Memorable moments from female athletes at the Winter Olympics

All in all, the Vancouver Olympics were  a roller coaster of emotion; so anticipated and anxiety-driven, filled with milestones and achievements as well as heartbreak.  In the span of two weeks, there were personal, poignant moments to cherish, along with stories of accomplishments and  disappointments. A lifetime of emotions, condensed into 14 action-packed days.

Needless to say, there were lots  of memorable moments from the Winter Games , not the least of which was Shaun (”The Animal”) White’s repeat  gold medal and his Double McTwist 1260, a whirl of somersaults and flips that ends with a blind landing.

In this post, we’d like to shine the light on the oft-overlooked female athletes and some of our fave moments that will last long after the athletes pack up and leave Vancouver.

Hannah Kearney (Women’s moguls)

Four years ago, U.S. moguls skier Hannah Kearney sat in the stands in Turin after placing a dismal 22nd in the qualifying round as Canadian Jenn Heil proudly climbed atop the podium for gold. It was a moment Kearney never wanted to repeat.

She proved that during the first weekend of the Games, when she exorcised that nightmarish performance and spoiled the party for Heil with a dominating victory on Cypress Mountain. Kearney turned her showdown with the defending Olympic champion into a blowout, posting a score of 26.63 to claim the first U.S. gold medal in Vancouver.

Joannie Rochette (Figure skating)

Twenty-four year old Joannie Rochette may not have won the gold medal in figure skating but she won the hearts of fans around the world with her incredible performance.  She competed just days after her mother, Therese, died from a sudden heart attack after arriving in Vancouver. A grieving Rochelle broke down in tears after her short program and followed  with an emotional free skate program to capture the bronze at the Pacific Coliseum.  It hardly mattered that two skaters beat Rochette, including gold medalist Kim Yu-Na of South Korea who broke a world record with a highly memorable routine.

Petra Majdic (Cross-country skiing)

If gold medals were handed out for bravery then Slovenian cross country skier Petra Majdic would have been a runaway winner. Majdic broke five ribs when she slipped and fell down a gully during a training run but defied medical advice and excruciating pain to battle through three races and clinch the bronze in the women’s sprint classic. She was in so much pain that she needed help just getting on to the podium to collect her medal.

Lindsey Vonn/Julia Mancuso (Women’s downhill)

Lindsey Vonn lived up to the hype and won the women’s downhill on a badly bruised shin in a 1-2 finish with American teammate and rival Julia Mancuso in the opening week of the Games.

Kallie Humphries, Heather Moyse, Helen Upperton, Shelley-Ann Brown (Women’s bobsled)

Before the Vancouver Games, Canada had never won a medal in women’s bobsled. By the time the Games  ended, the country had two -gold and silver – courtesy of new champions Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse and runners-up Helen Upperton and Shelley-Ann Brown who sent the Whistler Sliding Center into a roaring frenzy with their medal-winning final runs. That Upperton missed a medal four years ago by .05 of a second driving Moyes, whose arrival in her sled booted a broken-heart Humphries, simply added another layer of drama to the moment.

Lydia Lassila (Women’s freestyle aerials)

Australia’s Lydia Lassila has won the gold medal in the women’s freestyle aerials by beating Chinese stars Li Nina and Guo Xinxin into the silver and bronze positions respectively.

The Chinese, led by Turin silver medallist Li, had been highly expected to win the event and even perform a podium clean sweep. They currently dominate the World Cup points table, filling five of the top six berths.

But Lassila, the only non-Chinese in the world top six, wowed the judges, and the underdog, who recently battled back from a series of injuries, moved into the gold medal position.

Angela Ruggiero, U.S., Canadian & Finnish Teams  (ice hockey)

Women’s ice hockey offered a myriad of memorable moments during the Vancouver Games. From early complaints that the sport wasn’t competitive enough, to the high-stakes gold medal game between the U.S. and Canada, to the post-match celebrations, we’ll remember these female athletes.

Who can forget the champagne, beer, at least one cigar and an attempt to drive an ice resurfacing machine after the Canadian team captured the gold medal in a 2-0 win over the U.S?  It seemed like a typical championship celebration, save for the fact the IOC and Hockey Canada felt the Canadian women’s team somehow provided a disservice to Olympic “ideals” by enjoying as they saw fit on the ice. Never mind that IOC honchos can dine with whatever wine and spirits they like, the court of public opinion forced the IOC’s complaints to go up in a cloud of smoke.

And when the president of the IOC announced to the world the sport needs to change to remain on the program, Finland’s women’s hockey team stepped up big time. Their overtime win against Sweden on Thursday had all the feel of gold. Just as the Swedes in 2006 stunned the hockey world by upsetting the Americans for the first non-U. S./Canada final in women’s Olympic hockey history, Karoliina Rantamaki’s goal 2:33 into extra time gave the Finnish team their first medal since women’s hockey’s debut Olympics in 1998.

Special Mention: Though it was certainly a memorable moment when Ruggerio won her fourth Olympic medal, her biggest contribution to the Olympic movement might still be to come: Ruggiero, who played hockey at Harvard, was elected by her peers to represent all Olympic athletes on the International Olympic Committee Athletes’ Commission. The appointment will be for eight years and allows Ruggiero to become a full-fledged member of the IOC.

In the end, it wasn’t a single nation or gender that owned the podium, but the single-minded, passionate pursuit of athletes from around the world. And along with their competitive performances,  memories saved for eternity.

After Vancouver, the baton is handed to Russia

Do Svidanya (Goodbye) Vancouver. Do Vstretchi (See You) in Sochi.

As the Vancouver Olympics come to a close, the focus turns to the other side of the globe and Russia’s first Winter Games which will  take the Olympic movement to a new territory and a new set of challenges.

Scheduled to take place from February 7 to February 23, 2014. this will be the first time that the Russian Federation will host the Winter Olympics; the Soviet Union hosted the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow.

The Russian city’s first big moment in the world spotlight came during Sunday’s closing ceremony, with the Olympic flag handed from the mayor of Vancouver to the mayor of Sochi.

At the end of the Handover ceremony , the audience inside the BC Place was invited to hold up their own small Zorbs, like snow domes. Around the world, the crowd appeared as twinkling red, white and blue spheres, representing the Russian colors, and demonstrating Sochi 2014’s commitment to the involvement of people from all cultures and backgrounds.

After the glitz and glamour of the closing ceremonies, the hard work will continue back home as organizers continue to prepare for an event that has the prestige of Russia and its leaders – including Prime Minister Vladimir Putin – on the line.

Ever since Sochi was awarded the games by the International Olympic Committee three years ago, questions have been raised: Can Sochi complete its massive construction projects on time? Will the funding hold up? Will the games be safe in a city near the separatist Abkhazia region in neighboring Georgia?

Putin, Russian president at the time, was instrumental in Sochi securing the games when he traveled to Guatemala City in 2007 and personally lobbied IOC members. He and current President Dmitry Medvedev remain centrally involved in making sure the games are a success.

Sochi, established as a summer resort under Joseph Stalin, is a city of about 500,000 people in Russia’s Krasdonar region. Olympic organizers hope the games will serve as a catalyst in turning the area into a year-round world-class destination for Russians and foreign tourists alike.

Organizers say the games will feature the most compact layout in Winter Games history, with a cluster of ice arenas situated along the Black Sea coast and snow and sliding venues a half-hour away in the Krasnaya Polyana mountains. A new rail line is being built to connect the two clusters.

Sochi has to build virtually all of its Olympic facilities from scratch. All the venues are now under construction, with 16,000 workers busy on what is probably the biggest construction site in the world.

Sochi promises that all venues will be ready two years in advance to allow for the holding of Olympic test events. The first trial run will take place a year from now with a second-tier European Cup event in Alpine skiing. More than 70 test events are planned in 2012 and 2013.

The cost of the Olympic infrastructure project is put at $7 billion.

So what do you have planned for mid-February 2014? Whether you’re an athlete hoping to compete, or a fan who wants to watch the Games, it’s never too early to start making plans.

(via USOC)

Team USA Vancouver Update: February 22, 2010

The latest updates on Team USA

• Team USA beat gold medal favorite Canada 5-3 in hockey action on Sunday evening to continue their pursuit of the gold. The U.S. was powered by two goals from Brian Rafalski(Dearborn, Mich.) and the play of goalkeeper Ryan Miller (East Lansing, Mich.), who stopped 42 shots
• Bode Miller (Franconia, N.H.) used a brilliant slalom run to win the gold medal in men’s super combined, his fifth career Olympic Winter Games medal and first gold. The five medals are the most ever by an American in alpine skiing.
• Meryl Davis (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Charlie White (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) moved into second place after the original dance portion of the ice dancing competition Sunday. The Americans have an overall score of 108.55, 2.6 points behind the leaders, Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who have an 111.15 entering Monday’s free dance. Tanith Belbin (Aston, Pa.) and Ben Agosto (Chicago, Ill.) maintained their fourth place position with 103.33, 3.27 points; and Emily Samuelson (Novi, Mich.) and Evan Bates (Ann Arbor, Mich.) advanced from 14th to 11th place.

What’s in store today for Team USA

• On the heels of a Team USA win vs. Canada in men’s hockey on Sunday, it’s time to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice” game on Monday. While the U.S. men are off, the women’s hockey team moves into the semifinals to face a familiar foe in Sweden.
• Sitting in second place after the original dance portion of the ice dancing competition, Meryl Davis (West Bloomfield, Mich.) and Charlie White (Bloomfield Hills, Mich.) return to the Pacific Coliseum on Monday for the free dance. Tanith Belbin (Aston, Pa.) and Ben Agosto (Chicago, Ill.) enter the final dance in fourth place and Emily Samuelson (Southfield, Mich.) and Evan Bates (Ann Arbor, Mich.) are currently 11th.
• The freestyle aerials men take their first runs at Cypress Mountain, the men’s curling team wraps up round robin play, and the Whistler Olympic Park will be busy with cross country skiing and the team event in ski jumping.

Team USA Vancouver Update: February 21, 2010

We’re about halfway through the Winter Olympics and while there were definitely some glitches (as well as tragedy) at the start of the Games,  the focus is now on the competition.

Some of the latest updates on Team USA include:

• Short track speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno (Seattle, Wash.) made history Saturday night, winning the bronze in the men’s 1000m. The medal is the seventh of his career, surpassing the mark set by long track speedskater Bonnie Blair and distinguishing him as the most decorated U.S. winter Olympian in history.
• Shani Davis (Chicago, Ill.) captured the silver medal in the men’s 1500m event in long track speedskating, becoming the first U.S. athlete to take home a medal in two consecutive Olympic Winter Games in the event.
• Lindsey Vonn (Vail, Colo.) won her second medal of the Games bronze in the women’s super-G.
• Also on Saturday, the U.S. men’s and women’s curling teams each notched their second wins in Vancouver, three Americans qualified for Sunday’s finals in women’s aerials, and USA I the “Night Hawk” sits in fourth place in the two-man bobsled competition heading into the final two heats on Sunday.

What’s in store today for Team USA

• It’s hockey night: Team USA vs. Canada. The U.S. Men’s Hockey Team is off to its first 2-0 start in Olympic play since 1992 and will face a 2-0 Canada on Sunday evening at Canada Hockey Place with millions on both sides of the border tuning in.
• It has been called NASCAR on skis, and it makes its Olympic debut on Sunday: Ski cross. Olympic alpine skiing veterans Casey Puckett (Aspen, Colo.) and Daron Rahlves (Sugar Bowl, Calif.) have made the switch and will represent the U.S. on the course at Cypress Mountain.
• Vancouver alpine medalists Bode Miller (Franconia, N.H.) and Andrew Weibrecht (Lake Placid, N.Y.) return to Whistler, alongside 2006 Olympic gold medalist Ted Ligety (Park City, Utah), for the super combined. Will Brandenburg will make his first Olympic start.
• The two-man bobsled 2010 Olympic champion will be crowned at the Whistler Sliding Center. Team USA has three sleds in the race, and the duo of Steven Holcomb (Park City, Utah) and Curt Tomasevicz (Shelby, Neb.) is within medal reach, sitting in fourth place heading into the final two heats on Sunday evening.

To find out about upcoming events and results click here.

Five things to know about Curling

From USOC site comes a great piece about the sport everyone loves to knock during the Winter Olympics – Curling.

Here are some of the terms used in this ancient sport: Sweeping. Broomstacking. The hog line.  No, they don’t refer to  tidying up a pig pen but they are crucial to understanding this often misunderstood event.

Five things to know about curling:

- The sport often is compared to shuffleboard on ice. The Olympians play 10 ends, or innings (yes, like baseball), and the team with the most points at the end wins.

- After a 42-pound granite stone is sent sliding down the ice, two players use sweeping motions to control it – to make it go faster or slower, or to change its direction, or “curl.” The goal is to get the stone as close as possible to the center of a series of concentric circles.

- Don’t even think about knocking the curlers for not being athletes. Although curlers like to have fun,  they have taken their fitness to a new level in preparation for these games. They have personal trainers, high-intensity training camps, sports psychologists and more. The teams that don’t work out hard off the ice are the ones that fall behind everybody else.

- This sport, dating to 15th-century Scotland, prides itself on a tradition of sportsmanship and good manners. The Chinese women didn’t talk to the media after Sunday’s practice in order to keep their focus, and it caused an uproar of sorts. On Monday, when they passed the media, they smiled and said “hi.”

- The terminology is foreign to say the least. There’s broomstacking, the post-match ritual of heading to the lounge with the opponent for a friendly drink. (Traditionally, the winners buy the beers.) The “button” is the inner-most circle within the “house” – the area the stone must cross into to be in play.

And don’t forget the “hog line.” That’s a line that players can’t cross when releasing their rocks.

Other Terms:
Brick: Refers to the team who has last stone advantage in an end.
Broom: A device used to assist in the delivery of a stone.
Brush: Used to sweep the ice surface in front of a stone. It is also the intended target for the player who is delivering a stone.
Freeze: A form of a draw that stops and rests touching another rock.
Hammer: The last stone delivered in each end.
Negative Ice: A condition of the ice playing surface that causes stones to bend in the direction opposite to what it normally would.
Nose Hit: A curling shot where a stone removes a stationary rock from play and doesn’t move after making contact.
Pebble: Water droplets applied to the ice before a game to reduce the resistance between the surfaces of the ice and stone.
Peel: A shot delivered to remove a guard and slide out of play.
Sheet: The playing area.
Skip: The player who determines the strategy, reads the ice, and plays and directs play for the team. Generally the skip delivers the last pair of stones for his team in each end.
Slider: The smooth sole of the sliding foot that allows a curler to glide on the ice surface.
Whoa: The command given to the sweepers to stop sweeping.

Olympic Schedule
Women’s Curling begins today, February 17th in Vancouver with round robin sessions continuing through the week. Look for the semifinal on Feb. 25th and the gold medal game on Feb. 26th.

Olympic Updates & Resources

As you know, the Winter Olympic Games are in full swing right now in Vancouver. Athletes from Team USA, who have been training their entire lives have been taking the stage to represent our country.

Keep up to date with the latest news about Team USA and the 2010 Olympics as you help support Team USA athletes in bringing home the gold.

During the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the U.S. Olympic Committee invites you to be part of the action! Sign up now to receive exclusive access information, previously available only to the U.S. Olympic delegation.

You will receive the following insider information during the Games and beyond:

• Daily Report (via e-mail) of the latest sports performances and athletes to look out for in the coming days during the Games
• Mobile text alerts, including updated medal tallies during Vancouver 2010 and invitations to the USOC retail store located at the USA House in Vancouver
• The latest on Team USA hopefuls as they strive for Vancouver, London and beyond

Vancouver Game On: Today’s Schedule

NBC:
1 – 6 pm.
Women’s speedskating. 3,000 gold-medal final
Nordic combined, individual gold-medal final, K-95 juming, 10km cross-country, Men’s luge, Men’s biathlon

7 – 11 pm
Figure skating, pairs short program
Men’s freestyle skiing, moguls gold-medal final
Men’s luge, singles gold-mendal final
Women’s Alpine skiing, super combined gold-medal final (moved to Thu.)

11:32pm – 12:05am
Figure sking, pairs post-game
Medals Plaza, award ceremonies

USA
12:00 – 2:30 pm
Women’s hockey, USA vs. China (live)

CNBC
4:30 7:00 pm
Women’s hockey, Finland vs. Russia (live)

MSNBC
Midnight – 2:30 am (Mon.)
Women’s hockey USA vs. China (replay)

Note: Check your local listings. TImes may be different for satellite TV users. For latest Olympic TV schedule check NBCOlympics.com

FREE DOWNLOAD: Women & the Winter Olympics Reference Guide

The Winter Games kick off in Vancouver Friday, February 12th and we’re stoked to see our fave female athletes compete in events like skiing, snowboarding, figure skating, luge, bobsled and more.

For all the deets on who’s competing when, along with notes on athletes to watch, Olympic trivia and more, download our FREE Women & the Winter Olympics Reference Guide.

Enjoy, and check back for lots of Olympic news and info over the next two weeks.

Related Posts:

Vancouver 101: Figure Skating
Vancouver 101: Bobsled, Luge, Skeleton
Vancouver 101: Speaking  Canadian

Sports gadgets and gear for athletes and spectators

With the Winter Olympics just around the corner and March Madness inching closer, most Americans are finding themselves immersed in sports. But, with the cold settling in, everyone needs a little push to get active.  From Trend Central, comes  some trend worthy technologies that can help you perform at your peak, or just keep you up-to-the-minute on the shredding in Vancouver.

Sports Tracker: You might already know about Nike+ and how it works with various Apple products to track your pace and progress, but what if you don’t have one of Steve Jobs’ latest toys or prefer the bounce of, say, New Balance running shoes?  What many Nokia smartphone users might not know is that a similar technology is available with their devices for free. All you have to do is go to the Sports Tracker site and download the training tool, and you’ll be tracking your running progress through your phone’s GPS just in time for marathon season.

Under Armour Recharge: For all of you still waiting for the advent of a Blade Runner world where we can buy body upgrades to enhance athletic performance, you might have to wait a little longer. Until that day comes, Under Armour is working on making you the best sportsperson technology can offer. Having evolved further than even its cutting edge wicking liners, the brand offers a product that actually makes your muscles regenerate faster than normal. Its Recharge wearapplies the methodology used in taking extremely cold showers after exercise to make the muscles contract and heal faster. Items should be worn for at least two hours – up to 24 hours for maximum results – after exercising.

2010 Winter Olympics iPhone App: Those who used the Lolla application this past summer know that these types of event scheduling apps are a lifesaver at massive happenings. Whether you’re going to be at the games in Vancouver or just can’t bear to miss figure skating on TV, this iPhone app lets you program your must-see events into your own personal viewing schedule. If there are time conflicts, it will let you know when to reprioritize. If you’re lucky enough to actually be in Vancouver, a map will let you know what’s happening where in real-time.

Pretty Smart!

Winter Olympians show us the money

Just as the Vancouver Games are about to get underway, Forbes released a list of the highest-earning Winter Olympic athletes from last year. The name at the top of the list probably won’t surprise anyone – U.S. Snowboarder Shaun White, who earned about $8 million last year,  stars in his own video game and has his own clothing line along with a long list of sponsors.

What may surprise you is the young woman who is tied with White for the top spot. Korean figure skater Kim Yu-Na is the reigning world champion and known as “Queen Yu-na. ” The 19-year-old is tied White with earnings thanks in part to a Samsung phone that carries her name, according to Forbes. The mag previously named her the most powerful celebrity in South Korea for 2009.

Being a female skier or snowboarder  can also be good for the wallet. Downhill champ Lindsey Vonn is on the boards with $3 million in earnings and 2006 Olympic halfpipe silver medalist Gretchen Bleiler, 2006 Olympic snowboard cross silver medalist Lindsey Jacobellis and reigning Olympic halfpipe champion Hannah Teter all earned in the neighborhood of $1 million.

At the other end of the scale of Winter Olympian earnings are sliders, curlers and speed skaters who often go into debt to compete in their sport and survive in part thanks to support from their families and  local businesses.

Top-10 highest-earning Olympic athletes, according to Forbes

1. Shaun White, U.S., Snowboarding ($7.5 million)
1. Kim Yu-Na, South Korea, Figure Skating ($7.5 million)
3. Lindsey Vonn, U.S., Alpine Skiing ($2.5 million)
4. Ted Ligety, U.S., Alpine Skiing ($2 million)
5. Apolo Ohno, U.S., Short Track ($1.5 million)
6. Bode Miller, U.S., Alpine Skiing ($1.3 million)
7. Gretchen Bleiler, U.S., Snowboarding ($1 million)
7. Lindsey Jacobellis, U.S., Snowboarding ($1 million)
7. Hannah Teter, U.S., Snowboarding ($1 million)
7. Maria Riesch, Germany, Alpine Skiing ($1 million)

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