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Tag: Olympics

  • Adelina Sotnikova Wins Women’s Figure Skating Gold

    Russian figure skater Adelina Sotnikova won the gold medal in women’s figure skating in Sochi on Thursday.

    The win was a minor upset for South Korea, and a record setter for Russia.

    Sotnikova scored an overall 224.59 points, with 149.95 of those coming from Thursday’s free skate win. Sotnikova came in a close second to South Korea’s Kim Yu-na in the women’s short program on Wednesday.

    However, Kim finished well behind Sotnikova in the free skate on Thursday, earning 144.19 points for a total of 219.11. Kim, who won the gold at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, won the silver in Sochi.

    Although Kim skated a flawless routine, she landed only six triple jumps for Sotnikova’s seven, and trailed in her technical component score.

    Italy’s Carolina Kostner won the bronze, scoring a personal best of 142.61 in the free skate. It was a sweet victory for Kostner, who failed most of her jumps in the free skate in Vancouver in 2010.

    “After Vancouver I thought that was it,” she said recently. “I thought I would stop skating. I thought that was my end.”

    Sotnikova’s win makes her the first Russian to win an Olympic gold medal in women’s singles figure skating.

    “This is the happiest day in my life,” Sotnikova said. “I simply stepped on the ice today and realized how much I like what I’m doing and skated really good.”

    Even within her own country, few expected Sotnikova to take home the gold medal. Instead, all hopes were focused on Yulia Lipnitskaya. Lipnitskaya won first place in both the team women’s short and free skate, contributing to Russia’s gold medal in the inaugural team figure skating event.

    She was expected to challenge Kim for the gold in the individual competition.

    But Lipnitskaya came in a disappointing fifth place in the individual short skate on Wednesday, after falling on her triple flip.

    “I wanted to skate my best today, but it didn’t work,” she said. “I’ve lost control over my jumps — tiredness and emotions.”

    Lipnitskaya ended up in fifth place overall in the individual competition.

    American figure skating favorite Gracie Gold took fourth place.

    Although she didn’t end up on the podium, American Ashley Wagner defied her detractors by winning a respectable seventh place overall.

    America’s Polina Edmunds came in ninth.

    Sotnikova’s was the host country’s third figure skating gold medal, following first place wins in pairs and team skating. The victories have served as a comeback from the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics, where Russia failed to win a single figure skating gold medal.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding Drama To Play Out Again

    This year’s Olympic games have coincided with the 20th anniversary of figure skater Tonya Harding’s attack on rival Nancy Kerrigan, and the old story has been brought up several times throughout the games. The two women have already sat down for an interview with NBC’s Mary Carillo, and a documentary about the incident will air on Sunday night at 7 p.m. which is also hosted by Carillo.

    Kerrigan was attacked with a lead pipe to the knee while on the ice by Harding’s ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, when the two athletes participated in the 1994 Olympics. At first, many sided with Kerrigan, but after the media ran with the story, the entire tale became a tabloid editor’s dream, and Kerrigan eventually became an unsympathetic figure after her cries of “Why me?” following the attack turned into the wails of a spoiled ice princess.

    Kerrigan went on to win the silver medal that year, while Harding placed 8th. Many have wondered whether Kerrigan would have taken home the gold if the attack hadn’t been carried out, something that will be analyzed in the documentary.

    “This may have changed skating a little bit, but to me, it changed media forever,” says U.S. champion Scott Hamilton.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Ashley Wagner Takes Sochi Olympics Internet Memes in Stride

    Ashley Wagner doesn’t seem to be bothered by the internet memes that are circulating about her.

    The American figure skater has become well-known during the Sochi Olympics for her entertaining facial expressions.

    The first Wagner meme surfaced following her February 8 team short skate. Wagner quickly went from all smiles to a shocked and disappointed expression upon seeing her score.

    The score earned her fourth place in the event, behind Russia’s Yulia Lipnitskaya, Italy’s Carolina Kostner, and Japan’s Mao Asada.

    Despite Wagner’s obvious disappointment, she scored the US figure skating team 7 points, which was enough for them to win the bronze medal in the inaugural team figure skating event.

    One meme included a superimposed photo of Olympic gymnast McKayla Maroney, who some credit with starting the Olympic meme trend during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Maroney was caught on camera looking less-than-thrilled to receive the silver medal in the women’s vault competition.

    Wagner posted one of the memes on her Instagram feed, calling it the best she’d seen so far:

    The 22-year-old world champion skater took sixth place in the women’s short skate on Wednesday. Judging from the look on her face upon seeing her scores, she once again expected them to be higher, but managed to recover her smile more quickly than she did on February 8.

    Other memes of the Sochi Olympics have poked fun at Russia for its lack of preparedness, and for its president’s dour expressions.

    No one was safe from the memes during this Olympics, from NBC sportscaster Bob Costas, who has suffered an eye infection throughout the games, to little old ladies making flawed attempts at photography:

    Image via Twitter

  • For Ashley Wagner, Sochi Performances Have Been Redemptive

    No one could blame American figure skater Ashley Wagner for wanting to prove her detractors wrong in Sochi.

    And Wagner is holding her own at the Winter Olympics. She finished sixth in the women’s short program on Wednesday. And she earned fourth place for her team short program on February 8, helping Team USA win the bronze medal in the inaugural Olympic Figure Skating Team Event on Sunday.

    Wagner was a controversial pick for the US Olympic team.

    The 22-year-old finished in fourth place at the US figure skating nationals competition in Boston in January. It was a disappointing experience for Wagner, who had taken first place the prior two years. She fell twice, and has admitted since that nervousness made her legs feel like “lead” in Boston.

    Many thought Mirai Nagasu, who finished third in Boston, should have been the Olympic team pick.

    But Wagner’s strong performance in the international arena earned her the spot instead. She has performed especially well at Grand Prix events and was in fact the 2012 and 2013 Trophée Eric Bompard champion.

    “It is tough to hear people try and take away my accomplishments,” Wagner said. “Those two nights at nationals didn’t reflect me overall as a skater, and I am glad that [U.S. Figure Skating] recognized that.”

    Has her performance in Sochi been redemptive?

    “To the people who doubted I belonged on this team, yes,” she said after her fourth place finish in the team short skate. “But really it was more about proving to myself that I could get beyond that competition and that I wasn’t a nervous wreck and that I was that strong, hard-headed competitor that I know that I am and that my mother has been dealing with for 22 years, so that was good for me.”

    She’s being called a wild card, but depending on how she performs in the free skate on Thursday, Wagner still has a chance to end up on the podium.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Ashley Wagner Says “You Can’t Just Be A Zombie”

    Twenty-two-year-old U.S. figure skater Ashley Wagner is a world-reknown athlete who knows how to thrill and entice a crowd. The talented skater coins herself as “Figure skater. Two-time US National Champion. Ice cream enthusiast” on her Twitter account. Wagner recently explained the importance of maintaining a unique balance in order to become a champion capable of performing memorable ice-skating routines. In order to captivate an audience, a skater must adhere to technical knowledge and guidelines as well as showcasing an individual personality. Wagner understands this balance all too well.

    In a recent interview Wagner shared her thoughts on figure skating. “It is difficult because in a way to put on a performance you have to be emotional, you can’t just be a zombie out there or it will come across that way. It is about finding that happy medium of emoting enough so that the audience can really enjoy your performance and staying technical enough so that you can really just get the job done. The fighting spirit comes out in the pieces of music that I choose. I like to choose stronger pieces of music and honestly I like to become somewhat of a vicious character in my program. These characters that I take on fight for what they want and that’s really what I identify with,” she said.

    Though the Olympics can bring out the competitive nature in athletes, Wagner has learned that the true success of any athlete is achieved when challenging oneself. “In this crazy, crazy world of figure skating it is easy to focus on a name or a target, but when you are going after someone it really only holds you back from what you are capable of yourself. I am focusing on challenging myself and making myself better. I want to put out a program that will do the fighting for me.”

    Image Via Wikimedia Commons

  • Eve Muirhead And GB Curling Team Go For The Gold

    Since watching Rhona Martin win gold for Great Britain in the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, Eve Muirhead has vowed to do the same in the sport.

    At just 12 years old, Muirhead knew winning the gold in curling was what she wanted to do. “From that moment, it was what I wanted to do. I wanted to be like Rhona and win an Olympic gold medal,” said Martin.

    Muirhead had joined the sport of curling when she was nine years old and by the age of 19 she had already won three World Junior Championships. Her dreams of Olympic gold were closer to reality when she was chosen to skip for Great Britain’s curling team in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Sadly, the team didn’t make it out of the group stages.

    While curling runs in Muirhead’s blood – her father and two brothers also participate(d) in the sport – she is also a talented golfer. “With golf, it’s tough to make it to the top. I knew from a young age that I had good opportunities to do well in curling,” said Muirhead.

    Now it is 2014 and Muirhead is again on Great Britain’s Olympic curling team, this time in Sochi. In an amazing twist of fate for Muirhead, Rhona Martin is the coach of Great Britain’s curling team. The team is a bit different from when Martin played the sport. While Martin was a 36-year-old housewife raising two kids, Muirhead and her teammates Vicki Adams, Claire Hamilton and Anna Sloan are all full-time professionals in their 20s, spending their time at the gym, with nutritionists and psychologists.

    These young faces may be helping to change the way people look at curling. Said Muirhead, “A lot of people look at curling and think it’s a sport for the older generation, but that’s not the case and hopefully a lot more young people can get involved.”

    One of Muirhead’s former teammates, Jackie Lockhart, believes Great Britain’s curling team has a good chance in Sochi. “Eve has grown up massively over the last four years. She’s still only 23 but she’s very professional on the ice. She is a fiery character who will crucify herself if she doesn’t make a shot 100 percent, and she can’t allow that to happen in the semi-final. She has got to be focused and she is not afraid to make the big shots, which is what will worry Canada skip Jennifer Jones,” said Lockhart.

    Great Britain competed against Canada on Wednesday. Canada beat Muirhead and her team 6-4, leaving Great Britain to compete for the bronze medal against Switzerland on Thursday.

    Image via YouTube.

  • Ted Ligety Wins Gold Medal in Giant Slalom at Sochi Olympics

    Alpine ski racer Ted Ligety won the gold medal in the giant slalom in Sochi on Wednesday, setting several Olympic records.

    The win made the 29-year-old Park City, UT native the first American male skier to win the Olympic giant slalom. He also became the first American male to win two Olympic gold medals in Apline skiing.

    Ligety previously won the gold medal in the men’s combined event in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy.

    He joins Andrea Mead-Lawrence as one of only two Americans to take home gold medals in Apline skiing. She won the slalom and giant slalom in 1952 at the Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway.

    “I’ve been wanting to win this medal my whole life, but in a realistic sense the last four years,” Ligety said. “All season long everybody talks about the Olympics, Olympics, Olympics. At a certain point I was just like, ‘Let’s do it already. Let’s just get this thing over with so we can stop talking about the pressure and everything with it.’”

    Ligety finished the race with a combined two-run time of 2 minutes, 45.29 seconds. Steve Missillier of France finished 0.48 behind to take the silver medal and his fellow Frenchman Alexis Pinturault took the bronze, finishing 0.64 behind Ligety.

    “To be able to throw it down in the event I had the most pressure in, and the event I was the favorite in — to be able to do that is awesome,” Ligety said. “This was really the event that I wanted to win. … I know where I stand in giant slalom.”

    Known for being humble and upbeat, Ligety has been called “one of the nicest men in ski racing.”

    Fellow Olympian and Alpine ski racer Bode Miller had nothing but words of praise for Ligety: “I think he’s one of the best GS skiers in history,” Miller said. “He’s so much better at it than everybody else. … He just is so consistent. He makes no errors. And anybody who’s trying to cut off line just ends up making mistakes and it makes a huge gap.”

    Ligety will compete in the men’s slalom event on February 22. Miller, who won the bronze in the men’s super-G on Sunday, announced that he will sit out the slalom after tweaking his surgically repaired knee in the giant slalom.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue: Coach is to Blame

    Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue lost their chance at a gold medal in ice dancing to their rivals and training mates Meryl Davis and Charlie White. So, what’s next for the duo?

    Finger pointing, apparently. And the person at the focus of the pointing finger is the trainer of both couples and former soviet ice dancer, Marina Zoueva.

    Moir and Virtue say they believe part of the reason they lost to Davis and White is because the coach had become more focused on the American team, according to AFP.

    As the Americans began to pass the pair up in skill and accomplishment, they say she slowly began to focus more on White and Davis. Which seems to have paid off for the US, now that we have our first ice dancing gold to add to the list. Of course it wasn’t just the training. White and Davis can also attribute their success to the comfort of a seventeen year working relationship and unebbing support from their moms.

    “We were both pretty blunt with her in the fall and leading up to the Olympics. We weren’t happy and we felt that sometimes she wasn’t in our corner,” Moir said of Zoueva. “We went to Marina on countless occasions and told her there was no way we would be happy with the silver medal. We’ve had some odd things happen this year that haven’t happened before. We expected that Marina would march with us and be on our team like she was in Vancouver … she wasn’t.”

    One of those odd things Moir spoke of was Marina’s glaring absence at the couple’s national championship competition. However, when a coach has two really great teams on her hands, what is she to do?

    Moir admitted, “She’s not in any easy position. My Mom’s a figure skating coach and she always says to me ‘you know she (Zoueva) can’t win no matter what’ … well you know she does win no matter what.”

    “There’s always an angry set of parents and an angry set of skaters out there so she has a hard job.”

    The Canadian duo was quick to say that they weren’t displeased with their silver medal in ice dancing, ”We couldn’t have asked for more about our performances,” Virtue said. ”It’s nice to be satisfied and content with our job. We’ve managed to create the Olympic moment.”

    What does the future hold for Moir and Virtue? Well, retirement is expected, but they haven’t confirmed or denied that yet.

    Image via You Tube

  • Brittany Schussler in Hot Water for Selfie With Vladimir Putin

    Canada’s Brittany Schussler hasn’t won an Olympic medal yet, but if medals were given out for worst selfie, the speed skater would definitely win gold. Schussler found herself in hot water after posting a selfie with Russian president Vladimir Putin to her Twitter page. Putin has been the center of much controversy after defending his country’s new anti-gay law. The 28-year-old speed skater has since deleted the picture from Twitter and said that she never intended to offend anyone with the selfie.

    Schussler took the photo with Putin while the Russian president visited Canada House in Olympic Park on Friday. The skater uploaded the photo to Twitter with the caption, “I should have asked him to be my valentine!” The photo immediately received a lot of backlash, with many people criticizing Schussler for seemingly aligning herself with the anti-gay proponent.

    Check out the offending photo below.

    After receiving a lot of hateful messages, Schussler removed the photo and has since posted a couple of tweets saying she never meant to offend anyone with the photo.

    While many people have blasted Schussler for posting the photo with Putin, a few have come to her defense. Elvis Stojko, a Canadian figure skater and two-time Olympic silver medalist, told the Winnipeg Free Press that he didn’t believe people were right to rake Schussler over the coals for the photo.

    “It’s up to the discretion of the individual athlete to decide how they want to go about it. In this particular situation, just because you pose with someone doesn’t mean you agree with what they’re doing. He was invited into Canada House and he was there to invite us into his country,” Stojko said.

    “Out of respect for him, and he runs the country, they’re being respectful to him. They’re following etiquette,” Stojko continued. “There’s a forum to speak your mind on certain issues. They can speak their mind, but this isn’t really the place for it. This is about the Olympics and bringing everyone together and promoting harmony and peace. That’s the whole point. The opening ceremonies were all about harmony and peace. We want to try and show the positives. The biggest thing, you can’t fix hate with hate.”

    Do you think Brittany Schussler is deserving of all the backlash she is receiving for her selfie with Putin? Add your comments below.

    Image via Twitter

  • Meryl Davis and Charlie White: Moms Helped Win Gold

    Meryl Davis and Charlie White have just scored the ultimate goal and have brought home to the USA that coveted gold medal during Sochi’s winter olympics.

    This is an historic gold medal, as the US has never won for ice dancing before. The pair have been training together for seventeen years and have worked hard every day of their lives to get where they are today.

    Their journey began as awkward kids of 8 and 9, having a hard time trying to pull off the “chemistry” needed to fake passion and other sorts of emotions that grade school kids are completely unaware of.

    They have certainly come a long way and their familiarity and ease with each other are mainly credited with giving them the edge that they needed to beat out a number of great ice dancing athletes on Monday.

    However, the two might say that there were also two other magic ingredients to the mix that made all the difference in the world.

    “Charlie is very anti-superstition – we don’t have any concrete good luck charms we rely on,” Davis said, according to People. “But I think our moms are as close to good luck charms as we have.”

    The pair’s moms have never missed a competition, said Davis, “and one tradition we have is that before we compete, we take a moment to give our moms a hug before we warm up.”

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkHNASQM0rs

    “We’re so grateful to have them with us wherever we go in the world,” Davis says of the moms.

    They are so grateful that the gold-winning duo participated with P&G in their “Thank You, Mom” campaign. That gave them the chance to feature their moms in the above video and thank them for all the years of cheering, support, and just being there as Mom.

    It’s clearly a dream come true for two amazing athletes and their devoted moms.

    Image via You Tube

  • USA Takes First Ever Gold in Ice Dancing

    The USA gains another gold medal, and our first in ice dancing. Graceful pair Meryl Davis and Charlie White wowed the crowd with a cheerful “My Fair Lady” performance in the short program on Sunday, then another spectacular performance to “Scheherazade” in Monday’s free skate portion of the competition.

    The pair went on to nail the long program with a season best of 116.63 points and an overall score of 195.52, according to the New York Times.

    They beat out 2010 champions and chief rivals Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada. They danced to pieces by Russian composers Alexander Glazunov and Alexander Scriabin.

    Bringing home the bronze for ice dancing Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov of Russia, who performed “Swan Lake” and earned a total of 183.48.

    Meryl Davis and Charlie White have been skating together for seventeen years, beginning when she was 9 and he was 8. An awkward situation for any co-ed pair of that age, they overcame the weirdness with a clever trick thought up by their coach. Marina Zoueva, who trained both top finishing teams, stuck a smiley face sticker to White’s forehead in order to give the girl somewhere else to look besides her partners eyes.

    Davis and White, as well as Virtue and Moir, trained at the Arctic Edge ice arena in Canton, Michigan, which is just outside of Detroit. They have all four come so far from their early beginnings.

    “Having been together 17 years plays a huge part in how comfortable we are on the ice and in big moments,” Davis said after the short program was complete. “We’ve been through so much together. When we took the ice, we felt calm.”

    Their calm demeanor and familiarity went a long way to help them relax and focus on winning the gold in Sochi and to defeat many truly excellent performers.

    Image via You Tube

  • Normal People Tapped For Glorious Fake Torch Run

    The Winter Olympics are well underway, and people across the world are cheering for their athletes. Though the opening ceremony was not without its problems, for the most part the games are providing the curling athletic competition everyone wants.

    In the spirit of the Games, theater troupe Improve Everywhere recently set up a new performance piece on the streets of Manhattan. The group, well-known for their yearly No Pants Subway Ride, concocted a fake Olympic torch run and enlisted normal passersby into the performance.

    One actress holding the torch offered it to random New Yorkers, feigning an injury. The marks were told to run the torch around the corner, where they were then greeted with a large cheering crowd and a fake news crew:

  • Lindsey Jacobellis Falls Short Of Gold Yet Again

    Lindsey Jacobellis, who has widely been regarded as the best female snowboarder in the last ten years, fell again in semifinals on Sunday – making it her third Olympics games without a gold medal.

    Jacobellis looked promising in the first round of qualifying for women’s snowboarding cross, finishing second behind Eva Samkova (who ended up with the gold). The second round started strong, with Lindsey taking a far lead ahead of the pack, but a huge jump and a patch of soft snow took the pro boarder down, ending her 8 year dream of an Olympic gold medal.

    Jacobellis’ first spill was in Turin’s 2006 Winter Games, when she was only 20. Four years later in Vancouver, she fell in semifinals, never seeing the last round. Sochi marks the second time she’s fallen in a qualifying round and missed the finale. The slip-ups are especially unusual since Lindsey is the most successful cross rider the sport has ever seen, winning gold in the Winter X games a whopping eight times.

    “I thought I was riding really well,” said Jacobellis, who ended the Sochi games in 7th place. “It’s just a fluke when things work out and when they don’t. I felt very calm and composed, very excited about this event because I really like the course. It just so happened to not work out.”

    “People don’t understand how much pressure is put on her,” said Faye Gulini, her American teammate. “It breaks my heart because I think it takes the fun out of it for her. It’s in her head, you know. I feel like people are so ready to see her fail. That’s not how things should be. She deserves a gold medal,” Gulini said. “She’s put in the time. She’s talented. She’s got it.”

    When asked if we’ll see her again in Pyeongchang, Lindsey left her answer open-ended, but it’s probably a safe bet that she’ll give it another shot. In four years she’ll be 32, which is still a fair competing age – the Sochi silver medalist, Dominique Maltais, is 33. Here’s hoping that her fourth Olympics bring her the gold she deserves.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Kate Hansen Dances Her Way Through Sochi

    Kate Hansen had a bit of unorthodox training – riding skateboards through suburban streets – so it’s no surprise how she reacted when she placed 10th in her event at the Sochi Olympics.

    When Hansen’s race, the women’s singles luge event, was over she wasn’t ready to leave just yet. She sat on her sled for just a moment, pounded the slush, waved to her crying family, got up, went above the finish line and did something you would only expect a gold medal winner to do.

    She danced.

    “Everybody was chanting, ‘Dance, dance, dance.’ I’m so grateful to be here, I didn’t want to be that kind of person to just walk away,” said Hansen.

    While many would have walked away crying with their heads down, the 21-year-old Hansen showed us that it isn’t just about winning, it’s about your perspective and what you take from your time at the Olympics.

    “I will be so thankful for this moment for the rest of my life. This moment is what people talk about in all those movies, what people dream about, it’s all real, and I’m just so grateful,” said Hansen. “I didn’t come here assuming I’d win anything, I just came here to go for it and do my best. I’m so lucky that happened.”

    Hansen had a few setbacks in her career, but she didn’t let them keep her down. At 16 she broke her back while training on the same Vancouver run that killed a luger from Georgia in the Olympics four years ago. Not long after that she broke her foot.

    These broken bones didn’t keep her from moving forward, she just chose to do it with Beyonce themed warm-ups.

    The Southern California native only dances to Beyonce during her warmups, and when the singer caught wind of this she took to her Facebook page. Beyonce shared a link with the caption “Go Kate!” before Hansen’s event.

    While Hansen didn’t receive a medal, fellow American Erin Hamlin finished third, making her the first woman in U.S. history to receive a medal in the luge event. Hansen tweeted out a photo of Hamlin with her bronze medal.

    Hansen further showed us that winning isn’t everything when she said, “I was sitting on that track thinking, ‘Honestly, you’ve been through so much and you’re here, you’re actually at the Olympics, you’ve made it, Hansen!’”

    Many may already be aware of Hansen’s world famous dancing at this point, but if not, watch the video below.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi8RO0R0_ho

    Image via Hansen’s official Twitter account.

  • Let AsapSCIENCE Tackle Some Olympics-Related Scientific Queries

    Our favorite science illustrators AsapSCIENCE usually take a couple-week break between uploading some of the finest 2-minute animated science videos on the internet. Basically, AsapSCIENCE takes complicated topics and boils them down to their most salient points, and then presents them to your average YouTube user in a clear an concise manner.

    What’s not to love?

    Well, here’s a treat. AsapSCIENCE has decided to tackle a bunch of topics that are related to the Olympics–performing in the Olympics, and general athletics in general. As the action in Sochi heats up (cools down?), take a look at some interesting scientific concepts that impact The Games like the actual advantage of stretching, talent vs. training, why we get nervous, and how music can improve athletic performance.

    Enjoy!

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Carina Vogt Wins Historic Gold at Sochi

    Skier Carina Vogt made a historic win in the first ever women’s ski jumping event at Sochi. She grabbed an early lead with jumps of 103 and 97.5 meters, for a total 247.4 points, according to Yahoo.

    Daniela Iraschko-Stolz was second with 246.2 points, and bringing home the bronze is France’s Coline Mattel at 245.2 points.

    Vogt fell to her knees in disbelief when she saw the final scores. “It’s amazing, I’m the first woman (Olympic) champion in ski jumping. I’ve not won a World Cup till now. It’s unbelievable.”

    “I cannot find the right words… I wouldn’t have thought it was possible three hours ago,” she said.

    It was hard for all to believe considering the women’s ski jumping event was considered a contest between 17-year-old three-time junior world champion and World Cup title winner from last year of Japan, SaraTakanashi and Iraschko-Stolz, who is 13 years older.

    Vogt, who is a trained police officer, didn’t come to Sochi with a great street cred or experience. She finished third with Germany in a mixed team at the world titles in Italy last year, only winning fifth in the individual normal hill competition.

    Surprisingly, Takanashi finished fourth, with disappointing second jump of only 98.5 meters. She came in the hopes of winning Japan’s first gold medal since the 2006 Turin Games when Shizuka Arakawa won the ladies singles in figure skating, according to ESPN.

    “I couldn’t jump the way I wanted to on both attempts,” said Takanashi.

    “I came here wanting to do my best. I’m incredibly disappointed.”

    However, she seemed be looking on the bright side, saying, “It’s a good experience being at the Olympic Games and I’m glad to be part of it.”

    Sarah Hendrickson, the 19-year-old defending world champion from Park City, Utah and fellow competitor of Takanashi’s said of her, “It’s a crazy world the Olympics. It shows she is a human being. I wish I could tell her she is still an amazing athlete and that she has many good years to come.”

    Carina Vogt now has a little something more substantial to put under her belt, or around her neck, I should say. I am sure her home country of Germany is exceedingly proud.

    Image via wikimedia commons

  • Brittany Bowe Competes in First Event at Sochi Winter Olympics

    Brittany Bowe took 13th place in the women’s 500-meter speed skating event at the Sochi Winter Olympics on Tuesday.

    Thirteenth place might not sound like much, but it was an impressive race for the 25 year-old Ocala, Florida native. A former inline skating chamption, Bowe didn’t even start ice skating until July 2010. She was playing basketball at Florida Atlantic University during the last Winter Olympics.

    The 500-meter event consists of two heats. Because the distance is too short to allow for lane changes, each skater gets to race on both the inner and outer lanes of the big oval in order to compensate for the slight advantage given the skater on the inner lane.

    Bowe skated a 38.81 in the first heat and a 38.37 in the second giving her a combined time of 77.18.

    The gold medal went to South Korea’s Lee Sang Hwa. Her performance was a record-breaking one. Her time in the second heat – 37.28 – broke the single race record and her combined time – 74.70 – broke the overall two-race Olympic record. Lee was favored to win the gold at Sochi, after having won it four years ago in Vancouver. She set the world record for the distance four times in 2013.

    Bowe’s teammate Heather Richardson took eighth place in the 500-meter with times of 37.73 and 38.02, for a total of 75.75. This is Richardson’s second Olympic Games; she finished sixth in the 500-meter at Vancouver four years ago.

    Richardson and Bowe came in first and second respectively at the qualifying races in Salt Lake City. Along with Shani Davis, they are part of what is considered by many to be the strongest US long-track speed skating team since the 2002 Winter Olympics.

    Bowe will hit the ice again on Thursday for the 1000-meter event, and on Sunday for the 1500-meter. In November, she set the world record in the 1000-meter and the US record for the 1500-meter.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • India’s Olympics Ban Lifted By IOC

    India’s Olympics Ban Lifted By IOC

    India is back in the game, officially. After being suspended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in December 2012, India has been reinstated in the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

    The suspension is a result of the country’s refusal to ban a corruption-tainted official, Lalit Bhanot, from running for elections in the Indian Olympic Association and consequently getting a top post. One of the requirements of the IOC is that persons who have been convicted or charged are not eligible to run for positions within the organization.

    Bhanot had been charged with corruption and had spent almost a year in jail prior to being elected to the Indian Olympic Association. The Indian association refused to abide by the changes demanded by the IOC, and the situation created a deadlock, extending up to the start of the Winter Games.

    When the Sochi Games started, the saffron, white, and green flag of India was not seen during the opening ceremony parade, but its three athletes were. The delegation, composed of luger Shiva Keshavan and two skiers, marched under an IOC flag.

    Before the Winter Games and knowing the situation they were in, Keshavan found a way to represent his country. And what better medium to wear his colors proudly than his uniform? A close look at the white suit shows not only the colors of the Indian flag, but the names of some of the donors who supported the luger.

    So what made the IOC end India’s suspension?

    On February 9, the Indian Olympic Association held a general assembly and elected a new set of officers. The IOC was in attendance to observe the proceedings, and the delegates reported that the Indian association complied with all of the Committee’s requirements.

    The lifting of the suspension means that Keshavan and his countrymen can now race under their own national flag and walk behind it on February 23, during the Games’ closing ceremony. The lifting of a ban of a national committee during the Games is a first in Olympic history.

    http://youtu.be/h4wFFB_AatM

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  • Sarah Burke: IOC Can Ban Sticker, But Not Her Memory

    Sarah Burke, the freestyle skier who died in a halfpipe accident in 2012, has a fan club at the Olympics among what would have been her fellow competitors. However, the International Olympic Committee has stepped in and called the stickers that they wear, bearing Sarah’s name, a political statement and have banned them, according to CBC.

    This is disappointing news to Sarah’s mother, Jan Phalen. “I think all the kids are just really wanting to honor Sarah and thank her and remember her for all the work she did to get their sport into the Olympics,” said Phelan at the family’s home is Squamish, B.C.

    “There’s a very good chance that skiing the halfpipe would not be in the Olympics if it weren’t for Sarah, and she did give her life to it.”

    IOC spokesperson Mark Adams said, “She really needs to be well remembered, I think, and absolutely, we want to help the athletes to remember her in some way and there are all sorts of things we can do. The competitions themselves, which are a place of celebration, are probably not the right place or are not the right place, in our opinion, to really do that.”

    So, the IOC recommended that Sarah’s colleagues and friends honor her with a news conference or a ceremony at the multifaith center in Sochi’s Olympic Village. The stickers have to go, though.

    Sarah’s friends are not all that thrilled.

    “I know that she would have wanted us to keep pushing the sport and go to the Olympics and represent Canada as best as we could,” said Canada’s Mike Riddle, who was a close friend of Burke’s. “She is going to be on our minds a lot the whole time we are there.”

    According to The Globe and Mail, some athletes, including Canadian freestyle skier Roz Groenewoud are considering wearing a snowflake pendant or badge, similar to a tattoo that Sarah had. That is, if they don’t ban that, as well.

    Jan Phalen is headed to the Olympics this week to watch the women’s half-pipe event , which her daughter helped pioneer and fought to have included in the Olympic games. She was a favorite to win the gold this year.

    “I’m very excited and very pleased this is Sarah’s legacy, and I’m very proud of my daughter. And then, on the other hand, I really wish she would have been there too.”

    She is there, in the spirit of her devoted fans and friends. All those competing will undoubtedly feel her there in the spirit of the competition that she so dearly fought for.

    Image via youtube

  • Olga Graf, Russian Speed Skater, Nearly Flashes Crowd After Winning the Bronze

    Speed skater Olga Graf won Russia its first medal of the 2014 Olympic Games on Sunday. In a surprising win, she took the bronze medal in the women’s 3000 meter event at Adler Arena.

    Her moment of triumph almost ended in embarrassment though, when – following her cool-down lap – an ecstatic Graf unzipped her skin-tight racing suit right down to her belly button, forgetting that she was wearing nothing underneath.

    “I totally forgot,” Graf admitted through a translator. “We have very good suits and they are very tight. … You just want to breathe and you want to take off your suit.”

    She went on to say “Only afterward did I realize that maybe this video will appear on YouTube. But I don’t think it will be so bad.”

    And sure enough, video footage abounds on YouTube.

    Despite her wardrobe malfunction close call, Graf made her home country proud.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin offered words of praise: “You brought an unforgettable moment of triumph and utter joy to millions of fans by taking the first medal for our team,” he said.

    Graf’s time in the 3000 meter event was 4:03.47. Dutch speed skating legend Ireen Wust took the gold with a time of 4:00.34 and Martina Sablikova took the silver for the Czech Republic with a time of 4:01.95.

    It was Wust’s third straight Olympic gold medal. She previously won the gold in Vancouver (1500 meters) and Turin (3000 meters.)

    “I have won three times in a row, I can’t believe it,” said Wust. “It is unbelievable and it is also a big relief. I have never felt this much pressure. I was not the only one who wanted to win, 17 million Dutchies wanted the same.”

    Sablikova, who specializes in longer distances such as the 3000 meters and who won gold for the distance in Vancouver four years ago, was favored to take the top spot in Sochi.

    Germany’s Claudia Pechstein was expected to be a medal contender in the 3000 meter event. It would have been her tenth Olympic medal. She ended up in fourth place with a time of 4:05.26.

    Her much talked about fashion blunder aside, Graf’s best surprise of the Sochi games was edging Pechstein out of the top three and claiming the host country’s first medal of the 2014 games, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

    “I didn’t expect such support from the audience,” Graf said. “I want to thank them.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Sarah Burke Memorial Stickers Banned By IOC

    The International Olympic Committee is remaining firm in their decision to ban the athletes from wearing the Sarah Burke memorial stickers during the Olympic games.

    Burke, a Canadian freestyle skier, was killed two years ago, in January 2012, after sustaining injuries while training, in Park City, Utah. Since then, fellow athletes have been mourning her death, and wanted to wear a sticker on their helmets to honor their fallen friend.

    However, the IOC made the decision to ban the stickers, saying that they do not allow “political statements” to be made during competitions. IOC spokesman Mark Adams addressed the issue, on Monday, saying that they understand that she should be remembered, but they did not feel that this was the appropriate time or place to do so.

    “She really needs to be well remembered, I think, and absolutely, we want to help the athletes to remember her in some way and there are all sorts of things we can do,” Adams said. “From our side we would say that the competitions themselves, which are a place of celebration, are probably not the right place to really do that and we like to keep that separate.”

    Adams suggested that the athletes put together some kind of commemoration, and offered to allow them hold the commemoration at the Multi Faith Centre. “For us it is a question of what is appropriate and where would be the best place,” Adams explained. “As I say, we are very keen to help people who want to have a remembrance or do something and to do that in what would be the appropriate place.”

    Several athletes are not satisfied with the alternative option, and have taken to their social media accounts to voice their infuriation.

    “I ride with a Sarah sticker on my snowboard and helmet always,” Torah Bright, an Australian snow boarder, wrote in a post on Instagram. “The IOC however, considers Sarah stickers ‘a political statement’ and have banned them. WOW. Sarah is a beautiful, talented, powerful women, whose spirit inspires me still. She is a big reason why skier pipe/slope are now Olympic events.”

    Do you think the memorial stickers should be allowed? Leave your comments below.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons