PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics Day 6

Day 6

What an amazing Day 6 of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics! For some, it was the culmination of a long and difficult quest.

Highlights:

Men's Alpine Skiing Downhill

After leaving Sochi 2014 empty handed, Aksel Lund Svindal has won gold, the first ever for Norway in men's downhill! He has overcome numerous injuries and knee surgery, and he defied expectations to take the top spot.



Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway makes a run during the Men's Downhill PyeongChang 2018 February 15, 2018 South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Tom Pennington/Getty Images AsiaPac

At only 35 years old, Aksel Lund Svindal is now the oldest man to win a gold medal in Olympic alpine skiing history. Fellow Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud won silver. The Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon was present to witness his countrymen's gold and silver wins.

The favorite in this event, Switzerland’s Beat Feuz, was bumped from the top spot to land at bronze.

Austria’s Matthias Mayer, the defending champion from Sochi 2014, placed ninth.


Figure Skating Pairs Free Skate (Long Program)

Yes, Olympic dreams do come true, even after so many years of hardships and heartbreak.

It was the most dramatic free skate in recent Olympics history! Before the Olympics, four pairs were favored for gold. None were Americans. The battle for gold was between Germany, Russia, China, and Canada.

First up, Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany. She is a familiar face. This is her fifth straight Olympics. The Ukrainian born skater competed for the Ukraine with two different partners, Dmitri Boyenko and Stanislav Morozov.

After representing Ukraine at Salt Lake 2002, Aliona Savchenko needed a new partner. By chance, she tried out with Robin Szolkowy of Germany. They hit it off and began a spectacular partnership to become one of the most decorated pairs ever, dominating every major skating event for a decade. They won multiple World and Grand Prix Final Championships, but only managed two bronzes at the Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 Olympics.

Robin Szolkowy retired in 2014 to become a coach. Aliona Savchenko still had Olympic gold ambitions. She needed a new partner and found one in France's Bruno Massot. After struggling to get him released from the French Federation, Bruno Massot becomes a German citizen, and with Aliona Savchenko, work their way to become the 2017–18 Grand Prix Final champions. They seemed to be peaking at the right moment, making them a gold medal favorite.

By a strange twist of fate, Aliona Savchenko's former partner, Robin Szolkowy has coached Russians Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov through several skating championships and into a strong position to challenge for PyeongChang gold. His students are facing off against his former partner at PyeongChang 2018!

And after helping the Olympic Athletes from Russia score the Figure Skating Team PyeongChang 2018 silver, Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov would lay down an impressive performance to take second place, less than point behind China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong in the pairs short program.

Meanwhile, a downgraded element landed Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot in fourth, behind Canada's Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford.

Another solid team and gold favorite, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford helped their team win the Team Figure Skating PyeongChang 2018 gold. And Eric Radford becomes the first openly gay male athlete to win an Olympic gold medal! With their skills and experience, the Canadians were in good position to make the podium, and possibly the top pairs spot.

But it was China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong who had the best short program, taking the top spot. It was another fantastic performance from the Chinese duo who made a remarkable comeback after taking time off to help her recover from serious surgery on her injured feet. She had to learn to walk again before she could skate. And after months of recovery, they win several figure skating events and become 2017 World Champions to earn a place to compete for PyeongChang 2018 gold.

The stage was set for an epic showdown. After the short program, China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong had less than a point lead over Russians Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov. Canada's Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford were five points behind in third place, with less than a point above fourth place Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany.

It would seem that the Chinese and Russians would fight for gold, leaving the Canadians to fight off the Germans for bronze.

But this is the Olympics, and anything can happen. And something did happen. The pair who performed perfectly would win gold. And in the Free Skate, the right pair won.

After a disappointing short program performance, Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany skate a flawless routine that earned them the record for the highest points awarded in pairs figure skating competition, taking them to first place, waiting anxiously for the top three to compete.

Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany at Pair Skating Free Skating February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images AsiaPac

Canada's Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford followed up and became the first team to execute a clean quadruple throw jump at the Olympics, when she landed their throw quadruple salchow!



Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada at Pair Skating Free Skating February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Jamie Squire/Getty Images AsiaPac

But they had a minor mistake that cost them critical points, ending up second, behind the Germans! Now they had to wait worriedly for the Chinese and Russians performances to see if they would even medal!

China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong were guaranteed a gold medal if they could skate as exquisitely as they did to lead the short program.

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China at Pair Skating Free Skating February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Jamie Squire/Getty Images AsiaPac

But they stumbled and missed elements, losing critical points! Yet, they were still technically strong enough and had the strongest artistry to land in second place behind Germany, bumping the Canadians down to third! All that was left now were the Russians.

Yevgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov were poised to become Olympics champions.



Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov of Olympic Athlete from Russia at Pair Skating Free Skating February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images AsiaPac

But they collapse under pressure! They made multiple mistakes in the free skate that cost them critical elements, ending up in fourth place!

And with that, Aliona Savchenko, who had maintained a strong, almost icy demeanor, broke down into tears at finally achieving her Olympic dream after so many years! All her hard work, her relentless drive, and her efforts had finally paid off!

Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot of Germany win the gold medal for their flawless, record breaking performance. China's Sui Wenjing and Han Cong settle for silver. And Canada's Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford win the pairs bronze, adding to their team gold.

Meanwhile, North Korean skaters Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik finished 13th, the highest placement for any North Korean athlete in Olympic history in PyeongChang. Previously, the best-ever finish in any discipline was 18th for a pairs team back in 1992. Ryom Tae-Ok and Kim Ju-Sik set three personal best scores in the short program, free skate and overall scores. Their stars are on the rise!

Tae Ok Ryom and Ju Sik Kim of North Korea at Pair Skating Free Skating February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Jamie Squire/Getty Images AsiaPac

The only American pair team in the field, Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim, finished in 15th place. They competed in four programs in the span of a week, a rare event for elite-level skaters. And they come away from PyeongChang as Olympic bronze medalists in the team event. And they became the first U.S. pair to execute a quadruple twist in Olympic competition.

My favorite performance of the night was from Canadian pair Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau. They finished 9th. But they had the most mesmerizing and haunting performance of all the skaters.

Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau of Canada at Pair Skating Free Skating February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images AsiaPac

While I mostly felt anxious watching the other skaters, fearing they'd fall and make mistakes, Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau captivated me, and they left me wanting more. I wasn't watching a competition, I was witnessing a dance, art, grace and beauty in motion. I expect very big things from them now.

Before we leave pairs figure skating, I would like to make a few more notes:

Please, No more clowns or mimes at the Olympics!

Anna Duskova and Martin Bidar of the Czech Republic at Pair Skating Free Skating February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images AsiaPac

Clowns belong in the circus and Mimes belong in the streets! Stop bringing them into the skating rink!

What a brave fashion choice:



Nicole Della Monica and Matteo Guarise of Italy compete during the Pair Skating Free Skating at Gangneung Ice Arena on February 15, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea.
(Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images AsiaPac

I've only seen those swirly shades of blue in one other place:

I've found my Halloween costume for this year:

North Korean cheerleaders perform during the Pair Skating Free Skating February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images AsiaPac

I just need to round up another 199 people to make up my own North Korean Cheer Squad for Halloween. Who is down with me?


Women's Alpine Giant Slalom

After two runs, American Mikaela Shiffrin has won gold in the women's giant slalom with a combined time of 2 minutes, 20.02 seconds.

Mikaela Shiffrin of the United States at Ladies' Giant Slalom PyeongChang 2018 February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images AsiaPac

Norway's Ragnhild Mowinckel finished 0.39 seconds behind for silver. And Federica Brignone of Italy captured bronze, 0.46 behind Shiffrin.

First run leader Manuela Moelgg of Italy placed eighth.


In other Olympics news, the French skiers are unhappy that Olympic organizers aren't allowing them to wear fish head stickers on their helmets to commemorate David Poisson, a teammate killed in a training crash last November. The sticker is a play on Poisson's name in French, which means fish

The International Olympic Committee has strict rules preventing Olympians from wearing unauthorized labels or stickers on their gear. Usually, it is aimed at commercial advertising and politics. But in this case, it is terribly insensitive and f*cked up of IOC to prevent the French from commemorating their loss. What the hell is wrong with you, IOC?

At the 2017 Ski World Cup, the French Team wore colors with a heart and the initials DP in memory of David Poisson.



French racer Maxene Muzaton wears a bib in memory of teammate David Poisson during the FIS Ski World Cup November 25, 2017 in Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. / AFP PHOTO / DON EMMERT Nov. 24, 2017 - Source: AFP

For frak's sake, IOC! Let the French honor their fallen comrade! Let them have their fish stickers!


Do not read below if you plan on watching the recorded broadcast of the Games. Spoilers below for Men's Snowboarding Cross, Women's Cross-country Skiing 10km Freestyle, Women's Biathlon 15km, Men's Biathlon 20km, Men's Speedskating 10,000m, and Luge Team Relay.

Summary

Men's Snowboarding Cross

In the fast and furious world of Snowboard Cross, the snowboarders race down a winding course. First across the finish line wins. Crashes are expected as the snowboarders race aggressively to win.

And World Champion Pierre Vaultier of France has successfully defended his Sochi 2014 title.

Pierre Vaultier of France (red), Jarryd Hughes of Australia (white), Regino Hernandez of Spain (green), Nick Baumgartner of the United States (blue), Mick Dierdorff of the United States (black) and .Alex Pullin of Australia (yellow) compete during the Men's Snowboard Cross Big dDavid Ramos/Getty Images AsiaPac

What's more amazing is that he barely qualified for the final! He made a spectacular recovery from a disastrous semifinal crash, to scramble for a finals spot!

Pierre Vaultier had the quickest reaction in a three-man pile-up in his semi-final, getting up to grab the third and final qualifying spot. And in the final, he stayed clear of danger when half of the six-man field also went down, taking out Americans Nick Baumgartner and Mick Dierdoff with Australia’s Alex Pullin who were leading!

Seizing the opportunity in the chaos, Jarryd Hughes of Australia races to claim the silver. This is Australia's third PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics medal. Matt Graham won silver in men's moguls, and Scotty James took bronze men's snowboard halfpipe.

Spain's Regino Hernandez picks up the snowboard cross bronze, delivering a rare Winter Games medal for Spain. It is Spain's third Winter Games medal, and first since Albertville 1992, when Blanca Fernández Ochoa won bronze in women's slalom. Her older brother Francisco won the gold medal in slalom at the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, Japan, giving Spain its first Winter Olympics medal.

Regino Hernandez now has to uphold a bet he made with his skiman, Luca Trionte, the man in charge of preparing his boards. If he medaled, they would both get tattoos of each other's bearded faces. Regino Hernandez says the hard part now is finding the perfect spot for his friend's face.



Women's Cross-country Skiing 10km Freestyle

What an exciting race in the Women's Cross-country Skiing 10km Freestyle!

Ragnhild Haga of Norway has won her first gold medal, blowing away the field by crossing the finish line more than 20 seconds ahead of the competition!

Sweden's Charlotte Kalla takes the silver, adding to an earlier gold in 15km Skiathlon.

And in a thrilling battle for third, Norway's Marit Bjoergen and Finland's Krista Parmakoski finished tied for the bronze, with identical times of 25 minutes, 32.4 seconds!

(L-R) 2nd placed Charlotte Kalla of Sweden, 1st placed Ragnhild Haga of Norway and joint 3rd placed Marit Bjoergen of Norway and Krista Parmakoski of Finland celebrate Cross-Country Skiing Ladies' 10 km Free PyeongChang 2018 February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images AsiaPac

What's amazing is that Marit Bjoergen won the silver and Krista Parmakoski took bronze in the 15km Skiathlon raced a few days earlier! It is the 12th career medal for Bjoergen, just one shy of matching the record of 13 held by Norwegian biathlete Ole Einar Bjoerndalen. And she still has more races to ski!


Biathlon Women's 15km Individual

Stunning surprise in Women's 15km Biathlon!

Sweden's Hanna Oeberg, ranked 42 in the world, shot a perfect 20 out of 20 targets, beating out heavily favored Germany's Laura Dahlmeier to capture the gold medal. Hanna Oeberg was in tears Thursday after winning her first medal in her first Olympic Games. It is her first major win in an international competition.

Hanna Oeberg of Sweden reacts as she finishes first at Women's 15km Individual Biathlon February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Adam Pretty/Getty Images AsiaPac

Germany's Laura Dahlmeier missed one shot that led to an automatic one minute penalty, landing her a bronze. She adds to a Pyeongchang 2018 7.5km sprint gold and a 10km pursuit gold.

Slovakia's Anastasiya Kuzmina, who missed two shots, had the best skiing time, giving her a big enough cushion to finish second. She adds another silver to her PyeongChang 2018 10km pursuit silver. She has a Vancouver 2010 gold in 7.5km, silver in 10km pursuit, and a Sochi 2014 gold in the 7.5km sprint.


Speed Skating Men's 10,000m

The thrills began in Men's 10,000m Speedskating, when Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands broke his own Olympic record in the 10,000 meters at the Pyeongchang Games.

He clocked in at 12 minutes, 41.99 seconds on Thursday, beating his Olympic record time of 12:44.45 when he won the Sochi 2014 gold. With his new Olympics record, he set the bar high for the rest of the field.

And it is Ted-Jan Bloemen of Canada in the next pairing who exceeds that bar, setting a new Olympics record, finishing in 12 minutes, 39.77 seconds, taking the gold!

Ted-Jan Bloemen of Canada at Speed Skating Men's 10,000m PyeongChang 2018 February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Jamie Squire/Getty Images AsiaPac

Bloemen blows away the competition! He finished two seconds so far ahead that he and his coach started celebrating as Dutch super speedskating star Sven Kramer still had 2000m left to race on the ice!

Bloemen is a native Dutchman. He was unable to break through the wall of The Netherlands deep speedskating field. Moving to Canada, where his father was born and raised for 7 years, has allowed Bloemen to blossom, becoming a much better speedskating athlete.

It is Canada's first gold in the men's 10,000km event. The only other medal Canada won in the 10k was a bronze by Frank Stack in 1932! Canada denies the Dutch another speedskating gold!

It is Bloemen's second medal of the games after taking silver behind Dutch star Sven Kramer in the 5,000m back on Tuesday. Ted-Jan Bloemen is the current World Record Holder in 10,000 m (12:36.30) and the 5,000 m (6:01.86).

Jorrit Bergsma of the Netherlands settles for silver. Nicola Tumolero of Italy earned the 10,000m bronze, clocking in at 12:54.32. He was paired with Bloemen.

And Dutchman Sven Kramer finished a disappointing sixth. He has dominated the grueling race at every competition. But he has never won it at the Olympics! Eight years ago in Vancouver, he skated the fastest time but was disqualified for incorrectly changing lanes.

Don't give up yet on that 10,000m gold, Sven. It took Aliona Savchenko three partners and five Olympics to finally get that pairs figure skating gold. If she can do it, so can you.


Biathlon Men's 20km Individual

And the surprises continue in Men's 20km biathlon!

In case you didn't know, in the biathlon, the skiers race laps and stop to shoot at targets with their rifles. It sounds like a James Bond movie, doesn't it?

And in the Men's 20km Biathlon, the Man with the Golden Gun comes out on top!

Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway at Men's 20km Individual Biathlon February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images AsiaPac

Norway's Johannes Thingnes Boe has won his first gold medal of the Winter Games! The number 2 ranked biathlete beat his rival, the world's top biathlete, Frenchman Martin Fourcade!

Boe missed one shot while Martin Fourcade surprisingly missed on his final two shots. Fourcade was unable to overcome the penalties, placing 5th. The silver and bronze medalists shot perfectly 20 out of the 20 targets, but Boe's superior skiing gave him the lead to take the gold.

Slovenia's Jakov Fak (THE MOST AWESOME NAME AT THE OLYMPICS!) took home the silver. It is Slovenia's first medal of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics!

And Austrian Dominik Landertinger captured the bronze.



Luge Team Relay

The German Sliding Machine continues to crush the competition!

Silver medalists Canada, gold medalists Germnay and bronze medalists Austria pose on the podium during the victory ceremony after the Luge Team Relay on day six of the PyeongChang 2018 February 15, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 14, 2018 - Source: Dan Istitene/Getty Images AsiaPac

The German team of Natalie Geisenberger, Johannes Ludwig, and the doubles pairing of Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt dominated with 2 minutes, 24.517 seconds. They take the gold, adding to an already impressive PyeongChang 2018 medal haul:

Natalie Geisenberger is the women's luge champion, Johannes Ludwig is the bronze medalist in the men's single luge, and the Two Tobys, Tobias Wendl and Tobias Arlt, are the luge doubles champions.

Canada's team of Alex Gough, Sam Edney and doubles teammates Tristan Walker and Justin Snith were second, taking silver. Alex Gough is the PyeongChang 2018 women's luge bronze medalist,

Austria, with Madeleine Egle, David Gleirscher, and doubles sliders Peter Penz and Georg Fischler, was third, claiming the team relay bronze. David Gleirscher is the Pyeongchang 2018 men's luge champion. Peter Penz and Georg Fischler are the PyeongChang 2018 luge doubles silver medalists.

The U.S. was fourth, missing a medal by about one-tenth of a second.

Natalie Geisenberger now has five Olympic medals, the same number as German legend Georg Hackl, affectionately known as the Hackl-Schorsch (Speeding White Sausage)! Only Italy's Armin Zoeggeler, Il Cannibale ("The Cannibal"), has more, with six.

Now I want to be a luger. Just so I can get a cool nickname.

Natalie Geisenbeger becomes the first Olympian ever with four luge golds, two individual wins and the other two coming from the relays. And Georg Hackl is the only luger to date to win three back to back Olympics gold.


And so ends a entertaining Day 6 of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. For some, they finally reached that long sought after gold. For others, the search continues.