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Tag: winter olympics

  • Tara Lipinski Joins Johnny Weir, Terry Gannon To Make NBC Lead Figure-Skating Announcing Team

    Former champion figure skater Tara Lipinski is joining forces with fellow champion figure skater Johnny Weir and sports announcer Terry Gannon to form NBC’s lead figure-skating announcing team. The team was announced on Wednesday, October 22, when all three appeared on the TODAY show.

    Lipinski, who won the 1998 Olympic gold medal for figure skating, was first seen announcing with Weir, three-time US figure skating champion, at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Lipinski and Weir were famous then for their banter and coordinated outfits, which NBC is hoping they will provide in all its future coverage of figure skating events henceforth.

    “Johnny, Tara and Terry were breakout TV stars in Sochi. We’re excited that viewers will be treated to this team’s informative and entertaining commentary for many years to come, all while looking fabulous,” said Jim Bell, executive producer of NBC Olympics, in a statement.

    Banter between Lipinski and Weir drew praise for them onscreen and on Instagram. Lipinski, Weir and Gannon will be doing their first assignment this weekend in Chicago at the NBC broadcast of the 2014 Hilton Honors Skate America, with analyst Tracy Wilson and reporter Andrea Joyce.

    “NBC gave us an opportunity of a lifetime in Sochi. I could not be more excited to continue this journey. My goal is to continue educating, entertaining and bringing the incredible sport of figure skating to a new generation of fans,” said Lipinski. “I cannot wait to begin and I’m lucky to have my talented co-pilots Johnny and Terry by my side. Being a part of this is a combination of all of my favorite things, and I look forward to the adventures in the years ahead.”

    Lipinski reportedly looks up to broadcasters Dick Button and Scott Hamilton, who were both Olympic champions and long-time figure skating commentators.

  • Carolina Kostner Wins Bronze, Atones for Vancouver

    Italy’s Carolina Kostner won the bronze medal in women’s figure skating in Sochi on Thursday.

    The 27-year-old native of Bolzano, Italy scored 74.12 points in the short program and 142.61 in the free skate for a total of 216.73. That put her in third place behind Russia’s surprise gold-medal winner Adelina Sotnikova (224.59 points) and South Korea’s Kim Yu-na (219.11 points.)

    On her personal website, Kostner called Wednesday’s short program performance “a very touching moment,” but it was Thursday’s free skate that gave her a personal best score.

    It was a redeeming accomplishment after a fairly disastrous free skate in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. She fell three times and managed only one clean triple jump, finishing in a disappointing 19th place.

    The Turin 2006 Winter Olympics were marginally better, but discouraging nonetheless, considering she was performing on her home turf. She placed ninth.

    Post by Carolina Kostner.

    At one point, Kostner considered quitting:

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

    But she realized that she enjoyed the sport too much to quit.

    “It was really hard times,” she said. “So I told myself, no results any more, just skating. And that’s what I started skating for, right? Not to be known or anything.”

    She went on to win the prestigious 2011 Grand Prix final. Then, in 2012, she won the world championships in Nice, France. She took second place in the same competition in 2013 in London. She also won the European championships in 2012 and 2013.

    Post by Carolina Kostner.

    “I wanted to skate because I love it,” she said of why she decided to continue after Vancouver. “The hard times make you understand what you really want and I’m really glad that I continued and honored to have experienced everything that I have in the past years.”

    Today’s Kostner has been praised for her poise and lyricism, called mature and aware.

    “So long we have been thinking of Carolina as the artist,” said 1998 Olympic champion Tara Lipinski, “but her technique; she took everything down a grade and then built it back up these last four years. That was the whole package. ”

    Kostner’s competitor, American figure skater Ashley Wagner, also had words of praise:

    “Her lows are definitely low … We have all seen her have some really rough skates. It is impressive she doesn’t let that become entirely the skater she is. To come back so strong and put it together mentally and physically is impressive.”

    Kostner could easily have called it quits after winning the world championship, but instead decided to stay in the game.

    “When an artist becomes a master, it’s his best time,” Kostner said. “I love to do it. I’m not ready to give that up yet.”


    With an Olympic bronze medal to mitigate the pain of Turin and Vancouver, it looks like Kostner made the right decision.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir Take Ice Dance Silver In Sochi

    Tessa Virtue and dance partner Scott Moir from Canada won silver for their performance in the ice dance event in this year’s Winter Games in Sochi. In the free dance portion, they earned 114.66 points, their best for the season. American pair Meryl Davis and Charlie White scored 116.63 points. The Canadians had an overall score of 190.99, which was not enough to best the Americans, who got 195.52 and the gold. Taking the bronze are Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsapalov of Russia, who scored 183.58 overall.

    Virtue and Moir are two-time world champions, and are Davis and White’s training partners. Both teams are top contenders in ice dancing, capturing international ice dance titles left and right. The Canadians won the event in the 2010 Winter Olympics, with the Americans getting silver. Last year, the Americans began edging out Virtue and Moir, winning the Grand Prix Final in December and the 2013 world title.

    Aside from being training partners, the two teams also share the same coach, Marina Zoueva. When you have one coach for two rival teams, things could get a little dicey.

    In an interview, Moir stated that there had been times when he and Virtue did not feel like Zoueva was on their side. He expected Zoueva to work with them like she did four years ago, but that didn’t transpire. The pair said they knew why their coach spent most of her time with the other team, but there had been differences that the Canadians had to fix on their own.

    Moir confessed that there had been occasions when he and Virtue had to reassess where they stood with Zoueva, and had spoken to her on numerous occasions to say that they would not be satisfied with second place. They had some unusual things happen in the past year and felt that the gold medal was being pulled away from their reach.

    Virtue and Moir have not announced their plans for the future, but stated this would be the last time they would be joining the Olympics.

    Images via Facebook

  • Charles Hamelin Stays Positive After Another Fall

    Canadian speed skater Charles Hamelin was hopeful at the beginning of this year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi. He felt confident, and he was being touted as the skater everyone should watch out for. He was in the running for medals in all four of the men’s short track events—that is, until the unfortunate happened, and he started falling.

    Hamelin was expected to rack up medals from the men’s 5000-meter relay, and the 500m, 1000m, and 1500m heats. After falling in the 1000m and 500m events, he was only able to take the gold for the 1500m. In the semifinals of the 5000m relay, his team fell as well.

    While he only managed to snag one gold, he doesn’t think of it as disappointing; after all, he was able to prove that a Canadian can race against the world’s best in one of the toughest events in speed skating. The 1500m event was often noted as the Canadians’ weak spot, and Hamelin was able to show the world what a misconception that is.

    This year, Hamelin first fell in the 1000m event, and again during the 500m heats on Tuesday. Up until that point, he was feeling good and he had everything under control. There had been observations that the quality of the ice at the Iceberg Skating Palace was not suited for short track skating—it was over-watered and overused—but Hamelin refused to blame the ice. He said he never had a bad feeling about it. Besides, he wasn’t the only one on it.

    It must have been a bad stroke of luck for the speed skater, but he was very professional about it—he let out his anguish and frustration in private, and went on to cheer his girlfriend, fellow speed skater Marianne St-Gelais during her speed skating events. He beamed with pride and said he was happy for the women’s team, who won silver in the 3000m relay. That’s a kind of sportsmanship you don’t see every day.

    Hamelin wins gold in men’s 1500m short track

    http://youtu.be/k3IjXha9EkM

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Johnny Weir Is Not Afraid To Be In Anti-Gay Russia

    American figure skater Johnny Weir, known for his flair and outlandishness on and off the ice, is having the time of his life. After retiring from the sport as a competitor, he now works as the NBC’s figure skating analyst with fellow skater Tara Lipinski.

    NBC was quick to get him as expert analyst for their coverage of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. According to NBC Olympics Executive Produce Jim Bell, they did so because of Weir’s knowledge of the sport and the competitors, and of course, his candid and fearless views. “We are thrilled to have Johnny’s perspective on the competition,” Bell added. Weir affirmed this, saying that NBC hired him knowing full well about the kind of statements he liked to make.

    The task may sound easy for the opinionated Weir, but he admits it was a difficult transition. For one thing, he would be giving commentary on people he knows and respects, and another—the hardest part—he would also have to talk about those he doesn’t like. “I have to find a way to be genuine, to perform with my voice,” he said.

    Weir’s on-air work provided viewers with just the right amount of technical expertise to make them understand what’s happening on the ice. He doesn’t fill the performance with commentary, and just speaks when he has something to add. He and co-analyst Lipinski have an obvious camaraderie that can be easily seen (and heard) during the show.

    Weir is openly gay and is critical of Russia’s anti-gay law. He is not afraid. According to him, “Part of being afraid is not knowing, and I know Russia.” Indeed he does, being a self-proclaimed Russophile. He even taught himself to read and speak Russian. He doesn’t feel an obligation to tone down his glitzy appearance, even joking that he had packed three suitcases the size of a small car to Sochi.

    Weir never imagined he would love broadcasting as much as skating, and he hopes he could continue doing so even after this year’s Winter Olympics.

    Image via YouTube

  • Pussy Riot Members Released After Being Questioned

    Two members of Pussy Riot, a Russian punk band, were briefly detained today in Sochi. The group members were being questioned after a theft occurred at the hotel they were staying at.

    Maria Alyokhina and Nadezhda Tolokonnikova were having a meeting with journalists at the time the police took them into custody, according to Petr Verzilov, Tolokonnikova’s husband.

    “They were put to the floor and beaten and physical force was used to them when they refused to be questioned without the presence of their lawyer, who was on his way to the police department,” Verzilov revealed.

    The police proceeded to question the girls, and other guests at the hotel, at the Adler police station near the Winter Olympics. “A survey in connection with the theft at the Hotel Adler is completed, there is no claim against those questioned,” the police said in a statement.

    Tolokonnikova took to her personal Twitter page to voice her outrage. “Unbelievable lawlessness, even we are amazed,” tweeted Tolokonnikova. “Beat on the floor of the department, in the Olympic capital!” She then added, “They dragged me on the floor in the hall of the department, hands tied behind back and thrown to the floor. Putin will teach you to love the motherland!” Tolokonnikova also revealed, via Twitter, that she was forced to testify without a lawyer present.

    Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were previously imprisoned for nearly two years after they were convicted of “hooliganism” when they performed a song slamming Vladimir Putin in a Moscow cathedral. They were released shortly before the start of the Winter Olympics.

    Image via Twitter

  • Mac Bohonnon Of The U.S. Places Fifth In Aerial Finals At Sochi

    Sochi saw a lone aerials representative for the U.S. team in 18-year-old Mac Bohonnon. The young freestyle skier may not have bagged a medal, but his performance was nothing short of impressive.

    The first-time Olympian finished fifth in the aerials final, besting seven other contenders. The fact that he was the only U.S. athlete competing for his country in the event did not deter him from giving a confident and solid performance. Teammates Ashley Caldwell and Emily Cook gave their support to Bohonnon by watching him from the bleachers and giving commentary with TV announcers.

    The Connecticut native donned a lucky charm of sorts – a silver necklace with a skier pendant, which is identical to the one that belonged to a former teammate who passed away. The deceased teammate was Jaret “Speedy” Peterson who died in July 2011. Bohonnon said that he had Peterson in his thoughts as he competed in the aerials event.

    The RosaKhutorExtremePark was packed with pressure and excitement as the aerial skiers displayed their high-flying stunts to a roaring crowd. Gold medalist Anton Kushnir of Belarus proved yet again why Belarus is considered home to aerial champions by executing a remarkable routine that included two double full jumps and a full jump. Belarus nabbed the gold medals in all men’s and women’s aerial events.

    Bohonnon is not fazed by the results of the competition, and considers it a start of better things to come. His competitors are much older than he is, with Kushnir and Australian Dave Morris at 29 years old, and another Belarusian Dmitri Dashinki at 36 years old. Bohonnon said that he has grown much more confident about his skills after being able to compete against the best aerial skiers in the world, whom he has idolized for many years. He is now looking forward to earning a medal – possibly the gold one – in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.

    Image via MacBohonnon.com

  • Meryl Davis And Charlie White: U.S. Ice Dancers Win Gold In Sochi

    American ice dancing pair Meryl Davis and Charlie White made their nation proud by winning the gold in the Winter Olympics in Sochi. It is the first gold for Team USA in ice dancing; they had previously won silver four years ago in Vancouver. They also won bronze in this year’s new team event.

    The duo, who both hail from Michigan, scored in the free dance portion with 116.63 points and finished with 195.52, enough to beat Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who won the event in 2010. The Canadian pair, who also happened to be the American team’s training partners in Detroit, scored 190.99 points. Winning bronze are Elena Ilinykh and Nikita Katsalapov from Russia, and at fourth place are Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat from France.

    The pair’s intricate choreography and superb technical skills were brilliantly showcased. They glided and spun across the ice to the music from “Scheherazade,” ending their dance with White on one knee, and Davis resting her head on his back.

    They have been asked about their chemistry, and whether it extends off the ice. In a 2012 interview, White said that they get asked about it a lot, and while awkward, they have become used to it. For them, it is central to their sport to show they are in love on the ice, which makes it easy for the audience to think they are a couple even after they’ve taken off their skates.

    Dancing together for more than half of their lives is also a big factor in making them feel comfortable with each other, which is obvious in their intimacy on the ice, and the spirit with which they danced. The 27-year-old Davis and 26-year-old White were first paired together as kids—when Davis was 10 and White, 9. They had been skating together ever since, and it definitely showed in their performance on Monday during the ice dancing finals.

    http://youtu.be/hkqMcm3HUmM

    Image via YouTube

  • Eva Samkova: Czech Snowboarder Wins Gold In Sochi

    The 21-year-old snowboarder from the Czech Republic put on an impressive performance as she dominated her rivals in the snowboard cross event at the Sochi Olympics. The mustachioed Eva Samkova bested 33-year-old Canadian Dominique Maltais who got the silver medal, and 19-year-old Chloe Trespeuch from France.

    The camera attached to Samkova’s helmet was meant to give TV viewers a better image of the exciting sport, but all it managed to capture was a smooth course and the sound of a cheering crowd. She dominated in all of her races and proceeded to claim her first Olympic gold medal.

    Wearing her trademark mustache, which she paints on her upper lip before a competition for “good luck”, Samkova credits her entire team for her victory. She said that the wax technicians used the magic of physics to transform her board into a speed machine.

    A three-time junior world champion, Samkova said that she has always dreamed of competing at the Olympics ever since she started watching the games as a young girl. Now that she has a gold medal, she is relishing the experience along with her co-victors.

    Crowd favorite and expected winner, Lindsey Jacobellis finished last in the semifinal race, which qualified her for the “small” finals. Jacobellis was enjoying a comfortable lead in the semifinal heat when she made a sudden crash on a turn. While she won the small finals, Jacobellis could not hide her disappointment with the turn of events.

    According to American contender Faye Gulini, the massive Russian cross course was extremely tough and quite daunting. Another American snowboarder Jackie Hernandez suffered a serious head injury during the seeding race, which caused her a concussion. Fortunately, she was able to watch teammate Gulini as she finished fourth in the final race, just behind French snowboarder Trespeuch.

    Video clip from Sochi

    Image via YouTube

  • Lindsey Jacobellis Tries, Falls Again

    Bad luck seems to hound Team USA snowboarder Lindsey Jacobellis every time she takes a shot at Olympic gold. She has tried twice before the Sochi Games: in Turin in 2006, and Vancouver in 2010. The gold was hers for the taking in Turin, until an unnecessary trick made her fall, and she went home with the silver instead. During the semifinals in Vancouver, she crashed into a gate and was disqualified.

    For Jacobellis, the phrase “third time lucky” just didn’t apply to her, when she overshot a landing during this year’s Olympic semifinal round. Her miscalculated landing resulted in a nasty fall. She recovered but there was no way to catch up.

    It was an awfully bad stroke of luck, since she had actually posted the second-fastest time during the event’s time trial held at the Rosa Khutor Extreme Park. Though her Olympics reputation shows otherwise, she really is an exceptional athlete. To date, she has won a total of eight gold medals in the X Games.

    Jacobellis wipes out in Turin 2006

    Jacobellis, however, isn’t being superstitious about not winning a gold medal at Sochi.  She believes what happened was “just a fluke”. Considering what happened eight years ago, she had already braced herself for how people would take the news of her loss. She knows some people will be disappointed and might even act negatively. She thinks some may have even been expecting to see her fail once again.

    “People don’t understand how much pressure is put on her,” said snowboarder Faye Gulini of Team USA. Gulini is well aware of the extreme pressure that gets placed on prominent athletes, and she knows how difficult it must be for her teammate.

    Jacobellis took things in stride this time, and said that there are worse things in life than not winning. Naysayers will say what they want, but Lindsey Jacobellis maintains a positive attitude and looks toward the future.

    Image via YouTube

     

  • Noriaki Kasai: Veteran Ski Jumper Wins Silver Medal

    In Sochi, Noriaki Kasai is proving to everyone that age doesn’t matter – especially in death-defying sports. The 41-year-old ski jumper from Japan outshone most of his younger competitors in the men’s large hill competition, earning him a silver medal. He is now the oldest Olympic medalist in ski jump history.

    Kasai made a clean landing on both jumps, which measured 139 meters and 133.5 meters, respectively. He earned a final score of 277.4, and was barely edged out by Polish ski jumper Kamil Stoch, who got the gold medal.

    The Sapporo native competed at the Olympics for the first time in the 1992 Winter Olympics held in Albertville, France. He participated and made his mark in the World Cup and holds multiple records, which include the longest jump for athletes over 35 and the most number of individual and team World Cup performances.

    Kasai’s silver medal in Sochi now marks his second Olympic medal. In 1994, he won alongside his teammates in the team large hill event at the Winter Olympics held in Lillehammer, Norway. Kasai’s collective achievements secured his position as the captain of Japan’s Olympic team.

    Before the games in Sochi began, Kasai promised to win a medal in honor of his sister, Kumiko Maekawa. She is currently confined to a hospital in Hokkaido for complications caused by hypoplastic anemia. Kasai says that despite the long wait after his first Olympic medal, he is ecstatic to win the silver for his sister.

    Kasai’s age does not seem to faze him as he intends to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics, which is due to be held in South Korea. He is definitely the embodiment of the famed resilience and strong work ethic of the Japanese culture. Kasai said that he still dreams of winning an Olympic gold medal and that his failure to do so in Sochi has fueled his desire for a gold medal even more.

    See Noriaki Kasai in action

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Lizzy Yarnold’s Mental Toughness Helps Her Win Gold

    BBC Sport tells us of the England-born Lizzy Yarnold, who transforms into “The Yarnold” when she hits the ice, and how she used her patented brand of mental toughness, intricate sled engineering and deep house music to win the gold medal in the skeleton races in Sochi.

    Finalizing her combined runs with the fourth and final one yesterday, Yarnold came out on top with a deciding victory of three minutes 52.89 seconds that put her .97 seconds away from second-place finisher Noelle Pikus-Pace of the United States. Her being almost a whole second away from her competitors is a big deal– usually first, second and third placers are small fractions away from each other in timing.

    True to her mental toughness m.o., Yarnold suffered a wobble near the top of the final run, but recovered to become just the fifth British athlete to win the gold at the Winter Olympics.

    Her victory speech reiterated her strong belief in the strength of mental toughness, by admonishing every one to “follow your dreams, never give up and never limit yourself to what you can achieve.” About her win she proudly stated, “I think I was bold enough to learn the Russian for I am champion. I believed in myself, I knew I could do it if I put in the hard work and dedication.”

    The 25-year-old British skeleton racer began competing in 2010, and won her first official race that year. Skeleton racing involves sliding face down on a small sled at over 80mph. A rider can experience forces up to 5 g wearing only a helmet for protection. Definitely a sport involving a high concentration of mental toughness.

    Image via Twitter

  • Noelle Pikus-Pace: Sliding For Gold

    Noelle Pikus-Pace was all set to retire from skeleton racing, but the universe must have willed her not to—at least, not until she bags some Olympic gold. The American athlete has been on the sled since she was fifteen.

    Pikus-Pace finished one-tenth of a second away from the bronze at the Vancouver Olympics four years ago. Now, after two runs, she is currently in second place. Lizzy Yarnold of Great Britain leads with .44 seconds, and Elena Nikitina of Russia is right on Pikus-Pace’s heels only 0.11 seconds away. Katie Uhlaender, who is also competing under the Stars and Stripes, is in fourth place and is .14 seconds behind Nikitina.

    Pikus-Pace has only had two training runs out of six. She had to skip the last four runs due to back pains—she has three herniated disks, and she overworked her back during an unofficial training run. She recovered by relaxing and spending time with her family. When she first thought of retirement, that was what she wanted to do: spend quality time with her kids Lacee and Traycen, and husband Janson.

    On the first run of the women’s skeleton, Pikus-Pace posted a run time of 58.68 seconds, .20 seconds behind Nikitina’s time. Yarnold finished her first run in 58.43 seconds, setting a track record. Pikus-Pace isn’t known for her starts, which have been observed to be among the slowest in the event, but she does have expert skills when it comes to driving down the track. This was seen during the second run, when she drove fast enough to beat Nikitina for second.

    The racers are all set to meet again on Friday for their final two runs at the Sanki Sliding Center. Hopefully, for Pikus-Pace, it will be the last runs of her career, and she can go home with her family, Olympic medal in tow.

    Watch Noelle Pikus-Pace win in Park City

    Image via Facebook

  • Evgeni Plushenko Bows Out Of Sochi Olympics and Skating Career

    Evgeni Plushenko from Team Russia retired from his competitive skating career on Thursday right after withdrawing from the men’s short program skating event. The 31-year-old figure skater had just won a gold medal over the weekend for the team figure skating event.

    Plushenko opted out of the competition due to medical concerns. During warm-ups, he fell doing a triple axel and hurt himself after a bad landing. The figure skater then loosened up by skating around the rink a few times before attempting to do another axel. Again, he was unsuccessful. Plushenko pushed himself to perform in the competition, as there are only two events left – the short and long program. However, after botching two axels during warm-ups, he felt stabbing pains on his back that made him decide to withdraw after consulting his coach, Alexei Mishin.

    After his name was called, Plushenko skated to the referee to withdraw from the event. He waved to the spectators and placed his right hand over his heart, as if to apologize for not competing.

    Plushenko has had 12 surgeries done mostly on his knees, but just last year, the gold-medalist had a surgery wherein 4 screws were implanted on his back.

    Plushenko says he wishes he was healthy but he isn’t. He also says that it is God’s way of saying that he has had enough of skating. This was not the first time he took a break from skating. In 2006, he took a two-year hiatus mainly because of his injuries. The figure skater is considered the only modern-period skater who has won medals in four Olympics – a gold in 2006, silvers in 2002 and 2010, and just last weekend, another gold with his teammates.

    Russia will not be having a finisher in the event, as they only had one male spot that was filled by Plushenko.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • USA Women’s Hockey Team Bested By Canada In Sochi

    The United States women’s hockey team faced off with—and lost to—their long-time rivals (and neighbors) the Canadians in a preliminary game on Wednesday, February 12 at the Shayba Arena. The final score was 3-2 in favor of Canada, to the dismay of the Americans but to the delight, of course, of the Canadian team.

    One proud and positively beaming member of the team is Meghan Agosta, who turned 27 on the very day she scored two goals to show that her team deserved a spot in the semifinals. Agosta scored the first and the last goal for Canada in the third period. That last breakaway goal, made with less than six minutes left on the clock, locked their win even after Anne Schleper of the US scored a goal with 65 seconds left in the game.

    The loss may come as a shock to fans of the US team, because the Americans had actually defeated Canada in four games—one after the other—during the pre-Olympic tour. Hilary Knight, who plays forward for the U.S., comments that they had penalties during the game that affected their play.

    There’s a big possibility that the two teams will meet on the ice again, this time, for the gold. It’s nothing new, as the two nations always find themselves competing against each other for the top spot in women’s hockey. When the event debuted in the Winter Olympics in 1998, the U.S. beat Canada in the finals. In the two Winter Games that followed, Canada claimed victory, and the U.S. has yet to reclaim the gold.

    This made Wednesday’s game all the more frustrating for the American team. Coach Katey Stone of the U.S. may have felt indifferent about her team’s performance, but it’s a lot different for the team members. Amanda Kessel, for one, was upset, saying that she was “not happy with tonight.” Kessel scored two goals for the team to seal their victory against Switzerland on February 10.

    Hockey fans around the world are surely waiting for the final sequel to this match-up, but for now, it’s time for the two teams to face other foes for the semis.

    Image via US Women’s Hockey Team Facebook

  • Shaun White Relinquishes Halfpipe Throne

    Shaun White was the reigning champion of the men’s halfpipe event at the Winter Olympics since 2006. However, at the end of the competition in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, he had to step down from his throne when he was unable to grab the top spot on the podium.

    In the 2006 Torino and 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, White’s first run became the winning run of the competition. However, in the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, this was not to be. White’s first run had him falling down twice, leaving him with a score that was low for his standards. His second run had no falls, but it was riddled with close calls. He garnered a score of 90.25 for his second run, which was better than his first score. However, his final marks were not high enough to land him on the podium. For the first time in his eight years competing at the Winter Olympics, Shaun White finished the men’s halfpipe event without a medal on his neck.

    White was in the run to make history if he had won the Olympic gold medal in this event. He was aiming for a third consecutive win in this event to be recognized as the first American to do so.

    The top spot at the podium for the Winter Olympics men’s halfpipe event now belongs to Iouri Podladtchikov, representing Switzerland. He executed his trademark maneuver, the YOLO flip and finished with a score of 94.75. Fifteen year old Ayumu Hirano followed close on Podladtchikov’s heels with a high-flying run. The young Japanese’s performance was rewarded with a score of 93.50 and the silver medal. Hirano’s teammate, Taku Hiraoka bagged the third spot on the podium with a run that earned him a score of 92.25.

    Iouri Podladtchikov’s YOLO flip involves two aerial somersaults and a rotation of 1,440 degrees. Shaun White had also mastered this maneuver, and in other events executed it even better than its creator. Shaun performed this maneuver in his Olympic run, but failed to defend his throne from Podladtchikov’s performance.

    The former champion of the Winter Olympics men’s halfpipe event said that he was happy to take what happened for what it was and move on. He ended by saying it just wasn’t his night.

    Image via YouTube

  • Sochi’s Empty Seats Difficult To Ignore

    There’s always a buzz about the lack of spectators that show up during the Olympics. The same goes with this year’s Sochi Winter Olympics, which has been said to cost around $51 billion and took 7 years to prepare for. The question that Olympic officials are asking is why are people not attending. This has been evident during one of the most awaited events, men’s downhill, where there were more than a thousand empty seats in a venue that filled 7,500.

    Although some of the seats in events such as figure skating are fully packed, less popular sports events were just half-full. According to travel experts, this year’s Winter Olympics might have the lowest number of American attendees they have seen in decades.

    Robert Tuchman, who operates a travel firm in New York, says that there are a lot of reasons why Americans didn’t show up in Sochi. The location, lack of accommodations, and other additional expenses when traveling are all major factors that may have affected their choice to stay home and watch the 2014 Winter Olympic Games from the television instead of traveling all the way to Sochi. Another main reason for the lack of spectators is the fear of security with all the political issues in the city.

    One of the members of the policy-making executive board, Anita DeFranz, also says that Russians are more reserved. They need time to get used to the celebration to get more excited, since it is the first time for most of them to see these sports events.

    Sochi organizers say the lack of spectators will be addressed by filling the empty seats with volunteers. An IOC member also suggested filling the empty seats with unarmed soldiers and school children. This was also the solution at the 2012 Summer Games in London where they filled up empty seats by inviting troops and volunteers.

    Image via YouTube

  • Julia Lipnitskaia Is Russia’s New Figure Skating Star

    It’s undeniable. Julia Lipnitskaia is a star. The 15-year-old Russian figure skating princess electrified spectators in Sochi on Saturday. Veteran male figure skater Evgeni Plushenko called her a “genius”– a sentiment shared by many of Lipnitskaia’s colleagues.

    Retired American figure skater Tara Lipinski, who was also a gold medal winner at age 15, understands first hand what it takes to perform at an elite level at such a young age. “Judging from how prepared she looks – I can see it when they step on the ice – she looks like she believes this is her moment,” Lipinski said, “she is the real package.”

    Julia Lipnitskaia skating was hauntingly beautiful, as she performed to the melodramatic tunes of the John Williams’ soundtrack. Her seemingly effortless routine involved maneuvers considered a technical tour de force. She floated on air, as she performed the lightest of triple jumps, triple Lutz, and combinations of these all while maintaining the grave demeanor of her character.

    Her winning performance helped Russia win the gold medal for the team figure skating event in front of a cheering home crowd . The team of figure skaters were congratulated immediately by Russian President Vladimir Putin, as soon as they got off the ice. Teammate Evgeni Plushenko received a warm embrace from the President, while Lipnitskaia got a fatherly pat on the head as the President shared words and gave thanks to each member of the team. The team’s win marked Russia’s first medal of the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

    Plushenko was flooded in flowers and stuffed animals after his winning performance. He has garnered three Olympic medals in his career, and after undergoing his 12th surgery last year, the 31-year-old decided that the Sochi Olympics would be the last chapter of his stellar career. He scored 19 points for his country while Julia Lipnitskaia led Russia with 20 points.

    Julia Lipnitskaia At 2014 European Figure Skating Championship

    http://youtu.be/mx96OcUKpT0

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Sarah Burke’s Memory Lives On Despite Sticker Ban

    Torah Bright, an Australian snowboarder, was banned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) from wearing a memorial sticker of her friend’s name on her helmet during competition. The sticker was worn to honor Canadian skier, Sarah Burke, who died while training back in 2012. According to the IOC spokesperson Mark Adams, the Olympics is an inappropriate place to mourn, as it is an event where people celebrate. The IOC has also instructed all athletes to do away with any type of memorial for their lost competitors and comrades.

    Burke died 9 days after an accident, due to injuries resulting from a crash that happened on a halfpipe while training in Utah. She was a forerunner in freestyle skiing and is one of the reasons why the sport is now part of the Winter Olympics Games.

    Bright and Burke were good friends and as a sign of protest to the IOC, Bright posted an image on Instagram saying that she always rides with a sticker on her helmet and snowboard. Sarah still remains an inspiration to her despite the IOC having banned athletes wearing the memorial sticker.

    Although the IOC has permitted the Olympians to wear a memorial tape on the bootstraps with Burke’s name, they have decided that wearing a sticker on the helmet was too noticeable and deemed it as a political statement.

    Through the years, the IOC have always banned the display of political messages during the Olympics. However, the public may not have the same sentiment when it comes to memorials for lost athletes.

    Apart from the said incident, the IOC also warned the Norwegian Olympic Committee about the armbands that 4 Norwegian girls wore during the 15-kilometer skiathlon as a tribute to cross-country skier Astrid Uhrenholdt Jacobsen’ brother, who unexpectedly died on the eve of the Olympics opening ceremonies.

    Image via YouTube

  • Jenny Jones Prepared For Slopestyle Finals With ‘Downton Abbey’

    Jenny Jones revealed in a press conference after her event, her secret to winning the bronze medal. When asked how she made her preparations for Olympic competition, she answered that she spent the night watching ‘Downton Abbey’. She went on to say, “…No mantras for me.” This was in reference to gold medalist Jamie Anderson’s reply to the same question where she said that she put on some meditation music, did some yoga, and lit incense and candles.

    On Sunday, Jenny Jones became a medalist for Team Great Britain at the Sochi Winter Olympics when she took home the bronze. She also made history by being the first Briton to win an Olympic medal on the snow since the Winter Olympics began ninety years ago. Enni Rukajarvi from Finland and Jamie Anderson representing the United States took home the silver and gold medal in the slopestyle event, respectively.

    Jones, a former chalet maid, is a pioneer among her peers. At 33 years of age, she is six years older than the eldest of her competitors in the finals. Despite her age, she is a seasoned champion in her sport, winning three gold medals in one European and two global X Games. Her experience shone through on Sunday to land her the bronze medal, as many of her younger competitors pushed to perform highly technically tricks but failed to land perfectly. Jones and her coach decided to be more level headed, and gave importance to avoiding technical errors in her run. This move put her in the lead, before Rukajarvi (s) and Anderson (g) went on to claim the top spots in the rankings. When qualification leader Isabel Derungs of Switzerland and the last competitor Anna Gasser representing Austria failed to claim a spot on the podium, Jones’ score of 87.25 was enough to cement her place as Britain’s new “Snow Queen.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • Lindsey Vonn Talks Depression and Tiger Woods

    Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn usually finds herself speeding down various hills, often times at ridiculously high speeds, but since she’s suffered a recent knee injury it’s been an uphill battle for the 29-year old, both physically and emotionally.

    As far as getting herself back to winning shape physically, Vonn has been undergoing the necessary amount rehab, and hopefully she’ll be ready for the 2018 winter games, but emotionally, she’s counted on her boyfriend Tiger Woods to assist her.

    “He’s helped me stay patient through rehab,” she said in an interview with SELF magazine. “Golf is all about patience. One tournament is four days long, 18 holes a day. He helped me take it one day at a time. I’d say, ‘Why can’t I do this? I want to.’ And he’d say, ‘You’ll get your chance. It will come.’ We’re good for each other. I don’t know what he’s learned from me, to be honest. But we push each other and help each other when we’re down.”

    And Vonn says, she hasn’t been down as much this year, because of Woods and the medication she’s on. “I have sad days, but they’re rare and the lows aren’t as low,” she said. “[Recently] I’ve been the happiest I’ve ever been. A part of me is missing when I can’t ski, but I’ve learned there’s more to define me and make me happy, like stand-up paddling and jet skiing, things I’ve never done before.”

    In addition, Vonn says she sometimes struggles with body image, especially when she has to go to a red carpet event or be in a room with a bunch of models and actors, but she much rather be the size and weight she is now, she says.

    “It’s difficult to be at events with a room full of women who weigh half as much as you do,” admitted Vonn. “That’s always tough. I don’t envy them, though, because so many of them are skinny-fat. They have more cellulite than most people. I feel like I need to give them a cheeseburger. It’s sexy and beautiful to be strong.”

    Image via Wikimedia Commons