Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Update (Day 1)
The games are officially underway and the first medals have been handed out in Day 1 and more progress made towards other medals.
With things getting underway more sports are starting up and Olympic fans are seeing more sports in that pursuit of medals.
One of the sports that started out on Day 1 was Slopestyle where the men got things going and showcased a different side to the Olympics.
The games have always been a place where the best athletes compete in sports that are often only done in the shadows.
This can lend itself to athletes in these sports being a certain breed and those athletes form the attitude of the Olympics.
That attitude has often been one of seriousness and keeping sports in high regard while not really showing much joy.
For decades it was all about focus and staying locked in throughout the competition because this was their time to shine.
The Olympics were the culmination of so much work put into the sport and not focusing on the task at hand was just not possible.
That attitude surrounded the Olympics as they had always been this serious display of athleticism and sport.
That attitude was never the best thing if they wanted to grow to a younger crowd and see a different type of fan emerge.
The Olympics took itself too seriously and that was never going to fly with the group of fans coming to the point where they were going to be the main target.
That is why the games began looking to a new world to add sports and that world existed on an entirely different plane than every other Olympic sport.
They looked to action sports to bring a new audience and with that, they brought in an entirely new type of athlete.
That was on display in Day 1 when the men’s slopestyle took centre stage and fans got a look at those athletes.
They are a group that never takes anything all too seriously and prefer to enter a competition feeling loose and having fun.
It doesn’t mean that they are not serious athletes or that they are not taking things seriously but they are far looser than other athletes at the games.
In men’s slopestyle, the athletes participating all had their own warm-up routines and seemed to all have different nicknames.
This is how it has always been as these athletes have been a part of big games for years with the X Games taking the place of the Olympics before these sports were in the games.
The additions continue as the halfpipe, big air, ski cross and snowboard cross competitions are still to come and these athletes have been a part of the X Games for a long time.
These new sports are continuing to make an impact on the Olympics and as they grow a new generation of athletes is emerging alongside them.
This generation of athletes still takes their games and their sports seriously but they realize that the pressure is big enough without putting more pressure on themselves.
They head into the games with a different attitude and show that these sports are about having fun while you are playing a game.
They can get locked in and compete at a top level but they will try to stay loose the entire time to get their best performance.
That is the new world of sports everywhere as more athletes at every level try to keep things a little lighter than they used to.
There is no better example than the athletes who are just starting their Olympics in the slopestyle competition and soon in the other action sports that fans will see this year.
It is the new generation of the Olympics and it is just getting underway with plenty of emotion and laughs to come.
The first day came to an end and for some their Olympic journey hasn’t even started while others are off to a great start already taking medals home for their efforts.
It is just the beginning of a great journey for so many athletes who have been preparing for four years to get to this point.
Now they get to enjoy the end of the journey even with the immense pressure on everyone to be successful they are still and always will be Olympians.
The Canadian Story:
First Disappointment
Day 1 was the first real shot at medals for the Canadians when Olympic champion Charles Hamelin skated in the 1,500 m short track race. In the finals, two Canadians had a shot but after Hamelin was disqualified, Samuel Girard finished fourth leaving Canada without a medal in an event that looked like a good shot.
Snowboarding on Fire
The Canadians continue to set up for big things on the slopes as the first day of slopestyle resulted in a big day for the Canadian team. All four Canadians competing in the event qualified for the finals including Mark McMorris who has been one of the stars of the Olympics after breaking 13 bones after a fall out of competition in 2017 but returning just before the games.
Playing for Medals
Curling has always been a big sport for the Canadians and the newest event in Curling will feature Canadian content in the medal rounds. The team of Kaitlyn Lawes and John Morris qualified for the semi-finals after finishing their round robin as the top team it the tournament which ensure that they will be playing for a medal, now they will determine which colour.
The Sport Addiction 