And so it ends. A massive day for Russian winter sport puts the host nation over 60 points clear at the close of competition. Thanks to a strong finish in bobsleigh and some points from ice hockey, the USA nudge clear of Norway and into 2nd place with Canada, Germany and the Netherlands making up the rest of the top six.
Many thanks to Michael Thiel and “Janak” for pointing out some errors in the calculations.

The scoring table is as follows;
1st 8 points
2nd 7
3rd 6
4th 5
5th 4
6th 3
7th 2
8th 1
If countries are level on points their single best result is the tiebreak.

Thank you and good night.

Assuming Russia wins a medal in bobsledding today, that will give them 33 medals in Sochi. It is only the 5^th time that a nation has won over 30 medals at a Winter Olympics, after Germany and the United States in both 2002 and 2010, and will rank them 4^th all-time for nations at the Olympic Winter Games, whether they finish with 32 or 33 medals. The top 4 national performances at a single Winter Olympics have been as follows:

But in 2010, Russia won “only” 15 medals, meaning they will have improved from 15 to 33 in Sochi, a gain of 18 medals (or possibly 17). How does that improvement rank all-time at the Winter Olympics? Either way, it will be second all-time after the USA improving from 13 to 34 from 1998-2002, a gain of 21, which, like Russia, benefitted from hosting the Winter Olympics on home soil. But the Netherlands also improved in Sochi, from 8 to 24 medals, a bump of 16 medals, thanks to their impressive speed skaters. That is 3^rd all-time.

Here are all the nations that have seen a bump of 10 or more medals from one Winter Olympics to the next. Please note that this is a little easier as the number of events increases at each Winter Olympics.

And that is @bambam1729 signing off from Sochi, folks. Its been fun. I’ll leave you with the words of the Reverend Robert de Courcy Laffan, who spoke them at the Closing Banquet at the end of the 1908 Olympics in London:

“The Olympic Movement was one with great ideals – the perfect physical development of a new humanity, the spreading all over the world of the spirit of sport, which was the spirit of the truest chivalry, and the drawing together of all the nations of the earth in the bonds of peace and mutual amity. They were at the beginning of one of those great world movements which was going to develop long after all present had passed away.”

With 2 days of competition left Russia and the USA still lead the table with the host nation still maintaining a healthy lead. Norway and Canada are divided by just two points in the chase for 3rd place disqualifications in biathlon meant Germany actually lose points today.

The scoring table is as follows;
1st 8 points
2nd 7
3rd 6
4th 5
5th 4
6th 3
7th 2
8th 1
If countries are level on points their single best result is the tiebreak.

Mikaela Shiffrin’s victory in the women’s slalom today gives her the following Olympic statistical bests/records:

• Youngest gold medalist in women’s slalom (surpassing Paola Magoni-Sforza (ITA-1984) (19-155)
• 5th youngest medalist in women’s slalom (at 18-345) – leader is Danièle Debernard (FRA-1972) (17-205)
• 5th youngest female gold medalist in Alpine skiing (18-345) – leader is Michela Figini (SUI-1984 Downhill) (17-315)
• 4th American victory in the event which moves the USA ahead of Switzerland (we currently both have 3).
• 6th American medal in the event – first since 1972 (Barbara Cochran) – still trail France (8) and Austria (7)
• First American victory in women’s slalom since 1972 (Barbara Cochran) and slalom overall since 1984 (Phil Mahre)

This is also the 5^th USA medal in Alpine skiing at Sochi, which equals the 2^nd best USA performance at any Winter Olympics (1984). We have won medals as follows:

USA Today at the Olympics

• Alpine Skiing – Women’s Slalom – the USA has won this event 3 times, but it has been 42 years. The 3 gold medals were won by Gretchen Fraser in 1948, Andi Mead-Lawrence in 1952, and Barbara Cochran in 1972. We have won 2 other medals – a silver by Betsy Snite in 1960 and a bronze by Jean Saubert in 1964. The USA is tied for 1st all-time with Switzerland in terms of most gold medals in the event. The 5 medals won is 3rd behind France (8) and Austria (7), also tied with Switzerland.
• Biathlon – Women’s Relay – this event has been contested 6 times and the USA has one top 10 finish, with an 8th in 1994.
• Short-Track Speed Skating – Men’s 500 metres – J. R. Celski is in the quarter-finals and still alive for a medal. The USA has 2 medals in this event, with a gold by Apolo Anton Ohno in 2006, and a bronze by Rusty Smith in 2002. This puts the USA =3rd all-time in terms of medals won, trailing Canada (5) and Korea (3).
• Short-Track Speed Skating – Men’s Relay – the United States is in the A Final and has a shot at a medal. The USA has won 3 medals in the event, with bronzes in 2006-2010 and a silver in 1994. The USA Olympic best in the event is 6:44.498 set by the US team in the Vancouver final.
• Short-Track Speed Skating – Women’s 1,000 metres – Jessica Smith and Emily Scott are in the quarter-finals and still alive for medals. The USA has 1 medal in the event, a silver by Katherine Reutter in 2010. We have had 1 other finalist, Amy Peterson in 1998, who placed 4th.
• Men’s Curling – the United States has been eliminated.
• Freestyle Skiing – Women’s Skiier-Cross – this is a new event to the Olympic Program.

This Day at the Olympics

346 Olympians were born

69 Olympians died

87 Olympic events were held

USA Births and Death on this Day at the Olympics

Born

Died

Previous USA Winter Olympic Medals on This Day

Recent Medal Standings after Day #14

At the end of day 13 Russia’s lead is 20 points but it’s now the USA who are in second place after a good day for America saw them pass Norway. Canada take 4th back from Germany and France move up to 7th. Denmark enters the list.

The scoring table is as follows;
1st 8 points
2nd 7
3rd 6
4th 5
5th 4
6th 3
7th 2
8th 1
If countries are level on points their single best result is the tiebreak.

• USA Alpine Skiing Men’s Slalom
• USA Biathlon Men’s Relay
• USA Cross-Country Skiing Women’s 30K
• USA Speed Skating Men’s Team Pursuit
• USA Speed Skating Women’s Team Pursuit

There are also 2 new events ending on Saturday – snowboarding parallel special slalom for both men and women.

With the Games winding down, the final full day of multiple events and medal events is Saturday, 22 February. There are only 3 finals on Sunday (23 Feb) – men’s ice hockey, 4-man bobsledding, and 50 km cross-country skiing. Here are the event sheets for the events ending on Saturday:

• Alpine Skiing Men’s Slalom
• Biathlon Men’s Relay
• Cross-Country Skiing Women’s 30K
• Speed Skating Men’s Team Pursuit
• Speed Skating Women’s Team Pursuit

There are also two new events – snowboarding parallel special slalom for men and women.

The United States and Canada play today in a men’s ice hockey semi-final. This will be the 18^th Olympic match between the two arch-rivals, with Canada holding a comfortable edge in the rivalry – winning 11, tieing 3, and losing 3. The results of all the matches are as follows:

United States vs. Canada

• USA Alpine Skiing Women’s Slalom
• USA Biathlon Women’s Relay
• USA Freestyle Skiing Women’s Skiier-Cross
• USA Short-Track Speed Skating Men’s 500 metres
• USA Short-Track Speed Skating Men’s Relay
• USA Short-Track Speed Skating Women’s 1,000 metres