-country skiing, figure skating, and ice hockey. Out today: Freestyle skiing, nordic combined, and short track speed skating.

All times below are ET.

Alpine Skiing

Events: Four American men are in the field of 109 for the first run of the giant slalom at 2 AM. Ted Ligety goes first for the US, seventh overall with Bode Miller going 16th. The final two Americans are Tim Jitloff who goes 22nd and Jared Goldberg who goes 40th. The second run will be held at 5:30 AM with the two times combined for the final standings. In the second run the top 30 times will go first in reverse order of the standings, so we’ll know the winner before the final 70+ skiers have gone.

When:

  • Men’s Giant Slalom Run 1 – 2 AM
  • *Men’s Giant Slalom Run 2 – 5:30 AM

Live Streaming: A live stream will be available on the NBC Olympics website and on the NBC Sports Live Extra app. You will probably have to authenticate a cable subscription to watch the live streams of the Olympics.

TV Coverage: The alpine skiing will be included in NBC’s evening coverage from 8-11:30 PM ET.

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Figure Skating, Olympics, Sochi 2014

Sochi 2014 – USA Gold Medal Winners #5 – Meryl Davis and Charlie White

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For the first time when it comes time to talk about a gold medalist for the US in Sochi we aren’t talking about someone in a halfpipe or on a slopestyle course. We’re talking figure skating! Meryl Davis and Charlie White entered Sochi as the defending World Champions so there is no surprise around the world that they are now the gold medalists.

Still their story of being paired up 17 years ago and becoming gold medalists in a sport that the United States has never done much in is pretty incredible. I’ve watched figure skating in the Olympics for years and never was ice dancing something relevant to an American crowd, that just wasn’t the kind of skating the US was good at.

They have dominated ice dancing in the United States for years now, they are the six-time defending champions, and their last four world championship appearances have resulted in two golds and two silvers. They won silver in 2010 at the Olympics but now they are gold medalists.

The scores of Davis and White: 78.89 in the short dance, 116.63 in the free dance, and 195.52 in the total score, were all world records in the newer scoring system.

The gold medal in the Olympics will only propel Davis and White’s popularity to a new level in the US and at 26 and 27 their story would appear to be far from over.

Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Curling, Daily Olympic Reviews, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Hockey, Olympics, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014

February 17th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

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On Monday the US grabbed their first gold since Thursday and had a couple of historic firsts. Several events got canceled due to the weather and the US hockey team won a medal, we just won’t know which one until Thursday.

Biathlon

Events:

  • *Men’s mass start 15 km
  • *Women’s mass start 12.5 km

The men’s 15km mass-start was supposed to be Sunday. Then it got postponed until Monday. Then it was rescheduled, and now it’s been postponed again… to Tuesday. Fog in the area was just too dense to hold the event. Hopefully things will work better on Tuesday at 5:30 AM ET.

The women’s 12.5km mass start did happen with the only American in the field, Susan Dunklee. Dunklee had a great start and was in sixth heading into the second round of shooting but missed one target in each of the final three rounds of shooting. Despite a great effort in the skiing she couldn’t overcome the shooting woes and finished 12th in 36:57.9, 1:32.3 behind the winner.

Results Summarized:

  • Susan Dunklee – She finished in 12th with a time of 36:57.9, 1:32.3 behind the winner, after missing 3 targets.

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Biathlon, Bobsleigh, Curling, Daily Previews, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Ice Hockey, Olympics, Ski Jumping, Snowboarding, Sochi 2014

February 17th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview

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What’s on tap today? Eight disciplines and competition in nine events with six gold medals up for grabs. In today: Freestyle skiing and ski jumping. Out today: Alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, and speed skating.

All times below are ET.

Biathlon

Events: The men’s 15km mass-start will begin at 1 AM. The 30-man field will include only two Americans, Lowell Bailey and Tim Burke as they have the final chance to earn an individual medal for the US men in Sochi.

The women’s 12.5km mass start at 10 AM also features 30 in the field. The only American is Susan Dunklee.

When:

  • *Men’s 15km mass start – 1 AM
  • Women’s mass-start 12.5 km – 10 AM

Live Streaming: A live stream will be available on the NBC Olympics website and on the NBC Sports Live Extra app. You will probably have to authenticate a cable subscription to watch the live streams of the Olympics.

TV Coverage: The men’s biathlon will be included in coverage on NBCSN from 3-7 AM ET and in NBC’s daytime coverage from 3-5 PM ET. The women’s biathlon will be included in coverage on NBCSN from 1:30-3 PM ET.

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

February 16th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

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The US grabbed just two medals on Sunday but it was what they did to set themselves up for medal wins later on that was huge in bobsleigh, figure skating, and ice hockey.

Alpine Skiing

Events:

  • *Men’s Super-G

The first American to go was Ted Ligety who had a time of 1:19.48 and finished 14th. Bode Miller was next to go and after a very aggressive and quick run he’d head to the top for a while with a 1:18.67. The next few skiers came within a tenth of a second before Miller was eventually passed and tied. He would wind up with a bronze medal when he tied for third. Travis Ganong was the next American to go and he finished in 1:20.02 and was 23rd. The final chance for the US was Andrew Weibrecht who put together a great run of 1:18.44 and won the silver medal! A 2-3 finish for the US!

Results Summarized:

  • Travis Ganong – Finished 23rd with a time of 1:20.02.
  • Ted Ligety – Finished 14th with a time of 1:19.48.
  • Bode Miller – Finished tied for 3rd with a time of 1:18.67 and won a bronze medal.
  • Andrew Weibrecht – Finished 2nd with a time of 1:18.44 and won the silver medal.

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

February 16th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview

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What’s on tap today? Nine disciplines and competition in ten events with five gold medals up for grabs. In today: Biathlon, bobsleigh (making its Sochi debut) figure skating, and snowboarding. Out today: Short track, skeleton (finished for Sochi), and ski jumping.

All times below are ET.

Alpine Skiing

Events: Four American men are in the 63-man field for the Super-G are Americans at 1 AM. After seeing the women fail to complete the course in large number it will be interesting to see how aggressive they are. Ted Ligety goes first for the US, ninth overall with Bode Miller soon behind him in 13th. The final two Americans are Travis Ganong who goes 25th and Andrew Weibrecht who goes 29th.

When:

  • *Men’s Super-G – 1 AM

Live Streaming: A live stream will be available on the NBC Olympics website and on the NBC Sports Live Extra app. You will probably have to authenticate a cable subscription to watch the live streams of the Olympics.

TV Coverage: The alpine skiing will be included in NBC’s evening coverage from 8-11 PM ET.

Continue reading February 16th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Preview →