Sochi 2014 Olympic Update (Day 1)
The Olympics is one the biggest sporting event in the world as the entire world of sports takes a break to watch the world compete. It is a major event and at the centre of it are athletes that are not used to having that type of outside pressure. All of the athletes have put plenty of pressure on themselves to try to be the best but are rarely in the world view. They do most of their work with few fans watching and paying attention but that presence becomes more increased the year before the Olympics. More people start paying attention to see what they can do and what potential they may have when the Olympics come around. Then the Olympics arrive and the entire world begins to watch while the crowds increase ten-fold. The pressure is ratcheted up in an immense way as athletes feel the weight of a country’s hope on their shoulders. That can be too much for many to take and for some athletes it is the push they need to finish on the podium. This is what makes the Olympics a thrilling event as the unexpected is sure to happen. There can be plenty of previews of the Olympics that come up with the most likely names to win medals but in the end there is no guarantee of who can win a medal. The Sochi Olympics have already seen a number of surprises as the Olympics have already seen a number of medalists. Some of them were expected while many of them were surprises as Day 1 would already show the unexpected in the Olympics. The day would start with the Men’s Slopestyle event where Sage Kotsenburg from the USA would take the gold medal. It was not what most had seen for this event before the Olympics. At first many expected a massive battle between Sean White and Mark McMorris for the gold medal. Then Mark McMorris would break a rib weeks before the Olympics and Sean White would drop out of the competition because the track was too dangerous. The matchup that everyone wanted to see had gone away as nobody knew what McMorris would be like with a broken rib and the biggest star was no longer there. The competition would start and it seemed like it was Max Parrot’s to lose as the Canadian went into the Olympics as the latest winner in the World Championship. He would finish first in qualification while the other two Canadians, McMorris and Sebastien Toutant, were in a position to challenge for medals. The finals would take place on Day 1 and they would be the chance for Parrot to win the first gold medal of the Olympics. It would not happen though as Parrot would finish 5th in the finals while Toutant would finish 7th. The favorites heading into the finals had lost and in their place was Sage Kotsenburg who has finished second in the event twice in the X-Games but never won an event. He would take the gold and keep the USA at the top of the podium in an event that many were expecting before Sean White dropped out. In third place was Mark McMorris who would overcome his rib injury to earn a medal after many had seen his performance in qualifying as evidence that it was effecting him in a big way. The surprises would not stop on the hill though as in the Men’s 10km Sprint Biathlon another two men would take medals when nobody expected them to. In first place was the 40-year-old Ole Einar Bjoerndalen in a race that nobody expected him to win. As good as he has been throughout his career his age is what many saw as a bad sign that he would not be able to overcome. Then in third place would be Jaroslav Soukup who would enter the Olympics as the 41st ranked skier in the world. That would not phase him though as he would take the bronze in yet another unexpected result. The Olympics have already shown that it is almost impossible to predict and there is sure to be plenty more surprises throughout these two weeks as there are only going to be more surprises and more to talk about as the Olympics continue on through Day 1.
Canadian Story:
Sister Power
The Day would go fairly well for Canada and it would end with the Women’s Moguls where Sisters Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe would finish with a gold and silver in what is sure to become a lasting image of the Sochi Olympics for all Canadians
The First Medal
Mark McMorris went into the Olympics as a favorite to win the gold medal in Slopestyle but a rib injury would put that in doubt and after it seemed to affect him in qualifying McMorris would recover to earn Canada’s first medal of the games finishing in third
One Down
The hockey has already started this year in Sochi as the women would play their first games of the tournament and the Canadian Women’s Team would take their first shot at repeating as champions beating Switzerland 5-0 in their opening game
Standing Strong on the Rink
Amid rumours of a judge fixing scandal in Figure Skating the Canadians would look to focus on skating and would remain in 2nd place after the next set of team competitions and heading into the third and final day of the team competition
Day 1 Medal Results:
Biathlon
Men’s 10km Sprint
1. Ole Einar Bjoerndalen (Norway)
2. Dominik Landertinger (Latvia)
3. Jaroslav Soukup (Czech Republic)
Cross-Country Skiing
Women’s Skiathlon
1. Marit Bjoergen (Norway)
2. Charlotte Kalla (Sweden)
3. Heidi Weng (Norway)
Freestyle Skiing
Women’s Moguls
1. Justine Dufour-Lapointe (Canada)
2. Chloe Dufour-Lapointe (Canada)
3. Hannah Kearney (USA)
Snowboarding
Men’s Slopestyle
1. Sage Kotsenburg (USA)
2. Staale Sandbech (Norway)
3. Mark McMorris (Canada)
Speed Skating
Men’s 5,000m
1. Sven Kramer (Netherlands)
2. Jan Blokhuijsen (Netherlands)
3. Jorrit Bergsma (Netherlands)
Day 2 Medal Events:
Alpine Skiing
Men’s Downhill
Biathlon
Women’s 7.5km Sprint
Cross-Country Skiing
Men’s Skiathlon
Figure Skating
Team Ice Dancing Free Program (Final Team Event)
Luge
Men’s Luge
Ski Jumping
Men’s Individual Normal Hill
Snowboarding
Women’s Slopestyle
Speed Skating
Women’s 3,000m
The Sport Addiction 