Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Update (Day 13)
One of the biggest spectator sports in the Olympics saw one half of the sport end as the women’s hockey gold medal was determined on Day 13.
Although the men’s tournament tends to get a lot more attention throughout the Olympics the women’s tournament is a major one.
For the women, this is quite literally the biggest tournament in the world as there are no other more important championships.
For many men, the goal is to win a Stanley Cup and along the way, many agree that an Olympic Gold medal is a big accomplishment.
There is no Stanley Cup for the women and with the only real equivalent being the World Championships every year.
As with any sport that revolves around a World Championship, the Olympics are the biggest stage of all.
For the women who manage to make the Olympic team, this is their chance to make an impact in an opportunity that only comes around once every four years.
As many of the women have said, the Olympics are their Stanley Cup ad they head to every Olympic tournament looking for gold.
There is a major problem for women’s Olympic Hockey though and that is the lack of competitiveness in the sport.
Women’s hockey is dominated by two countries and no other countries have ever won a gold medal.
The sport only joined the Olympic programme in 1998 where the USA took the first-ever gold medal by beating the Canadians.
That was far from the start of the rivalry but is certainly stepped things up as they were now competing for a bigger prize.
Since that win in 1998, the Americans and Canadians have met in the finals in all but one year with the Canadians taking four gold medals.
The Swedes were the only team to find some hope against the Americans in 2006 but there has rarely been any hope for any of the other teams.
The lack of investment in women’s sports in many countries outside of North America has left hockey on the back burner.
Even major hockey countries that love the sport like Russia, Sweden and Finland have not invested in the game.
That lack of competition has led to a lot of rumours every four years as the Olympics do have requirements for sports to be allowed into the programme.
One of those is a healthy amount of competition throughout the world as the sport should not be dominated by one or two teams.
It has led many to wonder if women’s hockey should be in the programme even despite the effort to find balance between the genders in opportunities to play.
Without much competition, the round robin has almost become pageantry while the only game worth paying attention to is the gold medal game between the only two teams with a chance.
Yet through every Olympic games, the sport remains and that could be a great thing for women’s hockey around the world.
The Olympic tournament gives women’s hockey the most visible stage that they could ever have.
That allows more girls to see the sport around the world and allows them to dream of one day participating in the games.
It is hoped that it can help grow the sport around the world and with some investment many believe that this tournament can get to a more competitive point.
Already some effects are being seen as Finland has been able to put together a number of solid performances in these tournaments.
They did it again this year winning bronze, their third in six years, meanwhile it seems like Sweden and Russia are finding their game more every year.
Still, this tournament comes down to the same teams every four years and for the fifth time the two teams faced off to determine an Olympic champion.
It was another great game that displayed the best of women’s hockey and what many hope will be the case for more teams in the near future.
It was the Americans who came out on top this time breaking their gold drought and preventing the Canadians from a fifth straight gold medal.
The shootout win was to be expected as both teams are truly the pinnacle of the sport and in four years when the Olympics head to Beijing, both teams hope to be back.
Of course, the Olympics and fans of the sport in general hope that the next four years provides a chance for teams to narrow the gap and make women’s hockey competitive.
The Canadian Story:
Curling Issues
When it comes to the Winter Olympics, Canada has a few sports that are expected to be great and expected to provide medals. Hockey and Curling lead the way and heading into these games the Canadian curlers were expected to take home three medals, all hopefully gold. The Mixed Doubles team took care of their end but the rest has somewhat fallen apart as the women’s team was eliminated before the playoffs and the men’s team was upset by the Americans forcing them to play for bronze and bringing the possibility of no medal at all.
Short Track Back
Short Track has always been a strong sport for Canada but the unpredictability of the sport can cause Canadian fans a lot of stress. The Olympics didn’t start great for the Canadians with both stars of short track, Charles Hamelin and Marianne St-Gelais, coming up short in their main races. Both weren’t entirely held out of the podium as Hamelin helped the Canadians to a relay win on Day 13. New stars have also emerged including Kim Boutin who took her third medal of the games on Day 13, this time a bronze in the 1,000m.
The Sport Addiction 