Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Update (Day 9)
Every Olympic games the world of sports focus on one city in the world that is hosting the games to see what they have to offer.
This year that place is Pyeongchang which was a spot with a resort that many could visit but was still relatively unknown.
They are putting themselves on the map this year as they have put on a great show so far with some amazing moments.
By all accounts, the people that have attended have had a great tie and despite some bitter cold and weather issues early on things have gone pretty well.
It has been a successful games so far but the city was not the only thing that is in the spotlight when the games began.
Every time the Olympics travel to a new city the country that plays host becomes a point of conversation.
No country wants to play host to the games and have a bad showing as they all want to have success in front of their home crowd.
It can be tough for a number of countries who might not have the best programs for their Olympians.
They are countries that are never really considered massive powers in whatever games they are hosting.
Not every country can be great at the winter or the summer games and when one country wins the right to host the games they begin to focus on those games.
Every country invests in their own athletes in the hopes that by the time they get to their own games those athletes will be ready to compete with the best.
It happens every year and you can begin to notice the investment four years before the actual games themselves.
It is a constant cycle for any country that is hosting the games and things really step up for those countries that are not necessarily the best.
South Korea has always been a good sports country but they have never really been considered a power in any of the Olympic games.
They have their stars and their specific sports that they tend to do well in but in 2014 that only amounted to 8 medals and a 13th place ranking in the medal table.
They have always been a team that has a particular strength on the ice when it comes to short track speed skating.
So far this year they have mad good on that earning two gold medals and a bronze in the sport that they have always been great at.
The success has also translated to the long track and this year they have seen success there too winning a silver and bronze.
Those are the sports that have always been good for the Koreans and they were expected to win medals.
That is what was expected but they did miss out on some medals in those sports leading to a lower medal total than they thought.
The most interesting part about any host countries though is the ability for surprising athletes to jump out and take a medal when it was least expected.
It seems to happen in every games as the host country and their athletes tend to find another gear when they play at home.
Many times there are a few new heroes who rise to the top of the heap in the games and send the entire country into celebration.
The Koreans have seen one of them this year already with the success of Sungbin Yun who took the gold medal in the skeleton.
In the 2014 games Yun had come 16th in the men’s skeleton but since that time he began to make moves towards the top.
He is the perfect example of the investment in the games for those host countries as he only began his movement in 2014.
Since that time he had been among the best in the world and n the Olympics in front of his home crowd, he came through in a big way to take a gold medal.
It is these medals that come in the places that are not necessarily expected that help their countries rise.
With just about half of the games left the Koreans will try to add to their total in medals and they hope to put a good showing forward the rest of the way.
The Canadian Story:
Reversing Fortunes
The Canadian curling teams have had mixed results this year with the Mixed Doubles winning gold, the men coming out strong and the women struggling. Team Homan has begun to turn things around after losing three in a row taking two straight wins. Meanwhile, Team Koe played great for the start but now have lost two straight games in rough fashion. Both teams are reversing their fortunes as their tournament come to an end.
Moving On
The Canadian men’s team suffered a tough loss against the Czech in their second game of the tournament but came back with a big win. They beat the Koreans in their final round-robin game and finished second in their group. That helped them to the quarter-final where they get a step closer to the medal rounds. They will await the winner of Finland and Korea eighth final.
Adding to the Total
The Canadians came through with another medal after Day 9 as slopestyle continued to be a good place for Canadian medals. This time it was Alex Beaulieu-Marchand who took a bronze medal in men’s ski slopestyle. That added to the two medals that were won in men’s snowboard slopestyle earlier in the games.
The Sport Addiction 