Sochi 2014 Olympic Update (Day 5)
In Day 6 of the Sochi Olympics the sport that many had been waiting for, both in Russia and around the world, would start. The Men’s hockey tournament has always been one of the most popular winter sports in the Olympics. A large part of this has been the fact that it is the only sport in the Winter Olympics that features athletes from one of the major leagues in the world. The NHL will once again return to the Olympics, although possibly for the last time, and the world will be watching. Although the NHL and the international powers would take a while to decide if the top athletes in the world would attend the games the time would come for them to take to the ice. One of the big reasons that the NHL would attend the Olympics was for the fact that the tournament would take place in Russia. It has been a hockey crazy nation for years and would lobby hard to get their NHL superstars to the Olympics. Alexander Ovechkin would be one of the players leading the charge to bring the NHL players to Sochi. The Russian fans and the Russian players would get their wish as the NHL players will attend what will likely be their last Olympic Games as the games go to South Korea, far from a hockey nation, in 2018 and new international strategies for the NHL will take hold. The tournament is one of the biggest draws in the Olympics and will once again be the most watched event of the Olympics. The tournament has been one of the top stories for Russian as they look to their national team to provide one of the most important medals of the games for the country. The Russians have not won the Olympics since 1988, an unofficially in 1992 as the Unified Team, and they are looking to get back on the top of the podium at home. There is a lot of pressure on the Russians this year to win at home in a sport that they consider their biggest and best. The pressure is not all on Russia though as every time the Canadians go into an international tournament the only acceptable outcome for their fans is to win gold. Hockey is Canada’s sport and will take the most focus throughout the Olympics. As good as the Canadians might do in the Olympics losing the hockey gold medal will leave a sour taste in the mouth of many Canadian Olympic fans. As defending champions the Canadians are hoping to spoil the party for the Russians while the Russians are hoping to face the Canadians in the gold medal game and end their reign as Olympic champions. It is a great rivalry played out on one of the biggest stages and it is sure not to disappoint. They are not the only teams in the tournament though as there will be many more that will look to surprise everyone and earn the Gold medal. One of the favorites to do this will be the Swedish team who won the gold in 2006. This year they are full of great players from a system that seems to be producing more superstars than any other country. The Swedes could be the team to upset Russia or Canada and win the Gold medal. With these three teams at the top of the rankings there are a few more teams that could surprise. The USA is a team that not many are talking about with the concentration on Russia and Canada. Still they will be a top team in the tournament and could challenge any team for the gold medal this year. Meanwhile the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Finland can always surprise the top teams in any game. This year there are clear favorites to win the gold medal but the world of hockey is closing in around these top teams and there are more surprises than ever. It is far from a sure thing that the top three teams will be Sweden, Russia, and Canada and because of that the tournament will be another great one. There is sure to be plenty of talk about it as well with the world watching to see who will be the best hockey nation for the next four years. With the tournament underway all of the preparation is done and the only thing left to do is to perform as the pressure builds and only those who can handle it will come out on top with a gold medal.
Canadian Story:
Sacrificing Glory for Medals
Denny Morrison would be the first medalist of the day for Canada but it almost didn’t happen as he did not qualify for the finals until teammate Gilmore Junio gave up his spot to give Canada a better shot of the medal and it would pay off
Finally a win
The Canadian Women’s Hockey Team would go into the Olympics on a massive losing streak to the Americans but that would change when it mattered most as the Canadians would win their final preliminary round game moving on to the Semi-Finals
Price Starting
The announcement would come early in the day that Carey Price would get the start for Team Canada when they open the Olympics against Norway in Day 6 of the competition as everyone will be watching the goaltenders with Price taking his first step into the spotlight
Surprise on the Sled
In Day 4 Alex Gough would slide to the best result ever by a Canadian in the Luge and in Day 5 the performance would be repeated by Justin Snith and Tristan Walker who finished 4th in the men’s Doubles just short of a medal but still an impressive performance
Day 5 Medal Results:
Alpine Skiing
Women’s Downhill
1. Tina Maze (Slovenia)
1. Dominique Gisin (Denmark)
3. Lara Gut (Austria)
Figure Skating
Pairs Figure Skating
1. Tatiana Volosozhar/Maxim Trankov (Russia)
2. Ksenia Stolbova/Fedor Klimov (Russia)
3. Aliona Savchenko/Robin Szolkowy (Germany)
Luge
Doubles
1. Tobias Wendl/Tobias Arlt (Germany)
2. Andreas Linger/Wolfgang Linger (Austria)
3. Andris Sics/Juris Sics (Latvia)
Nordic Combined
Individual Normal Hill
1. Eric Frenzel (Germany)
2. Akito Watabe (Japan)
3. Magnus Krog (Norway)
Snowboarding
Women’s Halfpipe
1. Kaitlyn Farrington (USA)
2. Torah Bright (Australia)
3. Kelly Clark (USA)
Speed Skating
Men’s 1,000m
1. Stefan Groothuis (Netherlands)
2. Denny Morrison (Canada)
3. Michel Mulder (Netherlands)
Day 6 Medal Events:
Biathlon
Men’s 20km Individual
Cross-Country
Women’s 10km Classic
Freestyle Skiing
Men’s Ski Slopestyle
Luge
Team Relay
Short Track
Women’s 500m Final
Speed Skating
Women’s 1,000m
The Sport Addiction 