USA Yesterday at the Olympics
- Jamie Anderson won gold in the women’s snowboard slopestyle event, the day after Sage Kotsenburg won gold in the men’s snowboard slopestyle. This is the 36th time that a nation has won the same event for both men and women at a Winter Olympics, and it’s the 8th time the USA has done this. That is the most by any nation, the national list for this stat is as follows:
- United States 8
- Korea (South) 5
- Germany 4
- Austria 3
- German Democratic Republic 3
- Switzerland 3
- Soviet Union 3
- France 2
- Netherlands, The 2
- Norway 2
- Sweden 1
- The 7 previous times the USA has done this, with wins by both men and women, are given below:
- 1956 Figure Skating Singles
- 1960 Figure Skating Singles
- 1998 Freestyle Skiing Aerials
- 2002 Skeleton Skeleton
- 2002 Snowboarding Halfpipe
- 2006 Snowboarding Halfpipe
- 1994 Speedskating 1,000 metres
- In the women’s biathlon, Susan Dunklee finished 14th in the women’s 7.5 km sprint. This equals the best ever finish by a US women in an individual biathlon event, which was also done by Joan Smith in the 15 km, back in 1994 at Lillehammer. The 7.5 km sprint serves as the first half of the pursuit race, which will finish on Tuesday, 11 February, and Dunklee’s 14th place finish qualifies her for that final. Hopefully she can move further up and set a new US best for women in Olympic biathlon. Susan Dunklee’s father, Stan Dunklee, skiied cross-country for the US at the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics, while his brother, Susan’s uncle, skiied cross-country at the 1972 Winter Olympics.
- The US won a bronze medal in the new event of figure skating team trophy, trailing the gold medalist Russians and Canada, in second place. The US struggled on the first day, and was only in 7th place after the first two short program routines, falling far behind the Russians, but they rallied to move up into third and secure the bronze medal.
- Chris Mazdzer was the best US finisher in the men’s singles luge, placing 13th. Mazdzer was 10th after the first run, but dropped to 13th after the second run on Saturday, and then remained in 13th after the 3rd and the final runs. We have yet to win a medal in men’s singles, but the US has had 6 top 10 finishes in this event, by three sliders – 4th in 2002 by Adam Heidt and 2006 by Tony Benshoof; Wendell Suckow was 5th in 1995 and 6th in 1998; Adam Heidt was 9th in 1998; and Tony Benshoof was 8th in 2010.
- In men’s Alpine skiing downhill, Travis Ganong placed 5th and Bode Miller 8th. This was a disappointment for Miller, who was looking for his 6th Olympic Alpine medal, which would place him 2nd all-time behind Norwegian Kjetil André Aamodt, who has 8 Alpine medals. This was only the 2nd time the US has placed 2 men in the top 10 of the downhill, after 2006, when Miller was 5th and Darren Rahlves placed 10th.
USA Today at the Olympics
- Men’s 500 metre speed skating – The USA has won 7 gold medals in men’s 500 metres speed skating – one of 3 events at Winter Olympics at which we have won 7, the most for any Winter Olympic event. The USA has also won 7 gold medals in men’s and women’s individual figure skating.
- Men’s short-track speed skating 1500 metres – The US has won 3 medals – gold/silver/bronze – one of only 2 Winter Olympic events at which we have a clean medal sweep of only 3 medals (1/1/1) – men’s 2-man bobsled is the other. The USA has done that at 11 events at the Summer Olympics.
- Freestyle skiing men’s moguls – The USA has won 5 medals in this event – 1/1/3. In women’s moguls US freestyle skiiers have also won 5 medals – 2/2/1. These are two of 19 events at Winter Olympics at which USA has won 5 or more medals – women’s singles figure skating is tops with 23. The US has won a medal 5 of the 6 times the men’s moguls has been an Olympic sport, missing only 1994 when Troy Benson finished 8th as our best finish.
- Biathlon men’s pursuit – The USA has never won a medal in biathlon, men or women, the only Winter Olympic sport in which we have been shutout. Our best finish in this event was 13th by Jay Hakkinen in 2002 – our only top 20 finish in the event.
- Alpine skiing women’s combined – The USA has won 2 silver medals in this event, by Gretchen Fraser in 1948 and Julia Mancuso in 2010. This is the only women’s alpine event in which US women have not won a gold medal and the 2 medals is the fewest of any Alpine event for USA women. The last top 10s in the event were by Mancuso, who was 9th in 2006, and Lindsey Kildow was 6th in 2002 – you might know her now as Lindsey Vonn. Fraser’s 1948 silver medal was the first USA alpine skiing medal won, men or women, at the Winter Olympics – she won a gold medal in the slalom the next day.
Interesting Stuff from Yesterday
- Two athletes competed in their 7th Winter Olympics this weekend – Albert Demchenko (RUS) in luge and Noriaki Kasai (JPN) in ski jumping. Demchenko won a silver medal in men’s singles, while Kasai placed 8th. At 42 years, 75 days, Demchenko also became the oldest Winter Olympic medalist in an individual event. He was trailed in men’s singles luge by Armin Zöggeler (ITA), who was 40-036 and becomes the 4th oldest Winter Olympic individual medalist.
- Armin Zöggeler also won his 6th medal in men’s luge singles, making him the first Winter Olympian to win 6 medals in the same event. This has been done 5 times in the Summer Olympics, but Zöggeler is the first athlete, Winter or Summer, to win 6 medals in an individual Olympic event.
- Bode Miller competed in his 5th Olympics in Alpine skiing, moving into a tie for 2nd place for the most Olympic appearances in that sport, trailing only Liechtenstein’s Marco Büchel, who competed from 1992-2010, but is not in Sochi. Later in these Olympics, Mexico’s Hubertus Von Hohenlohe will also compete in his 6th Olympics in Alpine skiing.
This Day at the Olympics
383 Olympians were born
67 Olympians died
67 Olympic events were held
USA Births and Death on this Day at the Olympics
Born
[table]
Date,Name,Sport,Years
10 Feb 1851,Theodore Stanton,IOC,1900-03
10 Feb 1888,Alexander Cudmore,FTB,1904
10 Feb 1889,Henry Ziegler,ART,1936
10 Feb 1894,Max Wandrer,GYM,1924
10 Feb 1907,Ethel Lackie,SWI,1924
10 Feb 1919,Don Dupree Sr.,BOB,1948
10 Feb 1920,Ken Bartholomew,SSK,1948
10 Feb 1935,Tommy Pool,SHO,1964
10 Feb 1943,Larry Young,ATH,1968-72
10 Feb 1944,Gary Alexander,WRE,1976
10 Feb 1945,Glynn Saulters,BAS,1968
10 Feb 1946,Mary Meyers,SSK,1968
10 Feb 1950,Mark Spitz,SWI,1968-72
10 Feb 1951,Pete Lee,WRE,1976
10 Feb 1955,Lucy Harris,BAS,1976
10 Feb 1955,Tom LaGarde,BAS,1976
10 Feb 1960,Beth Paxson,CCS,1980
10 Feb 1965,Bobby Livingston,CYC,1988
10 Feb 1970,Brendan Eppert,SSK,1994
10 Feb 1971,Sherry Block,ARC,1992
10 Feb 1971,Marty Nothstein,CYC,1996-04
10 Feb 1975,Tina Thompson,BAS,2004-08
10 Feb 1979,Ross Powers,SNB,1998-02
10 Feb 1982,Justin Gatlin,ATH,2004-12
10 Feb 1982,Cat Reddick,FTB,2004
10 Feb 1986,Andrew Weibrecht,ASK,2010
10 Feb 1992,Annika Dries,WAP,2012
[/table]
Died
[table]
Date,Name,Sport,Years
10 Feb 1920,Amedee Reyburn,SWI/WAP,1904
10 Feb 1950,Joseph Charles,TEN,1904
10 Feb 1958,Charles Umbs,GYM,1904
10 Feb 1960,John Foy,ATH,1904
10 Feb 1961,Otto Feyder,GYM,1904
10 Feb 1966,Albert Manweiler,BAS,1904
10 Feb 1982,Paul Samson,SWI/WAP,1928
10 Feb 1991,Marion Roper,DIV,1932
[/table]
Previous USA Olympic Medalists on This Day
[table]
Medalist,Sport,X,Event,Medal,Date
Maribel Vinson,FSK,F,Singles,Bronze,10 Feb 1932
Peggy Fleming,FSK,F,Singles,Gold,10 Feb 1968
Anne Henning,SSK,F,500 m,Gold,10 Feb 1972
Dan Immerfall,SSK,M,500 m,Bronze,10 Feb 1976
Bonnie Blair,SSK,F,500 m,Gold,10 Feb 1992
Kelly Clark,SNB,F,Halfpipe,Gold,10 Feb 2002
[/table]
Events Finishing Today
- Alpine Skiing – Women’s Combined
- Biathlon – Men’s Pursuit
- Freestyle Skiing – Men’s Moguls
- Short-Track Speed Skating – Men’s 1,500 metres
- Speed Skating – Men’s 500 metres
Medal Standings after Day …
[table]
Day # – 9 Feb 2014,Gold,Silver,Bronze,Totals,Rank(US)
Norway,2,1,3,6,1
Netherlands,2,1,1,4,2
United States,2,-,2,4,3
Canada,1,2,1,4,=4
Russia,1,2,1,4,=4
Austria,1,1,-,2,6
Sweden,-,2,-,2,7
Italy,-,1,1,2,=8
Czech Republic,-,1,1,2,=8
Germany,1,-,-,1,=10
Slovakia,1,-,-,1,=10
Switzerland,1,-,-,1,=10
Finland,-,1,-,1,13
Great Britain,-,-,1,1,=14
Ukraine,-,-,1,1,=14
Totals,12,12,12,36
[/table]
[table]
Day #3 – 14 Feb 2010,Gold,Silver,Bronze,Total,Rank (US)
United States,1,2,3,6,1
Germany,1,3,-,4,2
France,2,-,1,3,3
Canada,1,1,1,3,4
Korea,1,1,-,2,5
Italy,-,-,2,2,6
Czech Republic,1,-,-,1,=7
Netherlands,1,-,-,1,=7
Switzerland,1,-,-,1,=7
Slovakia,1,-,-,1,=7
Australia,-,1,-,1,=11
Norway,-,1,-,1,=11
Poland,-,1,-,1,=11
Austria,-,-,1,1,=14
Croatia,-,-,1,1,=14
Russia,-,-,1,1,=14
Totals (10 events),10,10,10,30
[/table]
[table]
Day #3 – 12 Feb 2006,Gold,Silver,Bronze,Total,Rank (US)
Norway,1,3,3,7,1
United States,2,1,-,3,2
Netherlands,1,2,-,3,3
Russia,1,1,1,3,4
Italy,1,-,2,3,5
Germany,2,-,-,2,6
Korea,1,1,-,2,7
Canada,1,-,1,2,=8
France,1,-,1,2,=8
Austria,-,2,-,2,10
Finland,-,1,1,2,11
Estonia,1,-,-,1,12
Czech Republic,-,1,-,1,13
China,-,-,1,1,=14
Latvia,-,-,1,1,=14
Switzerland,-,-,1,1,=14
Totals (12 events),12,12,12,36
[/table]
[table]
Day #3 – 10 Feb 2002,Gold,Silver,Bronze,Total,Rank (US)
Austria,2,1,2,5,1
United States,1,2,-,3,2
Germany,1,1,1,3,=3
Norway,1,1,1,3,=3
Finland,1,1,-,2,=5
Netherlands,1,1,-,2,=5
Switzerland,1,-,1,2,7
Italy,1,-,-,1,8
Czech Republic,-,1,-,1,=9
France,-,1,-,1,=9
Canada,-,-,1,1,=11
Japan,-,-,1,1,=11
Poland,-,-,1,1,=11
Federation,-,-,1,1,=11
Totals (9 events),9,9,9,27
[/table]
[table]
Day #3 – 9 Feb 1998,Gold,Silver,Bronze,Total,Rank (US)
Germany,1,1,2,4,1
Russian Federation,2,1,-,3,2
Italy,-,2,1,3,3
Norway,-,1,2,3,4
Netherlands,1,1,-,2,5
Bulgaria,1,-,-,1,=6
Canada,1,-,-,1,=6
Finland,1,-,-,1,=6
France,1,-,-,1,=6
Czech Republic,-,1,-,1,=10
Ukraine,-,1,-,1,=10
Austria,-,-,1,1,=12
Belgium,-,-,1,1,=12
Switzerland,-,-,1,1,=12
Totals (8 events),8,8,8,24
[/table]