PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics Day 7

Day 7

What a surprising and shocking Day 7 of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. Some athletes soared to golden glory. Others fell from grace.

Highlights:

Men's Figure Skating Short Program

Yuzuru Hanyu caused a Pooh storm!

Fans throw gifts on to the ice and hold Japanese flags for Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan after his routine during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images AsiaPac

It was a dramatic day for men's figure skating. The big shocker:

American pre competition gold medal favorite, 18 year old Nathan Chen barely qualified for the free skate, failing to land his jumps and putting in a rough, troubled, awful performance, falling and tumbling, ending up 17th.

I was afraid he was being hyped up too much. The media built him up too fast and then pressured him to go after much too high expectations. I cringe how they hounded him, instead of giving him space to practice, rest, and recover. He came in with high hopes and too much expectations after being the first to successfully land five quad jumps in competition. For the first time Olympian, the pressure was just too much. For anyone following defending Sochi 2014 champion, the pressure would be too much. It's no wonder he gave such a Pooh performance.

And what an extraordinary return to the top from Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu! It is his first competition in three months after suffering a terrible ankle injury that caused him to miss two months of training leading up to the Olympics. There were many doubting his ability and questioned his strength and status.

But Yuzuru Hanyu silenced all the doubters and naysayers, delivering the best short program in men's figure skating ever! He was the first to skate in the last top group of elite skaters. And his Olympics record score of 111.68 blew everyone else out of the rink! And it was a well deserved score for an exquisite, perfect, astounding performance. He is still the best.

Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images AsiaPac

All the top five men put in stellar performances. Two time World Champion, Spain's Javier Fernandez was second at 107.58, after skating a glorious and entertaining Charlie Chaplin inspired act. He brought charm and theater!

Javier Fernandez of Spain competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images AsiaPac

Dark horse Shoma Uno was third at 104.17, delivering a powerful and spectacular showing, shining from underneath the huge shadow cast by fellow countryman Yuzuru Hanyu.

Shoma Uno of Japan competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images AsiaPac

And China's Jin Boyang returned to top form, delivering a magnificent performance, scoring 103.32, landing him in fourth.

Boyang Jin of China competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images AsiaPac

Only the best deserved to be at the top, and the stage is set for an amazing free skate later tonight. American Adam Rippon is in 7th after a lively, fabulous showing. He didn't have a quad, but he scored well enough without it.

Adam Rippon of the United States competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images AsiaPac

The other American, 17 year old Vincent Zhou, is in 12th, and he made history as the first to ever successfully land the difficult quadruple lutz in an Olympics.



Vincent Zhou of the United States competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images AsiaPac

My favorite performers are a mix of those elite athletes and the ones with just beautiful, gorgeous skating. Some of these skaters didn't have the high scoring quads of the top five, but they didn't need them to shine. It's hard to define and quantify grace and perfection. And for me, these skaters were just superb:

Julian Zhi Jie Yee of Malaysia: Smooth and Serene.

Julian Zhi Jie Yee of Malaysia competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images AsiaPac

Matteo Rizzo of Italy: Charming

Matteo Rizzo of Italy competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images AsiaPac

Brendan Kerry of Australia: Fantastic

Brendan Kerry of Australia competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images AsiaPac

Cha, Junhwan of South Korea: Spectacular and Most Awesome Hair!

Junhwan Cha of Korea competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images AsiaPac

Misha Ge of Uzbekistan: Evocative



Misha Ge of Uzbekistan competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images AsiaPac

Michal Brezina of Czech: Captivating

Michal Brezina of the Czech Republic competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Harry How/Getty Images AsiaPac

Dmitri Aliev, Olympic Athlete from Russia: Classic

Dmitri Aliev of Olympic Athlete from Russia competes during the Men's Single Skating Short Program February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images AsiaPac

Kudos to all the skaters who made it this far. It takes a lot of hard work and sacrifice to make it to the Olympics.


Women's Alpine Slalom

After two runs, Frida Hansdotter of Sweden, who was second in the first run, attacked the second run for a combined time of 1 minute, 38.63 seconds, winning her the slalom gold.

Frida Hansdotter of Sweden competes during the Ladies' Slalom Alpine Skiing February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images AsiaPac

First-run leader Wendy Holdener of Switzerland was second fastest for silver. Holdener is the first Swiss to medal in women’s slalom since Vreni Schneider won gold in Lillehammer 1994.

And Katharina Gallhuber of Austria, ranked 10th in slalom and has never made a World Cup podium, earned a fantastic surprise bronze with an amazing second run.

Defending Sochi 2014 champion, heavily favored American Mikaela Shiffrin, finished fourth. No slalom winner has ever successful defended an Olympic title.


Men's Skeleton

A most fortuitous Lunar New Year for South Korea!

Yun Sungbin set a track record of 3 minutes, 20.55 seconds after four runs and won Men's Skeleton gold, becoming the first South Korean (first Asian ever!) to medal in the sliding sports!

Sungbin Yun of Korea starts his final slide on his way to winning the Men's Skeleton February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images AsiaPac

Yun Sungbin was 1.63 seconds ahead of silver medalist Nikita Tregubov, Olympic athlete from Russia. It was the biggest victory margin in Olympic skeleton history.

And Dom Parsons of Britain claims bronze, the first men's skeleton medal for Britain since John Crammond won bronze at St Moritz 1948, 70 years ago. It is the first PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics medal for Great Britain.

(L-R) Silver medalist Nikita Tregubov of Olympic Athlete from Russia, gold medalist Sungbin Yun of Korea and bronze medalist Dom Parsons of Great Britain celebrate following the Men's Skeleton February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images AsiaPac

Heartbreak for Latvia's Tomass Dukurs, one of the top ranked skeleton sliders, who for the third straight Olympics, finished fourth! His mistakes on the final run slipped him down to fourth, giving Dom Parsons the edge to take the bronze.

Tomass Dukurs' younger brother, another medal fave and Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 silver medalist, finished 5th.

Of note, Akwasi Frimpong, the skeleton slider from Ghana, finished 30th out 30. He may have finished last. But he finished. He qualified to be here. Whatever happens, he is an Olympian, and he shows that Olympic athletes come from all over the world. And even athletes from non winter snow sport countries can compete if given the chance and resources and support. Congratulations on making it to the Olympics. Not everyone can say that.

Akwasi Frimpong of Ghana slides into the finish area during the Men's Skeleton February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images AsiaPac

Not everyone can be an Olympics champion. But an Olympics champion can be anyone who works hard and has the support and training and heart to make it.


Men's Alpine Super G

What an amazing comeback in Men's Super G!

Matthias Mayer of Austria started the week off terribly, crashing into a cameraman in the slalom portion of the Combined on Tuesday. Now, he breaks the Norwegian 16 years streak (four straight Olympics--Salt Lake 2002, Torino 2006, Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014), taking the gold in Men's Super G!

Matthias Mayer of Austria competes during the Men's Super-G PyeongChang 2018 February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images AsiaPac

Mayer won the speed race by 0.13 seconds ahead of Beat Feuz of Switzerland, who now adds a silver medal to his bronze from the Downhill on Thursday.

Defending Sochi 2014 Champion Kjetil Jansrud of Norway was third, 0.18 behind Mayer. It's Jansrud's fifth career Olympic medal after getting downhill silver.

Norway's Aksel Lund Svindal, the Vancouver 2010 Champion in super-G, placed fifth, after taking Mayer's Downhill title yesterday!


Women's Snowboard Cross

It was another chaotic and exciting race in the thrilling sport of Snowboard Cross.

Italy's Michela Moioli was brilliant! She strategically attacked the course, overtaking American gold favorite, Lindsey Jacobellis, about halfway down the course. Then left the rest of the field behind to take the gold.

Lindsey Jacobellis of the United States (blue), Michela Moioli of Italy (green), Julia Pereira De Sousa Mabileau of France (black), Chloe Trespeuch of France (yellow), Alexandra Jekova of Bulgaria (white) and Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic (red) compete during the Ladies' Snowboard Cross Big Final PyeongChang 2018 February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Clive Rose/Getty Images AsiaPac

The mad scramble for second and third led to spectacular crashes! And in the dust up, Julia Pereira de Sousa Mablieau of France took silver! And defending Sochi 2014 Champion Eva Samkova of the Czech Republic got clipped from behind and skidded across the line for bronze.

And the curse continues for multiple World Championships holder Lindsey Jacobellis. She was in the clear for gold at Torino 2006, when she decided to show off with a jump, but crashed, leaving the door wide open for Tanja Frieden of Switzerland to take the gold. Jacobellis scrambles for silver, but has failed to make the Olympics podium since that fateful Torino 2006 run.

Men's Cross-country Skiing 15km Freestyle

Super Dario does it again!

In an amazing feat of skills, Switzerland's Dario Cologna has become the first cross-country skier to win three Olympic gold medals in the same event, taking the Cross-country Skiing 15km Freestyle gold! His is a three peat winner with a gold at Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, and now PyeongChang 2018.

Dario Cologna of Switzerland competes during the Cross-Country Skiing Men's 15km Free February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images AsiaPac

It is Switzerland's first gold of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics.

Dario Cologna won the race in 33 minutes, 43.9 seconds, more than 18 seconds ahead of the Simen Hegstad Krueger from Norway, who clocked in at 34 minutes 2.2 seconds. Krueger adds this silver to a Pyongchang 2018 Skiathlon gold. Krueger's silver is the Norwegian men's first medal in this event since Salt Lake 2002.

Denis Spitsov, 21, Olympics Athlete from Russia, finished at in 34:06.9, 23 seconds behind Dario Cologna, taking third place bronze. He fought hard for that podium position. He was fourth in the Skiathlon. And his bronze is Russia's first medal in the 15km cross-country freestyle ski event.

And my favorite skier of the event, Tongan cross-country skier Pita Taufatofua has crossed the finish line, placing 115th out of 119! Two other racers finished after him, and the other three did not finish or were disqualified.



Pita Taufatofua of Tonga crosses the finish line as Kequyen Lam of Portugal and Samir Azzimani of Morocco look on during the Cross-Country Skiing Men's 15km Free February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images AsiaPac

He has achieved his two goals for this race: Don't run into a tree and cross the finish line before the organizers turned off the lights.

Perhaps better known for his shirtless appearances in the Rio 2016 and PyeongChang 2018 Opening Ceremonies, he switched from Taekwondo to Cross-country skiing, and he qualified to participate at the PyeongChang Olympics.

He knows he won't medal here. But he does it for one reason, so that kids from the Pacific can look at him and be inspired to take up the winter sport. If he can do it, why can't they?

While Pita Taufatofua was at the Pyeongchang Games, a hurricane hit his home, the islands of Tonga. So that has been weighing on his mind. Hopefully, his finish gives his people something to be proud of. The Associated Press has a wonderful story about the brotherhood those last group of racers formed as they spent all their money traveling across the world, trying to qualify at races to be eligible to compete at the Olympics.

Race winner Dario Cologna of Switzerland stayed to congratulate the last racers as they crossed the finish line; he says Pita Taufatofua and these last racers represent what the Olympics are all about. And I agree. Kudos to you, Pita Taufatofua, for finishing your race and reaching your goals!



Women's Speedskating 5000m

The Dutch are golden again.

Dutch speedskater Esmee Visser finished the race at 6 minutes, 50.23 seconds, taking the gold.

Esmee Visser of the Netherlands competes during the Ladies' Speed Skating 5000m on day seven of the PyeongChang 2018 February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images AsiaPac

Two-time defending Olympics Champion Martina Sablikova of the Czech Republic settles for silver, clocking in 6:51.85.

And Olympics Athlete from Russia, Natalia Voronina earned bronze in 6:53.98.

Three time champion in the 5000m, Claudia Pechstein of Germany finished eighth.

The Dutch have won six of seven PyeongChang 2018 golds so far in speedskating. Their only miss so far was in the men's 10,000 meters, in which they took silver.

And I'm guessing they're pissed off, since the Canadian who won the men's 10,000m is Dutchman Ted-Jan Bloemen, the world record holder.

Ted-Jan Bloemen was running into a wall, unable to progress into the heavy elite field of Dutch speedskating stars. To jump start his flagging career, his father urged him to go to Canada, and the Canadians welcomed him with arms wide open. His father was born and raised in Canada for seven years before the family relocated back to the Netherlands.

Since joining Canada four years ago, Ted-Jan Bloemen blossomed and excelled, breaking Sven Kramer's world records at the 5000m and 10,000m distances. At PyeongChang 2018, he was silver to Sven Kramer's gold the 5000m. But he took top spot at the 10,000m, leaving the Dutch silver, and Kramer in 6th.


Women's Aerials

Angels were flying today!

Hanna Huskova of Belarus soars to gold!

Hanna Huskova of Belarus competes during the Freestyle Skiing Ladies' Aerials Final PyeongChang 2018 February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images AsiaPac

Alla Tsuper, the defending Sochi 2014 Champion, also of Belarus, finished fourth.

China's Zhang Xin takes silver.

Xin Zhang of China competes during the Freestyle Skiing Ladies' Aerials Final PyeongChang 2018 February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images AsiaPac

Hanna Huskova narrowly edges for the win, scoring 96.14 in the final round of jumping, just ahead of Zhang's 95.52. They were the only two to cleanly land their jumps. The rest of the field crashed hard.

Kristina Spiridonova of Olympic Athlete from Russia crashes during the Freestyle Skiing Ladies' Aerials Finals PyeongChang 2018 February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images AsiaPac

Mengtao Xu of China crashes during the Freestyle Skiing Ladies' Aerials Final PyeongChang 2018 Winter February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images AsiaPac

China's Kong Fanyu took bronze. Gold medal favorite Xu Mengtao of China washed out and failed to make the finals. China now has seven medals in the event since it made its Olympic debut in Lillehammer 1994, but is still on the hunt for its first gold.


Men's Ski Jumping Large Hill

Over in Men's Ski Jumping Large Hill qualifications, Magnificently Mustachioed Robert Johansson of Norway leads the pack, with 131.9 points after a leap of 135 meters. He was the normal hill bronze medalist.

Ski jumper Robert Johansson of Norway poses for a portrait during previews ahead of the PyeongChang 2018 February 6, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 5, 2018 - Source: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images AsiaPac

Japan's Ryoyu Kobayashi, 21, had the longest jump at 143.5 meters but was marked down on his landing, placing him in third.

Ryoyu Kobayashi of Japan lands a trial jump during the Ski Jumping Men's Large Hill Individual Qualification February 16, 2018, South Korea. Feb. 15, 2018 - Source: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images AsiaPac

Second place is Norway's Johann Andre Forfang.

Normal Hill winner, Andreas Wellinger of Germany, was fourth. And defending Sochi 2014 Champion Kamil Stoch of Poland was seventh.

The qualifier narrowed the field to the top 50 scorers. Japanese veteran Noriaki Kasai, who is competing in his record eighth Olympics, was 22nd. Saturday's final promises to be an exciting event!


And so ends another thrilling and heartbreaking Day 7 of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. Some athletes reached for the heavens and flew high. Others were Icarus, wings burnt by the sun and came crashing down. The drama and the quest for gold and glory continues.