Alpine Skiing, Biathlon, Cross-Country Skiing, Curling, Daily Olympic Reviews, Figure Skating, Freestyle Skiing, Olympics, Skeleton, Ski Jumping, Sochi 2014

February 14th – Sochi 2014 – Daily Review

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Friday was not great for the US. Both curling teams suffered crucial losses and the US picked up only one medal while struggling to compete for medals in most of the traditional events conducted.

Alpine Skiing

Events:

  • Men’s Super Combined – Downhill
  • *Men’s Super Combined – Slalom

The Americans hoped to get out to good starts in the downhill portion of the event. That wouldn’t exactly happen. Ted Ligety was the first to go and his time of 1:55.17 left him in 18th, 1.93 seconds off the lead. Andrew Weibrecht went next and his time of 1:55.33 was only 20th best, 2.09 seconds behind the leader. The best American was Bode Miller who finished 12th in the downhill in 1:54.67 but was still 1.43 seconds off pace. Finally Jared Goldberg finished 15th in 1:54.90 and was 1.66 seconds behind the lead.

In the slalom portion Weibrecht took a spill halfway down after straddling a pole and took a DNF. Ligety put up a 52.22 that wasn’t enough (8th fastest) and he finished 12th in 2:47.39, Goldberg couldn’t keep pace either and his 52.39 was only 10th best in the slalom and he finished 11th in 2:47.39, Miller failed to make his mark as well as his 51.93 was 6th best and he finished 7th in 2:46.60.

Results Summarized:

  • Andrew Weibrecht – In the downhill he was 20th in a time of 1:55.33, 2.09 seconds behind first. In the slalom he fell after straddling a pole and took a DNF.
  • Ted Ligety – Finished 12th overall with a time of 2:47.39. In the downhill he was 18th in a time of 1:55.17, 1.93 seconds behind first. In the slalom he was 8th with a time of 52.22.
  • Jared Goldberg – Finished 11th overall with a time of 2:47.29. In the downhill he was 15th in a time of 1:54.90, 1.66 seconds behind first. In the slalom he was 10th with a time of 52.39.
  • Bode Miller – Finished 6th overall with a time of 2:46.60. In the downhill he was 12th in a time of 1:54.67, 1.43 seconds behind first. In the slalom he was 7th with a time of 51.93.

Biathlon

Events:

  • *Women’s individual 15 km

Susan Dunklee was one of the first women to go but her medal hopes didn’t last long. Dunklee missed a target on each of her first rounds of shooting. She ended up missing five in total and finished 34th with a time of 48:54.1, 5:34.5 behind the winner. Sara Studebaker was next to go and after missing two on her first round of shooting she rebounded nicely to miss just two more and finished 55th with a time of 50:53.4, 7:33.8 off the pace. Hannah Dreissigacker missed a shot on her first round of shooting and was sitting in 49th before she pushed forward and missed only one shot the rest of the way finishing 23rd with a time of 47:51.7, 4:32.1 off the lead. and finally Lanny Barnes finished 64th in 53:02.2 after missing three targets.

Results Summarized:

  • Lanny Barnes – Finished 64th in 53:02.2, 9:42.6 behind the leader. Missed three targets.
  • Sara Studebaker – Finished 55th in 50:53.4, 7:33.8 behind the leader. Missed four targets.
  • Susan Dunklee – Finished 34th in 48:54.1, 5:34.5 behind the leader. Missed five targets.
  • Hannah Dreissigacker – Finished 23rd in 47:51.7, 4:32.1 behind the leader. Missed two targets.

Cross-Country Skiing

Events:

  • *Men’s 15km Classic

Erik Bjornsen started strong as he was 21st after 2.2km before fading back into the mid 40s. He rallied though and finished 38th in 41:44.7, Brian Gregg consistently picked up spots after a somewhat slow start until the final kms when he slipped to 47th with a time of 42:42. Kris Freeman was 62nd after 5km but moved up to 52nd by the end finishing in 42:54.8. Noah Hoffman was in 33rd by the 8km mark and held steady in that range finishing in 31st with a time of 41:0.2.7.

Results Summarized:

  • Kris Freeman – Finished 52nd in 42:54.8, 4:25.1 behind the winner
  • Brian Gregg – Finished 47th in 42:42, 4:12.3 behind the winner.
  • Erik Bjornsen – Finished 38th in 41:44.7, 3:15 behind the winner.
  • Noah Hoffman – Finished 31st in 41:02.7, 2:33 behind the winner.

Curling

Events:

  • Men’s Round Robin – USA vs. Germany
  • Women’s Round Robin – USA vs. Denmark
  • Men’s Round Robin – USA vs. Russia

The US men took on Germany to start things on Friday and the US got an important win over the Germans 8-5 getting all of their points on fours in the 3rd and 7th ends. The win brought the US to 2-3.

[table]Teams, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Total
United States, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, 0, 4, 0, 0, X, 8
Germany, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1, X, 5[/table]

The women were 1-4 heading into a must win matchup with 0-5 Denmark. The US struggled throughout giving up two to Denmark on four occasions and never scoring more than one in an end. The US was down 6-2 with the hammer in the 7th end and left a crucial shot short that would have given them a point but instead gave Denmark a two point steal. At 1-5 the US is all but eliminated from medal contention. They face Sweden at 10 AM ET on Saturday.

[table]Teams, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Total
United States, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, X, X, 2
Denmark, 0, 2, 0, 2, 0, 2, 2, 1, X, X, 9[/table]

After a momentum building win early on Friday the US couldn’t consolidate that with a win Friday evening. The US saw Russia steal one in the 3rd end to go up 3-0 but responded with three in the fourth to even things up. After the teams traded twos the US stole a point in the seventh to get a 6-5 lead. Russia tied things up in the 9th and then with the match on the line in the 10th they were able to steal another point and walked away with the 7-6 win. The US is now 2-4 and their hopes of reaching the knockout round are slim. The US next plays Canada at 12 AM ET on Sunday and Sweden at 10 AM ET on Sunday.

[table]Teams, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Total
Russia, 0, 2, 1, 0, 2, 0, 0, 0, 1, 1, 7
United States, 0, 0, 0, 3, 0, 2, 1, 0, 0, 0, 6[/table]

Results Summarized:

  • US Women – Lost to Denmark 9-2. Face Sweden at 10 AM ET Saturday.
  • US Men – Beat Germany 8-5 and lost to Russia 7-6. Face Canada at 12 AM ET Sunday and Sweden at 10 AM ET Sunday.

Figure Skating

Events:

  • *Men’s Free Program

Jeremy Abbott’s response to a poor short program was fantastic. Abbott had a great free program and posted the eighth best score (160.12) to move up to 12th with 232.70 points. Jason Brown on the other hand only posted a 152.37, 11th best in the free program, to finish ninth with a 238.37.

Results Summarized:

  • Jeremy Abbott – Finished 12th with a total score of 232.70. In the free program scored a 160.12, 8th best.
  • Jason Brown – Finished 9th with a total score of 238.37. In the free program scored a 152.37, 11th best.

Freestyle Skiing

Events:

  • Women’s Aerials Qualification 1
  • Women’s Aerials Qualification 2
  • Women’s Aerials Final 1
  • Women’s Aerials Final 2
  • *Women’s Aerials Final 3

There were only six spots available into the final for the 23 women taking part in the first qualification round. That didn’t matter to Ashley Caldwell as one would have been enough. Caldwell put up a 101.25 on her jump, the best by nearly 15 points and easily made the final. Emily Cook put up an 80.01 and reached the final from fifth place.

In the first final round Cook scored an 82.21 to place sixth and reach the next round. Caldwell didn’t stick her landing and scored just a 72.80 and was eliminated in tenth. In the second round of the final Cook scored a 64.50 and was eliminated in eighth.

Results Summarized:

  • Ashley Caldwell – In qualification round one she advanced to the final in first on a 101.25. In the first round of the final her score of 72.80 was only tenth best and she was eliminated.
  • Emily Cook – In qualification round one she advanced to the final in fifth on a 80.01. In the first round of the final her score of 82.21 was sixth best and she advanced. In the second round of the final she scored a 64.50 and was eliminated in eighth.

Skeleton

Events:

  • Men’s Heat 1
  • Men’s Heat 2
  • Women’s Heat 3
  • *Women’s Heat 4

In the start of the skeleton competition Matthew Antoine went second and put up one of the best times as he finished third in heat one with a 56.89. The next American to go was John Daly and he nearly matched him with a 56.91, fourth best in the heat. Finally Kyle Tress went and finished 20th after a 57.85.

In heat two Tress was the first to go and posted a 58.13, 23rd fastest on the day, and fell to 21st overall. Later on Daly put together a really good run with a 56.67, third fastest of the heat, and moved into third place with a total time of 1:53.58, 1.59 off the lead. Antoine went right behind him and was a bit off his best with a 56.95, fifth fastest in the heat, and is now fourth with a time of 1:53.84. The gap from second to third is 1.03 seconds so it looks like Daly and Antoine are fighting it out for bronze. They’ll take the next step in heat three Saturday at 9:45 AM ET.

Sitting in second heading into heat three Noelle Pikus-Pace maintained her spot with a 58.25, third best in the heat. Katie Uhlaender came in fourth but her 58.41 was only seventh best and she fell into fifth. In the final heat Pikus-Pace had the fourth best run with a 58.28 and won silver fairly easily with a total time of 3:53.86. Uhlaender put down a good run with a sixth best 58.35. Several other top contenders struggled and she nearly worked her way back in third but she finished fourth by four hundredths of a second with a total time of 3:54.34.

Results Summarized:

  • Matthew Antoine – Was 3rd in run one (56.89) and 2nd in run two (58.65). Is in 3rd overall trailing the leader by 0.94 seconds.
  • John Daly – Was 4th in run one (56.91) and 2nd in run two (58.65). Is in 2nd overall trailing the leader by 0.96 seconds.
  • Kyle Tress – Was 20th in run one (57.85) and 2nd in run two (58.65). Is in 2nd overall trailing the leader by 1.90 seconds.
  • Noelle Pikus-Pace – Finished 2nd with a total time of 3:53.86. Was 3rd in run three (58.25) and 4th in run four (58.28). Won silver medal.
  • Katie Uhlaender – Finished 4th with a total time of 3:54.34. Was 7th in run three (58.41) and 5th in run four (58.35).

Ski Jumping

Events:

  • Men’s Large Hill Individual Qualification Round

Nick Alexander was the first American to go and he put up a 96.6 to place 30th and reach the first round of the final on Saturday at 12:30 PM ET. Anders Johnson went next and scored a 91.1 and his 36th place finish was also good enough to move on Peter Frenette’s jump wasn’t good enough as he scored just an 80.9 and was in 43rd place. The final American to go, Nicholas Fairall, scored a 95.7 and made the final in 31st place.

Results Summarized:

  • Peter Frenette – Finished 43rd with a 80.9 and was eliminated.
  • Anders Johnson – Finished 36th with a 91.1. Will be in the first round on Saturday at 12:30 PM ET.
  • Nicholas Fairall – Finished 31st with a 95.7. Will be in the first round on Saturday at 12:30 PM ET.
  • Nick Alexander – Finished 30th with a 96.6. Will be in the first round on Saturday at 12:30 PM ET.

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