The Olympic Pregames Part III

Men's Slopestyle Qualifiers

Rosa Khutor Extreme Park includes four features at the top of the course and three bigger ones near the bottom of the course, a combination that allows snowboarders to maximize their scores with their own creativity. Of course, there is one snowboarder whose absence stands out more than anyone else's presence in the slopestyle event. Shaun White pulled out of slopestyle just days before the competition began, citing injuries that, if further complicated, could inhibit him in the halfpipe later in the games. Folllowing his withdrawal from competition, Canadian snowboarder Sebastian Toutant tweeted "Mr. White.... It's easy to find excuses to pull out of a contest when you think you can't win....," creating some tensions between Canada and Team USA.

Toutant completed an impressive 1260 jump, but only managed a score of 74.25 in his first run. In his second run, his jumps brought him a much higher 87.25, placing him within the top four of his heat.
USA snowboarder Chaz Guldemond scored 86.00 in his first run, originally placing him in the fourth place spot and guaranteeing his finals position, but Jamie Nicholls of Great Britain beat out Guldemond and clenched his own place in the finals with a score of 86.75, forcing Guldemond out of the coveted top-four finish in their heat.

Sage Kotzenburg, USA, approaches the slopestyle with a joyful and carefree attitude. Prior to competition, he filmed a first-person video of what it was like to go down the Sochi course. He received a score of 86.50.
Olympic Medal favorite Mark McMorris of Canada has been suffering from a broken rib, which has reportedly made it painful for him to "cough or even laugh". He fell once on his ride down the course as he fails to stop rotation before he lands, an error which was apparent in his score of 29.50. On his second run, he managed to overcome his pain for a score of 89.25, which, while impressive, was not enough to give him the top four finish for automatic placement in the final round.
Canadian Max Parrot demonstrated some of the cleanest landings yet on his second run down the slope, which was apparent in his monstrous 97.50 score, which brought him definitively into first place in his heat.

The Olympic Pregames Part II

Team Figure Skating

Men's Singles

Starting off the men's competition,   Plushenko  is Russia's best bet for starting strong in this competition that has long been an integral part of Russia's dynasty.

Peanut Gallery: "That is the face of someone who was denied his childhood."

His powerful quadruple toe, triple toe combination was an impressive way to begin his short program, and his showmanship commanded the audience's attention to the power that he brought to the ice. The home country reaction to his performance was deafening in the Ice Palace as he blew kisses, waved, and flashed his supporters a brilliant smile accompanied by a classic two thumbs up. He scored a 91.39, his personal best and an impressive start to this stiff competition

Jeremy Abbott, USA, follows Plushenko onto the ice as he battles his nerves and tries to put behind him his disastrous short program at the 2010 games. His style differs greatly from the raw power of Plushenko, but he seeks to maintain the same level of difficulty. Abbott falls hard on his first quadruple toe and although he recovers well with a triple lutz, his failure to complete a double rotation on his axel effectively confirms a similarly disastrous program to his 2010 debacle. While broadcasters estimate a 15 point deduction for the missed elements of his program, his score of 65.65 leaves a bleak outlook for the USA figure skating team. When interviewed by NBC's Andrea Mitchell, Abbott said, "I'm not sure what went wrong, it was just one of those nights."

Canada's Patrick Chan, current World Champion, is described as the "centerpiece" of the Canadian figure skating team. He misses the quadruple toe loop and is only able to complete 2 rotations, as well as losing control of the landing on his triple axel. The triple lutz is landed well, but the performance overall is not up to Chan's normal standards. The program brought in a score of 89.71 for the Canadian team, placing him second, following Plushenko.

Yuzuru Hanyu makes his Olympic debut in this team competition with a clean quadruple toe as he shows off his personality in a vibrant program. The triple axel maintains this level of ease, as does the second half of the program triple lutz, triple toe combination. Hanyu ends his short program with panache, accompanied by crashing drums and a screaming guitar as he spins his way into the hearts of a delighted audience and is honored with a standing ovation from the other figure skaters watching his performance. Hanyu overtakes Plushenko with an incredible 97.98, bringing Japan into a rather unexpected lead in the team figure skating event.

Peanut Gallery, "He's like the Japanese Freddy Mercury on ice." 

Pairs Figure Skating

The Japanese team, Narumi Takahashi and Ryuichi Kihara, opens the pairs element of the Team Figure Skating, but the skaters have only been working together for a year, an astonishingly short time when compared with the lifetime pairs representing other countries. Their relative unfamiliarity shows with the incorporation of slightly easier elements into their program, such as a double toss instead of the usual triple, leaving them with a score of 46.56.

2-Time US Champions Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir, whose family originally hails from Russia, are next to compete. The pair has been working together for 8 years and their familiarity is apparent in the synchronicity of their program. Their signature throw-triple salchow was impressive, but their side-by-side salchow was flawed. They scored 64.25 and ended up in fifth place.

Canadian figure skaters Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford chose an emotional piece of music composed by Eric  to accompany their program, which featured a side-by-side triple lutz, a throw-triple lutz, and creative elements that showcased the best that each partner had to offer. Their performance brought them a 73.10 and second place. After the program, Meagan said, "When he picked me up I could see the Olympic Rings above his head and I was just like, I can't believe we're doing this!"

Tatyana Volosozhar and Maksim Trankov of Russia set as their goal to return the glory of pairs figure skating to Russia. Their theatric costumes and lively music created a truly impressive and entertaining program. The strength of both skaters was evident in the landings of their throws and leaps, which the home country crowd rewarded with massive cheers as they completed every element with aplomb. As they waited for their scores, the Ice Skating Palace shook with the force of the Russian supporters' chanting, which reached a deafening level as their 83.79 score was announced.

The Olympic Pregames Part I

No, this isn't about a drinking game. This first blog post is all about the Olympic games BEFORE the games begin.

Tonight features some of the exciting NEW events at Sochi, including Slopestyle snowboarding and Team Figure Skating.

Heeeeeeere's Slopestyle!

Tonight's events are merely qualifiers for later rounds, with both men and women competing for their chance to compete again later for the first medals in this inaugural round of slopestyle. Jumps can be over 70 feet across in slopestyle and have caused injuries as athletes have practiced on the course.
Only the top 4 qualifiers will make it to the semifinal round, on Sunday.

The Brits have started it off well with a strong performance by Jenny Jones, who scored a 74.25. Each athlete will have two rounds in this qualifier.
The Canadians actually built a replica of this course to practice on, which certainly seems to have given them an advantage. Spencer O'Brien demonstrates this with her score of 82.75, despite some previous issues with the course.
2006 halfpipe bronze medalist, Kjersti Buaas, of Norway wiped out on the course as she over-initiated her spin on a 180 jump.
Torah Bright, AUS, is the reigning gold medalist in Halfpipe and hopes to make the top score in these prelims so she can forgo the semifinal round and focus on defending her medal in halfpipe. She will also compete in snowboard cross, with her immense control of the snowboard proving to be a huge benefit to her in these competitions. She scores an 85.25, bringing her into first place in this first heat. A clean second run, while lower than her first score, clenched her place in the final round and ended the first heat of competition.

Peanut Gallery: "Snowboarders are the surfer dudes of winter sports"

Celia Nordal of Norway, favored to medal in slopestyle, is recovering from a recent illness in which she was ill enough to be moved out of the Olympic Village and into a private hotel. This left her will fewer opportunities to practice on the Sochi Course, putting her at a slight disadvantage to the other competitors.
Jamie Anderson, USA, is described as having a "lethargic" style of jumping and a cool, hippie outlook on life. A few shaky landings left her with some difficulties, but her huge air led to a score of 93.5, the highest of the day, as her family cheered her on.
Late afternoon shadows and faster snow force Silje Norendal, Norway, to sit as she completed her final jump, lowering her score and putting her in seventh place in the heat.
Karly Shorr, USA, had a clean run, which put her into fourth place with 84.75 and directly into the final.
Jessica Jensen had some issues with her landings due to the icy course, similar to those that gave Norendal trouble, leaving her with a 58.52 but a chance to compete again in the SemiFinals.