If you want to know just how much of an unknown and surprise Kaitlyn Farrington was as the gold medal winner today take a lot at what her wikipedia page looks like right now…
Yup. Almost nothing, a real unknown to most Americans. Her career highlights up until today included a gold in the 2010 X games and fourth place the world championship last year. She was the very last member named to the squad and knew she’d be in Sochi less than a month before the games.
After a couple of gold-less days for the US they finally grabbed their third gold medal late on Wednesday. It was one of two medals for the US on the day, both in the same event.
Events:
Four Americans were in the first 12 competitors in the downhill on Wednesday but none of them could move into first when they went down the hill. Jacqueline Wiles was second to go but had some crucial mistakes in her run and finished 26th in 1:44.35. Next up was Laurenne Ross. Ross was much cleaner but her time of 1:42.68 just wasn’t good enough to reach the top and she finished 11th in 1:42.68. Stacey Cook was the third to go and her run also lacked the sharpness necessary as she finished 17th in 1:43.05. The final hope was Julia Mancuso. Mancuso had a really good run but wasn’t quick enough in the middle of the course. She ended up eighth with a time of 1:42.56
Results Summarized:
Ahh! It happens! Not my day today- but pretty cool to see a tie for gold! #believeinUS still proud to represent my country in 8th!
— Julia Mancuso (@JuliaMancuso) February 12, 2014
Bethanie Mattek-Sands has become one of my favorite US players to watch over the last year. Her unique style is enjoyable and she has a lot of toughness. It seems like when she gets drawn against the top players she’s ready to battle them and despite adversity in most of those matchups she’ll battle back and not go down without throwing a few punches.
We saw that toughness on Tuesday when Mattek-Sands took on Eugenie Bouchard. Down a break late in set one with Bouchard serving for the set at 4-5 Mattek-Sands broke back and then after holding serve to 6-5 she broke Bouchard again to snatch the first set 7-5. She then continue the strong play in set two as she blazed to a 7-5, 6-1 win over the young Canadian. Mattek-Sands was great on her first serve winning 74% of the points and attacked Bouchard’s second serve. Bouchard was serving just 42% on her first serve so there were numerous opportunities as Mattek-Sands won 64% of Bouchard’s second serve points. Mattek-Sands now faces Monica Niculescu in round two and is the higher seeded player. 
What’s on tap today? Things slow down a bit with just eight disciplines and competition in nine events with six gold medals up for grabs. In today: Alpine skiing, ice hockey, and nordic combined’s first event. Out today: Biathlon, cross-country skiing, freestyle skiing, and ski jumping.
All times below are ET.
Events: Alpine skiing returns with the women’s downhill competition on Wednesday at 2 AM. This is a single run event with the best time winning. There are four Americans in the 42-woman field. The first American down the mountain will be Jacqueline Wiles, second overall. Then we’ll see Laurenne Ross seventh, Stacey Cook goes 10th, and then Julia Mancuso 12th. Then there will be a lot waiting and hoping the times hold up!
I will be pushing out of the start bib #2 tomorrow! Thank you everyone for all the love and support!… http://t.co/hOJ22XDFRL
— Jacqueline Wiles (@JankyLilJ) February 11, 2014
When:
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.
The US did take home a couple more medals on Tuesday but it’s hard to call the day a total success when you consider all the chances missed by the US. There were still a lot of great performances and awesome results, but a lot of disappointment for the US as well.
Events:
After disappointment in the sprint event on Sunday, American Susan Dunklee was hoping to rebound in a major way on Tuesday. That was all looking pretty good as she battled her way back from a 16th place start to fifth heading towards the final round of shooting. That’s where she missed three targets (four in the whole race) and the penalty laps that she had to take after that meant she finished 18th. It was another big disappointment for Dunklee.
Two other Americans were in the field but were not a major part of the race. Sara Studebaker was 44th at the start and fell to 51st after missing five targets. Annelies Cook started 53rd and slipped a spot to 54th after missing five targets as well.
Fantastic feeling on skis and 3 strong shooting stages tonight. Missed the last piece of the puzzle but I sure love being in the mix!
— Susan Dunklee (@SusanDunklee) February 11, 2014
Not the result I had hoped for, but 3 stages and skiing felt strong. And the fog stayed away until after the… http://t.co/JZmHxCGZmz
— Sara Studebaker (@SaraStudebaker) February 11, 2014
Results Summarized:
On Monday in Doha Sloane Stephens took to the court a heavy favorite over Petra Cetkovska, the 133rd ranked player in the world. The first set was a tight affair, some major struggles followed by a last ditch comeback. Nothing new for Sloane, and Stephens lost 7-5. The bottom fell out though in set two as she dropped it 6-1. Now the question will be asked: was this Sloane’s wrist just not healthy enough yet and her hoping she could play well and it just not happening, or is this just another disappointment of a young Stephens overlooking an opponent, not showing up focused, and losing it mentally when the going got tough?
Sloane does have a wrist injury, that happened back in Australia at the beginning of the year and no one is denying that. She even used it as an excuse to not play in the Fed Cup for the US this weekend. But then why was she in the draw at Doha? According to Sports Illustrated, that fact that Stephens was in the draw was a surprise to American Fed Cup captain Mary Jo Hernandez who was surprised it when told about it by a reporter (View that here). Maybe she stayed in the draw just to see what would happen in it, there’s certainly no penalty for going and trying, and the wrist still is really bothering her. She did have 70 points to try and defend and as a seeded player had a favorable draw.
But it would seem there is more at play here and her continued poor attitude at times on the court continues to weigh on peoples’ minds. Sloane is still just 20 years old, but she’ll be 21 in a month and the tennis world isn’t like the real world. She can’t bloom in her 30’s like the average 20-something who doesn’t get it together in their younger years. If she wants to be a top player in the world that development has to come soon. She’s been a star at the Grand Slams when all the attention is on with five straight appearances in the round of 16. Yet in lesser tournaments last year she often got knocked out early and went 24-19 (compared to 15-4 at Grand Slams). Becoming a real professional that shows up seriously each week and plays consistently is desperately needed for her.
What’s on tap today? Nine disciplines and competition in 11 events with eight gold medals awarded. Figure skating returns for the individual events now that the team event is done.
All times below are ET.
Events: Tuesday is the women’s 10 km pursuit event at 10 AM. The 60-woman field will chase the leader over the course with four rounds of shooting. Each missed shot is a 150 meter penalty loop. The field is staggered by the amount they finished behind the leader in the sprint event on Sunday. Three Americans will compete: Susan Dunklee, who might have medaled if she didn’t miss a target in the sprint event, starts in 14th starting 42 seconds after the leader, Sara Studebaker is 44th and starts 1:53 behind the leader, and finally Annelies Cook starts 2:17 behind the leader in 53rd.
Lifelong role models and lovers of anything ski related… Enjoying a moment with my parents post race yesterday http://t.co/yu0ZmUBAvx
— Susan Dunklee (@SusanDunklee) February 10, 2014
When:
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 biathlon will be included in NBC’s latenight coverage from 12-1 AM ET Wednesday morning.
Today was the first day of full competition at the Olympics that didn’t feature a US gold. The US took home only a bronze but there was only five events awarding medals so not a ton of opportunities for the US. Curling got underway on both the men’s and women’s side while the US women’s hockey team played their second of three group stage matches.
Events:
Monday was the women’s super combined event. The first half was the downhill portion with 39 athletes and four Americans in the field. The first one down the hill was Laurenne Ross but she did not finish the downhill as her shoe broke and she went down on the course. Next up was Julia Mancuso who started off great and kept it up all the way down the course leading to the best time of the event at 1:42.68. Mancuso would carry a 0.47 second lead to the slalom half. Leanne Smith finished in 1:45.06, 20th best in the downhill portion, while Stacey Cook did not finish the downhill as well.
Photo Credit: jonwick04 via Compfight cc
In the slalom half Smith wasn’t able to complete the course and got a DNF. That left Mancuso as the last American who could try to finish both events. Mancuso went last among the leaders and knew what she needed to take gold. She made a couple of mistakes however on the course and while she quickly recovered it wasn’t enough as she ended up third place by 0.53 seconds with a time of 2:35.15. Mancuso was thrilled with getting a bronze medal.
Humbled to be 1 of 3 American Winter Olympians to ever medal in 3 straight Olympics. With Bonnie Blair and @ApoloOhno !! Dreams come true:)
— Julia Mancuso (@JuliaMancuso) February 10, 2014
Enjoying this ‘Olympic fight’ (unfortunately) as a spectator due to a blown shoe in the downhill… oh… http://t.co/PfmCSyNAKe
— Laurenne Ross (@lalalalaurenne) February 10, 2014
Results Summarized:
This week is the Qatar Total Open in Doha, Qatar. This event is part of the Premier 5 on the WTA tour and the winner will get 900 ranking points.
Sloane Stephens is the only American in the field who is seeded (#14). The other Americans are Venus Williams (same half as Stephens), Varvara Lepchenko (other half of the draw) and Bethanie Mattek-Sands (same quarter as Lepchenko).
This is the route for each American to the final if the higher seeds hold out. Green means the American on the left would be the higher ranked player, red means they would be lower ranked. Bold on an athlete indicates that match has been completed. Click to expand.
What’s on tap today? Eight disciplines and competition in ten events, but just five gold medals will be awarded.
All times below are ET.
Events: Monday the women begin their alpine skiing events with the super combined. This event is one half downhill and one half slalom. The downhill portion is at 2 AM with four Americans in the 39-woman field. Laurenne Ross will be the first American to go but goes 14th overall. Julia Mancuso goes 22nd, Leanne Smith goes 27th, and Stacey Cook goes 30th. After completing the downhill portion the athletes will compete in the slalom portion at 6 AM. The best total time wins.
Family made it to Sochi! Tomorrow is my first event. Super Combined. Lets see if I can pull it out of the hat like in Vancouver! #FastDreams
— Julia Mancuso (@JuliaMancuso) February 9, 2014
When:
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 Olympic coverage, 8-11:30 PM ET.