Curling, Olympics, Recaps, Sochi 2014

Sochi Curling Recap – US Fails to Make a Mark at the Olympics

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There was some hope going into Sochi that the US curling teams could have a strong Olympics and perhaps make a real mark on Sochi. Instead the men and women combined to go 3-15 in a very disappointing Olympics.

Men’s Curling

Mens Curling

The US men went just 2-7 but it was not by a super wide margin as they were only outscored by 11 in the the nine matches. The ninth place result was a step up from Vancouver where they finished 10th but the US has not come close to matching their 2006 Olympics when they finished third. The sport has a cult following during the Olympics but the US hasn’t been able to turn that into success.

Mens Curling Yearly Best

Continue reading Sochi Curling Recap – US Fails to Make a Mark at the Olympics →

Tennis, WTA Tour

Four American Women to Begin Qualifying at BNP Paribas Open

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Previous WTA Tour Coverage

Four American women will start the qualifying event at the BNP Paribas Open on Monday. This is a WTA Premier Mandatory event, one of the biggest on the tour outside of the Grand Slams, and being on American soil in Indian Wells, California this is a good opportunity for young US players trying to improve their international standing.

All four Americans in the qualifying draw are unseeded and facing seeded players in the first round. The highest ranked American in qualifying is 23-year-old Irina Falconi. 19-year-old Grace Min is a former US Open Junior title winner and Allie Kiick is just 18 years old and has already won three times on the ITF Tour.

Womens Singles Qualifying - 3-2-14

Things will get underway for the women on Monday with the men’s qualifying starting on Tuesday. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of the BNP Paribas Open all tournament long so come back tomorrow night for a look at the men’s draw and how women’s qualifying is going.

Schedule:

  • March 3rd
    • 2 PM ET – Irina Falconi vs. #5 Camila Giorgi
    • 2 PM ET – Madison Brengle vs. #24 Romina Oprandi
    • 6 PM ET – Allie Kick vs. #19 Mandy Minella
    • 8 PM ET – Grace Min vs. #1 Barbora Zahlavova Strycova
Cycling, World Championships

Sarah Hammer Wins Second Straight Omnium World Championship With Lowest Point Total in History

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Previous 2014 Track Cycling World Championships Coverage

Sarah Hammer came into the day with a six point lead at the top of the omnium standings and maintained that lead all day en route to her second straight women’s omnium World championships. Hammer started things off with a win in the individual pursuit by over a second over Laura Trott. That took some of the pressure off as she held a seven point lead on Trott with just two events left.

2014 Track - Womens Omnium - Individual Pursuit

2014 Track - Womens Omnium - Scratch Race

Next up was the 10km scratch race. Hammer didn’t come tops, in fact Xiao Juan Diao had a great race and gained a lap on the field. Still Hammer finished ahead of Trott all but sealing the title with an eight point lead. In the final event, the time trial, Hammer came in fourth which was more than enough to give her the omnium title.

2014 Track - Womens Omnium - Time Trial

2014 Track - Womens Omnium - Standings - 3-3-14

 

Hammer’s title this year was even more dominant that last year as she accumulated just 14 points this year after 20 last year. Her margin of six was also better than the four point win she had last year and the 14 point total was the first time in the six-year history of the event that someone finished with less than 20 points.

This ends the major track cycling events for the 2013-14 season. The next Track Cycling World Cup will begin with an event at a location yet to be announced on November 7th-9th. Next year’s world championship will be held from February 18th-22nd but the location for that has not been announced either. The next cycling on our schedule is the start of the Mountain Bike World Cup in Pietermaritzburg on April 10th-13th. Check back then for more cycling coverage on WeSupportTheUS.com.

Archery, World Championships

Disappointment for US As They Fail to Win an Individual World Championship in Indoor Archery for First Time Ever

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Previous 2014 World Archery Indoor Championship Coverage

This was the 12th Indoor World Championships held and this will go down as the first where the US failed to win one of the individual titles. While the US has not won much in the recurve competitions (just one women’s title) they had won ten of the 11 compound men’s titles and six of the 11 women’s titles. They had competitors in both the men’s and women’s final today and both finals were tied 4-4 after four sets of arrows. Both of the fifth sets went against the US though with Reo Wilde dropping set five 30-29 and Christie Colin losing her third set 29-28.

Compound Women Individual - Elimination Rounds - 3-2-14

Jesse Broadwater was vying for a bronze and a third place finish in the men’s compound on Sunday as well. His matchup with Stephan Hansen was tied 5-5 after five sets and he lost a one arrow shootoff for third.

Compound Men Individual - Elimination Rounds - 3-2-14

The only US winner on Sunday in the final matches was Brady Ellison who took home a bronze after defeating Taylor Worth in the final 6-2. It’s the second straight indoor bronze for Ellison who also finished third in Las Vegas in 2012.

Recurve Men Individual - Elimination Rounds - 3-2-14

 

The next archery coverage on WeSupportTheUS.com will be in April when the Outdoor World Cup begins with the first stage in Shanghai from April 22nd-27th. Indoor archery won’t be back until November when the Indoor World Cup begins in Marrakesh, Morocco on November 8th and 9th.

 

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Ski Jumping

Jessica Jerome Soars Towards the Top, Lands First Top 2 Finish at Ski Jumping World Cup Event in Rasnov

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Previous Rasnov FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Coverage

Rasnov - First Round #2Jessica Jerome had her best event in a long time as she moved way up from a 15th place finish on Saturday at Rasnov. In the first round Jerome took advantage of some helping wind to put up a really strong distance score and accumulate 104.2 points and place fifth. She then improved on that in the final round going event farther with the wind in her face this time. Jerome scored a 115.8 on her second jump and moved all the way up to second overall where she finished with a 220. She wasn’t real close to first, 10 points back, but she also had a large gap on third place of eight points. It was the first time in the top three for Jerome in over two years and her best ever finish in a World Cup event.

Rasnov - Final Round #2

The women have four more events this season and the next one will be in Oslo, Norway on Saturday, March 8th. Check back later in the week to WeSupportTheUS.com for coverage of that event.

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup, Ski Jumping

Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson Fail To Advance From Qualifying at World Cup Ski Jumping Event in Lahti, Finland

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Previous Lahti – FIS Ski Jumping World Cup Coverage

Things didn’t last long for Nick Alexander and Anders Johnson on Sunday at the latest World Cup ski jumping event. Both men had their lowest scoring competitive jumps since the Olympics. The field overall had lower scores than the event on the same hill on Friday so they did move into the top 50 in the qualifying round. Alexander had the better distance of the two and was only 4.4 points away from qualifying in 47th place. Anders Johnson was right behind Alexander in 48th but was over five points behind him.

Lahti - Qualification Round #2

The next event on the ski jumping World Cup circuit is less than 200 miles away in Kuopio, Finland. It’ll begin with a qualification round on Monday with the main event on Tuesday. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of that event later on Sunday once we have a start list.

Cross-Country Skiing, FIS Cross-Country World Cup

Kikkan Randall the Top American Again as She Places 21st in Women’s 10km Free Cross-Country World Cup Event in Lahti

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Previous Lahti – FIS Cross-Country World Cup Coverage

Men’s 15km Free

Lahti - Mens 15km Free

Only one American placed in the top 50 in the men’s 15km free event and it was Noah Hoffman who was 24th about 90 seconds behind the winner. Hoffman was almost a minute in front of the next American, Erik Bjornsen, who placed 51st.

Women’s 10km Free

Lahti - Womens 10km Free

A day after winning the sprint event in Lahti, Kikkan Randall followed it up with a 21st place finish in the women’s 10km free event. Randall was 1:36.3 behind the winner. Three other Americans placed in the top 50 with Elizabeth Stephen the second highest in 32nd with her time of 26:59 leaving her 1:53.7 back.

Upcoming:

Wednesday, March 5th will be the next sprint competition in Drammen, Norway while the next races over this distance will be pursuit races at the World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden on March 16th. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of both of those competitions.

Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

Two Americans in the Top 12, Andrew Weibrecht in 7th, at Super-G World Cup Race in Kvitfjell

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Previous Kvitfjell – Alpine Skiing World Cup Coverage

The men made the transition from Downhill racing to Super-G on Sunday in Kvitfjell and for one American it was a welcome change. After finish 54th and 38th in the two downhill races Weibrecht finally got back to the event he’s best at and delivered a seventh place finish. It wasn’t quite the silver from Sochi he won but a nice result none the less. Bode Miller was the second best American, just like in Sochi, as he placed 12th in the event. No other Americans were in the top 30 and the best American from the two downhill races, Travis Ganong, took a DNF.

Kvitfjell - Super-G

The next men’s World Cup events will be a giant slalom event and slalom event held in Kranjska Gora, Slovenia on March 8th and 9th. They won’t race the super-g again until March 13th in Lenzerheide, Switzerland. Check back to WeSupportTheUS.com around those dates for coverage of the events.

Alpine Skiing, FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup

Julia Mancuso Finishes 18th, Top American at Crans-Montana in World Cup Downhill Event

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Previous Crans-Montana FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup Coverage

After being unable to get the race in on Saturday the conditions improved for Sunday and the race was held. Unfortunately no US women were in the top 15 or even within two seconds of the race winner. Julia Mancuso was the top American in 18th place but her time of 1:36.34 was 2:34 behind the winner.  Stacy Cook in 21st and Laurenne Ross in 30th were the only other Americans in the top 30.

Crans-Montana - Downhill

Upcoming:

The next women’s alpine skiing World Cup events are two giant slalom events and a slalom event in Are, Sweden from March 6th-8th. The final downhill event will be held in Lenzerheide, Switzerland on March 12th. WeSupportTheUS.com will have full coverage of both Are and Lenzerheide.

FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup, Freestyle Skiing

Hannah Kearney Back On Top: Day After DNF in Qualifying Kearney Wins Dual Moguls Competition in Inawashiro

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Previous Inawashiro FIS Freestyle Ski World Cup Coverage

Men’s Dual Moguls

Inawashiro - Mens Dual Moguls - Qualification

The US had a much strong qualification round for this event as six of the seven US men advanced from the qualification round by placing in the top 16. Patrick Deneen was the top American in fourth with Bradley Wilson and Joseph Discoe also placing in the top eight. Deneen advanced very tightly by a single point in the round of 16 while Bradley Wilson was beaten by his brother Bryon.

Inawashiro - Mens Dual Moguls - Round of 16

The quarterfinals were the end of the road for the Americans as both were knocked out in this round. Deneen came closest to advancing but lost 20-15.

Inawashiro - Mens Dual Moguls - Quarterfinals

Women’s Dual Moguls

Inawashiro - Womens Dual Moguls - Qualification

The US women were able to place five of their six competitors into the top 16 and Hannah Kearney rebounded from a DNF on Saturday to go top in qualifying. Heather McPhie followed with a second place seed. Kearney advanced easily in the round of 16 while Mcphie eked out a narrow 20-15 win while Sophia Schwartz moved into the quarterfinals as well with a 26-9 win.

Inawashiro - Womens Dual Moguls - Round of 16

Inawashiro - Womens Dual Moguls - QuarterfinalsIn a quarterfinal battle of Americans McPhie beat Schwartz 35-0 to move into the semifinals while Kearney had her closest matchup of the day getting the tight 19-16 win. The semifinals went much smoother for Kearney who had a big 28-7 win while McPhie kept it close but couldn’t knockoff Elena Muratova as she lost by the 19-16 score. That moved Kearney into the main final while McPhie would contest the small final.

Inawashiro - Womens Dual Moguls - Semifinals

Inawashiro - Womens Dual Moguls - Finals

Kearney took home the gold with an easy 34-1 win in the final while McPhie lost by the closest possible margin, 18-17, to end up 4th in the final standings.

Upcoming:

The next Freestyle Skiing World cup stop is in Arsoa, Switzerland on March 6th-7th but will only involve ski cross. Moguls will be back in Voss, Norway on March 15th-16th. WeSupportTheUS.com will have coverage of both upcoming World Cup events.

Covering America's Athletes